Orlando, Fla. – No. 5 seed San Diego State held Furman to 32% shooting, including 23% from the three-point line, and Micah Parrish led four players in double figures with 16 points as the Aztecs downed the No. 13 seed Paladins, 75-52, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.
 
The Aztecs (29-6) advanced to face the winner of No. 1 seed Alabama and No. 8 seed Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen next weekend in Louisville, Ky., Furman concluded its season at 28-8, the best record in school history.

"It's an unbelievable story, and I couldn't be more proud of our team, at a time where I'm extremely disappointed we didn't advance," said head coach Bob Richey. "But it's really hard to not pull the lens back a little bit and still see what that group was able to accomplish. For that, I'll forever be grateful."
 
Furman, coming off a 68-67 opening round win over No. 4 seed Virginia on Thursday, started strong against the Aztecs and grabbed a 16-12 lead at the 11:17 mark of the first half when Jalen Slawson beat the shot clock buzzer with a deep triple from the left wing. San Diego State, however, turned up the defense pressure by not allowing a Paladin field goal for the next 10:54 while reeling off 15 straight points to take control of the game. Matt Bradley, who netted 10 points on the afternoon, drained a jumper with four seconds left in the period to send the Aztecs into the locker room with a 39-25 lead and on a 27-9 run.
 
In the second half, the Aztecs matched their first half shooting performance by hitting 50% of their shots from the floor and limited the Paladins to just an 8-for-26 effort from the field to keep Furman from mounting a comeback. SDSU, ranked No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25, managed a 41-24 rebounding edge and outscored the Paladins 40-16 in the paint. The Aztecs also registered 18 second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds.
 
Parrish finished 6-of-11 from the floor to score his game-high 16 points while Darrion Trammell netted 13, and Lamont Butler scored 12 to go with Bradley's 10 points. Nathan Mensah scored six points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
 
San Diego State converted on 29-of-58 field goal attempts and 11-of-14 trips to the foul line. The Aztecs held Furman to a season-low 32% shooting and 52 points. Furman finished 14-of-18 at the foul line, marking the first time in 21 games this season that the Paladins outscored their opponent at the line but failed to win.
 
In his final collegiate game, fifth-year senior Mike Bothwell poured in 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and a 6-of-9 effort at the line to pace the Paladins. With his last basket, the Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native moved into fourth place on Furman's career scoring list with 2,016 points.
 
Sophomores Alex Williams and JP Pegues contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Slawson totaled eight points before fouling out in the second half.
 
Bothwell and Slawson concluded their careers as Furman's winningest players with 116 victories.