Greenville, S.C. – Redshirt-senior Marcus Foster scored a game-high 18 points to lead three Paladins in double figures as Furman defeated North Greenville, 84-68, in the Paladins' season opener sponsored by KW Beverage on Monday night at Timmons Arena.
 
Furman connected on 27-of-39 trips to the foul line and outscored the Crusaders 46-26 in the paint to offset a 3-for-21 shooting night beyond the arc. The Paladins shot 45.8% from the field and limited North Greenville to 36.4% shooting.
 
A 9-0 run late in the first half helped the Paladins build a 42-32 lead at the break. North Greenville outscored the Paladins 21-17 over the opening 11:03 of the second half and trimmed the Furman advantage to 59-53 on Justin Perry's basket with 8:57 to play. Foster, PJay Smith, and Davis Molnar answered with layups as the Paladins went on a 6-0 run and never led by fewer than nine points the rest of the way.
 
Foster went 6-for-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the foul line while adding seven rebounds. Cooper Bowser, a 6-foot-11 freshman, added 13 points and junior Carter Whitt totaled 10. Smith and Ben VanderWal netted nine points apiece and Tyrese Hughey finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Redshirt-freshman Davis Molnar, who helped Furman pull away in the second half, contributed seven points, eight boards, and three assists in his collegiate debut.
 
Savion Brown and Zak Perdew led the Crusaders with 18 and 14 points, respectively. 
 
Furman is back in action Friday night when it hosts the Belmont Bruins. Tip-off at Timmons Arena is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.