Charleston, S.C. – Furman erased an eight-point deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation and made 15-of-18 free throw attempts after halftime to edge The Citadel, 67-63, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Wednesday evening at McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C.
 
The come-from-behind win improved the Paladins, who have played eight of their last 11 games on the road, to 14-2 overall and 2-1 in the SoCon. The Citadel dropped to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in the league.
 
Trailing 51-43, Furman turned up the defensive pressure and switched to a one-three-one defense to change the tide of the game down the stretch. Three straight turnovers led to a pair of Ben VanderWal free throws, a Cooper Bowser layup and a PJay Smith Jr. three-pointer to cut The Citadel's cushion to 51-50. Furman's defense held the Bulldogs without a field goal for over seven minutes and finally regained the lead when Anderson connected on 2-of-3 trips to the charity stripe with 3:07 to play.
 
Anderson hit on two more free throws to up the Paladin lead to three points, but The Citadel ended its drought with five straight points from Sola Adebisi to even the game at 56-56 with 1:10 to go. After the teams traded baskets, Anderson's three was blocked and Smith was whistled with a foul. The Paladins, however, got a stop on the defensive end and VanderWal got a look at a mid-range jumper at the buzzer, only to see his shot rim out as time expired.
 
VanderWal made four straight free throws to open overtime and the Furman defense limited The Citadel to 0-for-5 shooting from three while the Bulldogs went 1-for-9 from the foul line in the extra period. Furman led 65-60 with under 30 seconds to play before the Bulldogs trimmed the margin to 65-63, but Smith sealed the victory with two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining to lift the Paladins to their sixth true road win of the season. All told, Furman held The Citadel to just 12 points over the final 13 minutes of the game to win in overtime at McAlister Field House for the second straight time.
 
Anderson paced the Paladins with a game-high 23 points while Bowser notched his second double-double with 13 points and career-best 14 rebounds. Smith added 13 points and career-high four steals. VanderWal finished with eight points on a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line and added nine rebounds.
 
Furman shot just 36.7% from the field, including 8-for-29 from three, but the Paladins turned 18 Bulldog turnovers into 26 points and fashioned a 45-38 rebounding edge. The Citadel shot 39.6% from the floor, but the Bulldogs converted on just 15-of-32 free throw attempts.
 
The Paladins led 30-19 at the half before Cam Glover poured in 12 of his 20 points to key the 23-5 run that gave the Bulldogs a 42-35 advantage on Colby McAllister's triple with 13:01 to play. Glover scored seven of The Citadel's 14 consecutive points to turn a 35-28 Furman lead into a seven-point Bulldog advantage.
 
Furman built its 30-19 halftime advantage behind 15 first-half points from Anderson and a 6-for-12 shooting performance from three-point range in the period. The Paladins held The Citadel to 36.8% shooting over the opening 20 minutes and did not surrender a point in the final 4:52 of the half.
 
Glover led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Adebisi and Brody Fox reached double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
The Paladins begin a three-game homestand when they host Wofford in the SoCon home opener at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. and tickets are on sale now at FurmanPaladins.com.