Greenville, S.C. – Charles Johnston poured in a team-high 25 points and Furman's defense keyed a decisive 14-0 run by holding Jacksonville scoreless for a stretch of 6:49 in the second half as the Paladins rallied for 78-69 victory over the Dolphins on Monday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Trailing 41-37 following Stephon Payne III's three-point play with 16:03 left, the Paladins reeled off 14 straight points and kept Jacksonville off the board for over six and half minutes as they opened up a 51-41 lead. The Dolphins trimmed the margin back to eight, but Furman pushed its advantage out to as many as 16 points en route to its third consecutive victory to start the season. The 3-0 start marked the first for the Paladins since the 2020-21 campaign.
Johnston, a transfer from Cal State Monterrey Bay, connected on 8-of-9 shots from the field, including 4-for-5 behind the arc, and made good on all five of his trips to the foul line in just over 20 minutes of action. Senior
PJay Smith Jr. contributed 14 points six rebounds, six assists and four steals while fellow senior
Garrett Hien notched his second career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 14 boards. Junior
Tom House rounded out Furman's double-figure scorers with 13 points.
Furman finished the game shooting 45.6% from the field and connected on 17-of-24 trips to the foul line. After being outscored 10-0 on second chance points in the first half, the Paladins held a 7-4 margin over the final 20 minutes and out-rebounded the Dolphins in the second half to even the rebounding battle at 39-39.
Robert McCray led the Dolphins (1-2) with a game-high 26 points on 8-for-10 shooting at the foul line and Zach Bell reached double digits with 11 points. Jacksonville scored only eight points over the first 11:45 of the second half and shot just 36.9% from the field.
Furman (3-0) continues its homestand on Friday night when it welcomes the Tulane Green Wave to the Well for a 7 p.m. contest. Tickets are available for purchase at
FurmanPaladins.com.
