December 3, 2022
 
Williams Shoots Furman To Victory Over South Carolina State, 88-76
 
Greenville, S.C. – Sophomore Alex Williams scored all of his career-high 15 points during a 19-4 second half run to lead Furman to an 88-76 victory over South Carolina State in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
 
The victory marked the fourth straight for the Paladins, who improved to 6-2 on the season, and their 30^th triumph in their last 31 regular season non-conference matchups inside Timmons. South Carolina State slipped to 1-8.
 
With Furman leading 55-54 and under 12 minutes remaining, Williams converted a layup off an assist from Joe Anderson to open the decisive run. Mike Bothwell answered a Bulldog basket with a layup, and Williams followed with his first three of the season. After Williams drew a charge on the other end, the Xenia, Ohio, product converted on a pass from Garrett Hien to increase the Furman margin to 64-56.
 
Williams grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a two-handed slam by Hien on the next Paladin possession before connecting on back-to-back triples to extend the 15-0 spurt and put Furman ahead 72-56 with 7:33 to go. The Bulldogs ended the run with a Rakeim Gary field goal, but Williams responded with another basket to restore the 16-point advantage and the Paladins never led by fewer than 11 points the rest of the way.
 
Bothwell and Marcus Foster led five Paladins in double figures with 16 points apiece, Williams finished with 15, and Hien and Jalen Slawson each totaled 11. Williams went 6-of-7 from the field, including 3-for-4 beyond the arc, while Bothwell added six assists and connected on 5-of-8 shots from the floor.
 
Furman shot 56.1% on the day and made good on 16-of-19 trips to the foul line. The Paladins managed a 33-30 rebounding edge and overcame 20 turnovers that led to 19 Bulldog points. 
 
Jordan Simpson came off the bench to lead South Carolina State with 14 points. Raquan Brown and Gary added 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Bulldogs shot 47% and notched 12 steals but connected on just 4-of-16 three-point attempts.
 
The Paladins continue their homestand on Tuesday night versus High Point. Tip-off at Timmons Arena is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at FurmanPaladins.com.