Birmingham, Ala. – Samford scored seven unanswered points in the final 40 seconds to rally from a 72-67 deficit to stun Furman, 74-72, on Jermaine Marshall's go-ahead layup with under three seconds left on Wednesday night at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala.
 
The Paladins trailed 56-46 in the second half when JP Pegues caught fire. The junior, who poured in a career-high 33 points on 6-of-11 shooting from three and a 9-of-9 effort at the foul line, hit three straight triples to cap an 18-6 Paladin run that gave Furman a 64-62 lead with under four minutes remaining.
 
The game was knotted at 67-67 with under one minute to go when Pegues beat the shot clock with a three from the top of the key to give Furman the lead again and the Nashville, Tenn., native converted on two foul shots following a defensive rebound to put the Paladins up 72-67 with 45 seconds left. Jaden Campbell buried a triple to pull Samford within three two points and Marshall stole PJay Smith's inbounds pass and was fouled driving to the basket.
 
After Marshall hit two free throws to even the game, Furman ran down the clock and Pegues attempted an off-balance trey from the right wing. Samford rebounded the miss with seven seconds to go and Marshall went coast-to-coast to convert the go-ahead layup with just over two seconds on the clock. Pegues' desperation three near halfcourt missed as time expired.
 
Rylan Jones drained four threes to pace Samford with 17 points while Marshall finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Nathan Johnson tallied 13 points and Campbell added 12 for the Bulldogs.
 
Samford (24-4, 13-2 SoCon) shot 48.1% from the field, converted on 15-of-19 trips to the charity stripe, and finished with 23 points off 14 Furman turnovers.
 
Pegues was joined in double figures by Garrett Hien who posted 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists. The Paladins shot 43.6% and went 15-of-20 at the foul line.
 
Furman began the game 0-for-9 from behind the arc as Samford hit four triples to race out to a 14-4 lead. The Paladins rallied to trim the deficit to just two points twice in the first half before a late run helped the Bulldogs build a 30-21 advantage. Garrett Hien answered with a pair of free throws and JP Pegues buried a three from deep on the right win at the buzzer to bring Furman within four points at intermission.
 
The Paladins (15-13, 9-6 SoCon) return to Timmons Arena on Saturday to host the Wofford Terriers at 2 p.m.