Greenville, S.C. – Furman rallied from an 11-point deficit to force overtime and held off VMI, 74-72, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.
 
The Paladins improved to 18-5 overall and 8-2 in the SoCon, while VMI slipped to 6-17 overall and 1-9 in league play. The victory marked Furman's 10^th straight against the Keydets.
 
Trailing 62-59 after VMI's Kamdyn Curfman converted on 1-of-2 trips to the foul line with 18 seconds left, Furman's Jordan Lyons crossed the top of the key and leaned in to drain a three-pointer with 7.4 seconds remaining to tie the game. Alex Hunter stole VMI's pass into the front court and had his desperation three bounce off the rim to send the contest into overtime.
 
After the Keydets jumped out to a 65-62 lead in the extra period, Noah Gurley scored and finished a three-point play at the foul line and Clay Mounce buried on a jumper in the paint to give the Paladins a 67-65 lead with 2:45 to go. On Furman's next possession, Mounce inbounded the ball to Gurley who tipped it back to the Elkin, N.C., native for a layup to increase the Furman lead to 69-65 with 1:21 remaining.
 
Greg Parham trimmed the margin to a pair with 50 seconds left and scored on a floater in the lane with 16.8 seconds left following Lyons' basket. Gurley was fouled on the inbounds pass and knocked down two free throws to up the lead to 73-69 with under 12 seconds left, but Curfman connected on a long three from the wing to cut the lead to one point. Jalen Slawson made 1-of-2 free throw attempts for the Paladins and Furman's defense denied VMI a chance at a game-tying shot as time expired.
 
Lyons finished with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 at the foul line. Mounce tallied 14 points and eight rebounds, while Gurley contributed 13 points and six boards. Mike Bothwell rounded out Furman's double-figure scorers with 10 points.
 
The Paladins, who shot just 31% in the first half and hit just 3-of-25 three-point tries on the night, shot 44.3% from the floor and converted on 17-of-23 trips to the charity stripe. Furman outscored the Keydets 44-30 in the paint.
 
Parham came off the of the bench to pace VMI with 19 points and Jake Stephens added 12 points. The Keydets also shot 44.3% from the field, but made only 7-of-28 from three-point range. VMI grabbed 10 offensive boards to tally 14 second-chance points.
 
The Keydets shot 48% in the first half to build a 23-12 lead and led 52-46 with under 5:30 to go when Furman used a 7-0 run to take its first lead since 4-2.
 
Furman's victory upped the Paladins record at Timmons Arena to 9-0 this season. The Paladins continue their homestand next Wednesday when they host Mercer at 7 p.m.
 
Tickets for Wednesday's game and all of Furman's remaining home games are on sale now at the Timmons Arena Box Office and online at FurmanPaladins.com. Current Furman students will have access to free tickets on Furman basketball game days. Click here to learn about the student ticket policy for the 2019-20 season.