Greenville, S.C. – Larry Wideman netted a game-high 18 points in his second collegiate outing and fellow freshman Stephen Croone tied a school record with 14 assists to lead Furman past Southern Wesleyan, 90-71, in non-conference action on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena on Tuesday evening.

The win improved the Paladins to 1-1 on the season as they prepare to host the Clemson Tigers at Timmons Arena on Friday night.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.

Six Paladins scored at least five points in the first half as Furman shot 56.7% from the field to open up a 38-19 lead before taking a 43-30 advantage into intermission.  Head coach Jeff Jackson's squad earned 18 trips to the foul line in the second half, converting on 15, to push the lead to 71-46 with 9:36 remaining before cruising to the 19-point triumph over the NAIA member Warriors.

Wideman, a native of Loris, S.C., connected on 4-of-6 treys and all four of his free throw attempts to tally 18 points in 19 minutes of play while senior forward Colin Reddick buried 7-of-10 field goal attempts to finish with a career-high 16 points and six rebounds.  Senior Bryant Irwin and junior Charlie Reddick each tallied 14 points while Irwin added a team-best seven rebounds.

Croone, making his first career start, matched Guilherme Da Luz's school record of 14 assists which he set in 97-75 triumph versus Coastal Carolina on December 16, 1999.  A freshman from Covington, Ga., Croone added nine points and three rebounds while committing just one turnover in 32 minutes on the court.

Furman shot 52.5% from the floor and made good on 9-of-20 three-point attempts after connecting on just 1-for-17 beyond the arc in its season opening loss to Columbia on Saturday.  The Paladins tallied 32 points off 20 Southern Wesleyan turnovers and outscored the Warriors in the paint, 36-32.

Rochard Gibson paced Southern Wesleyan with 16 points and Kenny Joyner added 15.  Nikola Lambic fouled out late with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  The Warriors shot 45.3% and buried 5-of-10 three-point shots, but went 0-for-3 beyond the arc in the second half.

Tuesday's win improved Furman to 33-0 against non-NCAA Division I opposition since the beginning of the 1998-99 campaign.  

Tickets for Friday night's showdown with Clemson are available thru Ticketmaster at www.FurmanPaladins.com.  Every ticket to Furman men's basketball is an All-Inclusive Ticket, allowing fans free, unlimited trips to the concession stand for hamburgers, hotdogs, Pizza Hut Pizza, nachos and soft drinks.

All Furman men's basketball games during 2012-13 season will be broadcast live on 103.3 WOLT-FM and 96.3 WGOG-FM.  Each game will also be streamed live thru Stretch Audio at www.FurmanPaladins.com.  Dan Scott will provide play-by-play of Tuesday's game with former Paladin guard Ron Smith handling color commentator duties.

Fans can follow live statistics and watch live streaming video of the game by logging onto www.FurmanPaladins.com.