Post Game Interviews   /  Game Highlights

Greenville, S.C. -- Junior Stephen Croone tallied 24 points, including four free throws in the final 6.6 seconds, and Larry Wideman poured in a season-high 14 points to lift Furman to a 59-55 victory over ETSU in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Thursday night at Timmons Arena.

With the victory, Furman improved to 7-13 overall and 4-5 in the SoCon.  ETSU, who was held to a season-low 55 points, dropped to 12-8 overall and 6-5 in league play.

The Paladins held the Buccaneers to just 38.2% shooting from the floor and did not allow an ETSU field goal in the game's finale two and half minutes.  Trailing 51-47 with under 3:30 left, Furman cut a four-point deficit in half when Croone grabbed a rebound off of his own miss and finished at the basket.  After ETSU's Lester Wilson missed a three on the next possession, freshman Devin Sibley raced down the floor for a layin to tie the game at 51-51 with 2:35 remaining.  

ETSU regained the lead on Wilson's layup, the Bucs' final basket of the night, before Croone converted on 1-of-2 free throws following an empty possession by both teams.  Following an ETSU miss on the other end, Croone fed a slashing Daniel Fowler who scored to give the Paladins a 54-53 lead with 42 seconds left.  Fowler made 1-of-2 free throws after stealing the ball from ETSU's Petey McClain on the next possession and Croone secured the long rebound beyond the three-point line after Jalen Riley missed a potential game-tying jumper for the Bucs with 11 seconds remaining.

Croone drained both free throw attempts with 6.6 seconds left to put Furman ahead 57-53, but Sibley was whistled for a foul at midcourt with 2.6 seconds left and Desonta Bradford was awarded three free throws.  Bradford made the first two shots and intentionally missed the third.  The rebound was tipped out of bounds by the Bucs and Croone finished the game with a pair of free throws after receiving the inbounds pass and drawing a foul.

Furman shot just 40.9% from the floor, but the Paladins connected on 9-of-20 three-point attempts and managed a 35-31 edge on the glass.  Croone finished with 24 points on 6-of-14 from the field and 9-of-12 at the foul line.  He dished out four assists and registered three steals to go with his game-high 11 boards.  Wideman, who performed the national anthem prior to the game, hit 5-of-6 shots, including 4-for-4 from three-point range, to net 14 points.  Sibley came off of the bench to score 11 points.

The Paladins jumped out to an 11-2 lead that was answered by a 10-0 ETSU spurt.  Furman broke a 14-14 tie with a 6-0 run to grab the lead and used another 6-0 run late in the first half to up the margin to 29-19 before carrying a 29-24 lead into the break.

A Kendrec Ferrara trey with 14:51 remaining gave Furman a 37-33 lead, but ETSU regained the lead when Furman went almost six minutes without a basket.  Wideman ended the drought by draining a game-tying trey with 8:55 left to knot the contest at 44-44.  The Bucs scored the next two baskets and maintained the advantage until Fowler's layup with 42 seconds to play.

Wilson paced ETSU with 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting beyond the arc.  Guard Jalen Riley reached double figures with 10 points, but was held well below his 20.5 points per game average.

Furman, now 6-3 at home this season, heads back on the road to face the Samford Bulldogs at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.  The game will be streamed live on the SoCon Digital Network and can also be heard live on the Furman IMG Sports Network on flagship station WGOG 96.3 FM and Fox Sports 1440 AM with play-by-play voice Dan Scott.  The audio broadcast will be available by logging onto TuneIn.com.  Links for the broadcast and live statistics will be available at FurmanPaladins.com.


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information