Furman Men's Basketball Vs. Citadel Postgame Interviews And Highlights

Greenville, S.C. – Stephen Croone turned in his thirteenth 20+ points game of the season to power the Paladins by The Citadel, 76-67, in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Saturday in front of 1,277 fans at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C.

Croone led the Paladins with 23 points, while adding five rebounds and four assists. Charlie Reddick turned in his first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds, including a team-high seven rebounds in the first half. William Gates finished with 12 points, while Adonis Rwabigwi added 11 points and a season-high-tying four blocks.

The Paladins (8-17, 2-10 SoCon) shot 47.2% from the floor, while holding The Citadel (4-23, 0-12 SoCon) to a 37.5 shooting percentage. Both teams shot greater than 75% from the free-throw line, but it was the Paladins who finished the night with a higher free-throw total (19 of 25).

Furman jumped out to an early 24-8 lead over the Bulldogs, before the Citadel went on a 13-5 run of their own to cut the lead to 29-17 with 4:48 remaining in the first half. The Paladins hit five of six free throws at the end of the half to stretch their lead to 11 at the break. William Gates stopped any chance of the Citadel coming out of halftime with the momentum, as he stuffed Marshall Harris III's three-point attempt as time expired.

Furman opened up a sixteen-point lead over the Citadel with 16:01 remaining in the second half on a Reddick steal and breakaway layup to put the score at 48-32. The Paladins continued to hold off the Citadel rally, holding the lead at 13 (58-45) with 8:25 remaining. The Bulldogs then used a 10-4 run to cut the Furman lead to just five with 4:50 remaining in the game. The two teams traded baskets before The Citadel's Ashton Moore hit his second three of the half to cut the Furman lead to four at 69-65 with 1:43 remaining. However, Stephen Croone scored five-straight points to give the Paladins a nine-point advantage with 18 seconds on the clock. Following a timeout, William Gates hit two free throws and Rwabigwi recorded his fourth block of the game to seal the victory for the Paladins, 76-67.

The Bulldogs were led by Ashton Moore with 22 points and six rebounds, and PJ Horgan with six points and 10 rebounds.

Furman returns to action at Wofford on Thursday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m.