The Furman Paladins Men’s Basketball Team took on the SC State Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 3, trying to repeat their convincing 118-52 win two years ago. The 88-76 win puts the team at 6-2 for the year, making them the current best team in the SoCon.
Furman started out hot, opening up the game with an 11-1 lead within the first handful of minutes. However, the Bulldogs stormed back throughout the rest of the half, going into the half with the score at 42-38 Paladins. The Paladins had a tough time taking care of the ball early, giving up 12 turnovers in the first half alone.
In the second half of the game, The Paladins regained their form and went on a 17-2 run, putting them up 72-56 with 7:33 to go in the half. The Dins maintained this lead for the rest of the game, not letting the Bulldogs close the gap at all. Furman’s second-half push was on the back of Alex Williams, who came off the bench and had 15 points in just 9 minutes of playing time, all in the second half.
The scoring output from the Paladins was well balanced, with four other players reaching double figures on top of Williams. Guards Marcus Foster and Mike Bothwell tied for the game-high of 16 points, with forwards Jalen Slawson and Garrett Hein each putting up 11 and combining for 14 rebounds.
As the semester winds down, the Dins will take on High Point and Winthrop in the coming week, looking to pick up two more wins to maintain their spot on top of the SoCon.
