Greenville, S.C. – Alex Hunter and
Mike Bothwell poured in 22 points apiece and Furman combined accurate shooting from 3-point range with a school record 22 triples and 34 assists to roll past North Greenville, 118-66, in the Paladins' 2021-22 season opener Tuesday evening at Timmons Arena.
Furman (1-0) had 10 players score in the contest as it reached the 100-point plateau in a season opener for the first time since defeating Bob Jones, 102-48, on November 6, 2018.
The Paladins' 34 assists surpassed the old record of 33 set against South Carolina State on December 21, 2020 in a 118-52 victory. Furman also connected on a school record 22 3-pointers led by a 6-of-9 performance from Hunter. The Paladins had previously made 21 3-pointers three times with the last coming in last season's win over South Carolina State.
Five different Furman players scored in double figures led by the 22 points from Bothwell and Hunter.
Jalen Slawson contributed a career high 19 points and eight rebounds, while
Conley Garrison and
JP Pegues recorded 14 and 10 points, respectively, in their Paladin debuts. Garrison added a game-high six assists and Pegues posted five.
Marcus Foster grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
The trio of Hunter, Bothwell and Slawson combined to shoot 25-of-34 from the field.
Dray Burton paced North Greenville offensively with 19 points while Kameron Hobbs and Jacob Redding contributed 14 and 11. Joe Conley led the team with five rebounds, Redding with three assists and Hobbs two steals.
Furman opened the game on a 25-8 run that covered the first 5:28 and built its lead out to 17 points on a dunk by Bothwell. Trailing by 21 points, the Crusaders would go on a 9-2 run over a stretch of nearly three minutes to cut the Paladins' lead down to 38-24. Furman closed out the final 5:30 of the first half on a 28-3 run and held a 35-point lead at intermission.
Garrett Hien's free throw with five seconds remaining gave the Paladins a 62-27 lead at halftime.
Pegues scored all 10 of his points in the second half as Furman came out of the break to extend its lead to 73-33 with 16:54 remaining. After North Greenville made the score 73-38 at the 15:17 mark, Pegues knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to put the Paladins ahead 79-38. Furman would lead by at least 40 points the remainder of the contest. Garrison gave Furman its first 50-point lead of the game at 93-43 with 10:49 to go on his 3-pointer. The Paladins took their largest lead, 107-53, at the 7:14 mark on
Joe Anderson's 3-pointer.
Ben Beeker's offensive rebound and layup with 55 seconds left put the final score at 118-66.
Furman concluded the game shooting 56.1 percent (46-of-82) from the field and 50.0 percent (22-of-44) behind the 3-point line. The Paladins forced the Crusaders into 18 turnovers that led to 29 points.
Furman also led in points in the paint (44-36), second chance points (22-7), fast break points (17-5) and bench points (32-22).
The Paladins travel to Louisville for their first road game of the 2021-22 season on Friday, November 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game is being streamed on ACC Network Extra and fans can listen to the game on ESPN Upstate at 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg, and thru Audacy.com.
