GREENVILLE, S.C. -- JP Pegues scored 22 points and Furman rode solid shooting and strong first half defensive work to defeat Chattanooga, 82-65, in Southern Conference men's basketball action played in front of a national television audience Sunday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

The victory earned Furman (15-12, 9-5 SoCon) the season split with Chattanooga (18-9, 10-4 SoCon) and solidified the Paladins' hold on fourth place in the league standings.  It also marked Furman's seventh triumph in its last eight clashes with UTC in Greenville.

Pegues, a junior All-SoCon guard, connected on 7-of-17 shots, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and a was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. His accuracy headlined a 48.3 percent shooting effort (29x60) by Furman that featured 11-of-27 work (40.7%) from 3-point range.  The Nashville, Tenn., product also chipped in five rebounds and three of Furman's 20 assists in the contest.

Marcus Foster followed Pegues with 15 points, and PJ Smith rounded out Furman's double figure scoring trio with 11 points.

An 8-0 run midway thru the first half, capped by a Ben Vanderbwal layup off a Carter Whitt assist, gave Furman a 19-10 lead.

After Chattanooga halted the run with a Tyler Millin 3-pointer, the Paladins answered with a decisive 15-0 flurry, highlighted by consecutive treys, including two by Smith and one by Pegues, to go up 34-13 with 5:14 remaining.

Sporting a strong defensive effort that limited the Mocs to just 6-of-29 shooting (20.7%) in the first half, Furman stretched its advantage to 48-24 with just under a minute remaining before Chattanooga tallied the final five points of the frame.

The Paladins were never seriously threatened in the second half, even after the Mocs trimmed Furman's lead to 59-48 with 11:06 remaining.  It ended there, however, when Marcus Foster and Tyrese Hughey stroked back-to-back 3-pointers, and Pegues finished off the 9-0 bolt with layup to put Furman up, 67-48, with 7:35 on the clock.

Furman fashioned a 40-33 edge in rebounding and outscored the Mocs 30-16 in the paint. The Paladins also exacted a toll on UTC's 13 turnovers, registering a 19-11 scoring advantage off miscues.

Vanderwal and Hien paced the Paladins on the boards with seven caroms apiece.

Chattanooga's Honor Huf lead all scores with 26 points, and Noah Melson finished with 10.

The Paladins play at Samford on Wednesday in a 7:30 p.m. ET contest.