Greenville, S.C. – Senior PJay Smith Jr. totaled 23 points, and the Paladin defense turned up the heat down the stretch as Furman claimed a 69-63 victory over the Princeton Tigers on Saturday afternoon at in front of 3,227 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
 
Trailing 52-45 with under 11:30 to play, Furman (9-1) went on a 17-4 run to grab the lead and allowed just three Princeton (7-4) baskets the rest of the way to earn its ninth victory in 10 games to start the season.
 
"It's a great day to be a Din," said Paladin head coach Bob Richey. "That's a heck of a win and a great series with them. That's two classic games versus Princeton, I don't care what level of basketball you're playing."
 
After Furman led by as many as 13 points in the first half, Princeton put together a 14-2 spurt early in the second half to wrestle away the lead and build a 52-45 advantage with 11:27 to go when CJ Happy connected on a three-pointer and Peyton Seals drained a pair of free throws. 
 
A Tom House three and two free throws from Smith ignited the Paladins' decisive rally. Following a Xavian Lee basket, Tyrese Hughey and Smith scored in the paint and House converted on two trips to the foul line to give the Paladins a 56-54 lead with 7:43 to play.
 
Furman's defense held Princeton without a basket from Lee's two-pointer at the 9:51 mark until Caden Pierce's basket cut into the Paladins' 62-56 cushion with 4:24 left on the clock. Lee followed the Pierce basket with a pair of free throws to trim the margin to 62-60 and Smith picked up his fifth personal foul, but Ben VanderWal answered with a reverse layup with 1:12 to go to put Furman ahead 64-60. 
 
Lee made the second free throw of a one-and-one opportunity on Princeton's next possession to trim the Furman lead to 64-61 before Charles Johnston, VanderWal and House combined to hit 5-of-6 free throws over the final 52 seconds to seal the victory. VanderWal and Eddrin Bronson both recorded blocked shots in the final 10 seconds to help Furman hold the Tigers without a field goal over the final three possessions.
 
Smith, who connected on 8-of-20 field goal attempts and 5-of-15 attempts from behind the arc, added eight rebounds, three assists, and matched a career-high with four steals to pace the Paladins. Garrett Hien added 10 points and seven rebounds while Anderson nailed three triples to finish with nine points.
 
The Paladins managed a 38-35 rebounding edge and grabbed 14 offensive boards that led to 13 second-chance points. Furman shot 43.1% from the floor and limited Princeton to 38.9% shooting.
 
Lee scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds for Princeton. Dalen Davis added 13 points and Pierce tallied 11.
 
Furman returns to action next Saturday when it hosts South Carolina State in a 12 p.m. contest at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Tickets to Saturday's game are available for purchase by clicking here.