Conway, S.C. – Liberty ended the first half on an 11-0 run and shot 64% in the second half en route to an 88-74 victory over Furman in the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday night at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C.
 
Furman (2-1) will face Coastal Carolina in the consolation bracket on Friday. Tip-off at the HTC Center is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Paladin fans can hear Bryant Lambert call the play-by-play on The Fan Upstate 97.7 FM, on 1330AM, and via the Audacy app. Liberty (3-0) advances to face Wichita State in the semifinal round at 9 p.m.
 
The Paladins built a 33-27 lead before guard Brody Peebles scored seven points to key an 11-0 run by the Flames over the final three minutes of the first half to give Liberty a 38-33 advantage at the break. After Furman netted the first basket of the second half, the Flames reeled off nine straight points to extend their lead to 47-35 on Kyle Rode's basket with 17:41 to play.
 
Furman used a 6-0 spurt to trim the margin to 49-43 at the under 16 media timeout, but Liberty answered with a 12-4 run before the midway point of the half to build a 67-50 cushion on back-to-back baskets by Kaden Matheny with under 12 minutes remaining.
 
Liberty connected on 18-of-28 second-half field goal attempts, including 5-of-10 behind the arc, to shoot 54.4% from the field. The Flames made good on 17-of-27 trips to the foul line and converted on 9-of-24 three-point tries.
 
Rode totaled 19 points to pace four Flames in double figures while Peebles scored 16 points off the bench, Matheny poured in 15, and Zach Cleveland added 11.
 
Marcus Foster finished with a career-high 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and a 9-of-11 effort at the foul line for Furman. JP Pegues added 20 points and Ben VanderWal posted nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Furman shot 41.5% from the field and converted on 24-of-31 free throw attempts, but the Paladins shot just 6-of-24 from three-point range.
 
Click here for more information about tickets for the Myrtle Beach Invitational or log onto FurmanPaladins.com to purchase tickets to see the Paladins in action at Timmons Arena this season.
 
Myrtle Beach Invitational
Date    Matchup (TV)                                                    Time
11/16  Vermont 73, Charleston 64                            11:30 a.m.
             Saint Louis 79, Wyoming 69                           2:00 p.m.
             Wichita St. 86, Coastal Carolina 77               4:30 p.m.
             Liberty 88, Furman 74                                     7:00 p.m.
11/17  Vermont vs. Saint Louis (ESPN2)                   12:00 p.m.
             Charleston vs. Wyoming (ESPNU)                 2:30 p.m.
             Furman at Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)            6:30 p.m.
             Wichita State vs. Liberty (ESPNU)                 9:00 p.m.
11/19  Fifth Place Game (ESPNU)                              10:30 a.m.
             Seventh Place Game (ESPN+)                        1:00 p.m.
             Championship Game (ESPN2)                        5:30 p.m.
             Third Place Game (ESPN2)                              8:00 p.m.