December 4, 2023
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Arkansas Shoots Past Furman, 97-83
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Fayetteville, Ark. – Khalif Battle scored a game-high 25 points and Chandler Lawson added 19 to propel Arkansas to a 97-83 victory over Furman on Monday evening at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
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The Razorbacks (6-3), coming off an 80-75 victory over Duke last Wednesday, shot 60% from the field, connected on 15-of-21 trips to the foul line, and netted 52 points in the paint to claim their first meeting in school history versus the Paladins. The Paladins, who have played six of their first nine games on the road, dipped to 4-5 on the season with their second straight loss.
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Arkansas built a 10-point lead late in the first half before buckets from
Alex Williams,
Carter Whitt, and
Davis Molnar trimmed the deficit to 40-35 at intermission. Furman trailed 58-52 with under 12 minutes to play when the Razorbacks reeled off a 12-0 run, capped by five consecutive points from Battle, that pushed the margin to 70-52 with 9:51 to go.
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The Paladins saw Arkansas increase the margin to 20 points and the Razorbacks continued to lead by 15 when
JP Pegues was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:38 left. Arkansas' head coach was whistled for a technical foul and Pegues proceeded to drain five straight free throws. Pegues followed with two more free throws on the next possession, hit a triple, and converted on 1-of-2 trips to the line on Furman's next possession to get the Paladins within 88-81 before the Razorbacks converted from the line and against the press to finish the game on a 9-2 spurt.
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Battle and Lawson combined to go 15-of-21 from the field and 9-of-10 at the foul line while Trevon Brazile added 13 points and Devonte Davis pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
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Pegues posted a team-best 21 points on 10-of-10 shooting at the foul line and contributed six assists. Williams, who scored 15 points in the first half, scored a career-high 20 points on a 5-for-9 effort behind the arc while Whitt finished with 14 points.
Garrett Hien totaled 10 points to give Furman four players in double figures.
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The Paladins shot just 38% despite a 12-for-32 effort from three-point range. Arkansas held a 38-35 rebounding edge, but Furman tallied 15 offensive boards to fashion a 12-6 advantage on second chance points. Coach
Bob Richey's Paladins committed just 11 turnovers.
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Furman returns home on Saturday, December 2, when it entertains the Bob Jones Bruins in a 2 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena. Tickets are available online at FurmanPaladins.com.
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