Greensboro, N.C. – UNC Greensboro shot 50% from three-point range and limited Furman to 32.3% shooting from the field to claim a 79-68 victory over the Paladins in the Southern Conference men's basketball opener for both schools Wednesday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
Facing a Furman team missing its top three scorers and playing with just seven available scholarship players, UNCG hit six of its first seven three-point tries in the second half and held the Paladins without a field goal for a stretch of five minutes to fashion a 12-4 run that helped the Spartans open a 51-40 lead. Donovan Atwell hit 5-of-9 three-point attempts on the night and the Spartans connected on 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half to maintain at least an eight-point advantage throughout the final 15 minutes.
 
Keyshaun Langley and Atwell paced the Spartans with 17 points apiece while Mikeal Brown-Jones contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds. Joryam Saizonou added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
UNCG (10-4, 1-0 SoCon) shot 48.4% from the field, made good on 11-of-22 three-point tries, and outscored Furman 20-3 on points off turnovers despite both teams committing 12 miscues. The Paladins converted on 19-of-23 trips to the foul line but made just 7-of-31 triples. Furman posted a 42-37 edge on the glass, including 20 offensive boards that led to 21 second-chance points.
 
Junior Carter Whitt, 12-of-13 at the foul line on the night, poured in a career-best 23 points and dished out six assists for Furman. Fellow junior PJay Smith added 19 points on 5-of-13 shooting from three while Tyrese Hughey pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The injury-riddled Paladins (6-8, 0-1 SoCon) played the game without Marcus Foster, JP Pegues, and Alex Williams, who rank as the squad's top three scorers averaging a combined 52.8 points per game.
 
Following a trip to Chattanooga on Saturday, Furman returns home to host The Citadel in its SoCon home opener on January 10. Tickets are available and can be purchased online at FurmanPaladins.com. Fans can also purchase a SoCon Super Weekend Pack. The package, available for just $60, includes a ticket to each of the Paladins' six Southern Conference weekend home games, beginning with a clash versus ETSU on January 13.