Greenville, S.C. – Furman rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to pull even in the final minutes, but Troy's Cooper Campbell and Victor Valdes converted on back-to-back baskets to help the Trojans escape Timmons Arena with a 64-61 win in the Paladins' home opener on Friday night.
 
With the game tied at 55-55 following Cooper Bowser's alley-oop slam with 3:32 remaining, Furman's defense produced three consecutive stops to give the Paladins a chance to grab their first lead of the night. Troy, however, forced turnovers on two of the next three possessions with the Paladins' third chance ending in a missed second-chance opportunity. Campbell gave the Trojans the lead on a drive to the basket with 1:19 to go and Valdes buried a triple from the top of the key on Troy's next possession to give his team a 60-55 advantage with 31 seconds left.
 
Furman's Asa Thomas and Charles Johnston each connected on triples in the final 12.1 seconds, but Theo Seng and Thomas Dowd each converted on a pair of free throws to seal the verdict as Troy moved to 2-0 and Furman dropped to 0-2 on the season.
 
The Trojans shot just 41% on the night but scored 22 points off 17 Furman turnovers and netted 16 points in transition. Campbell paced Troy with 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting behind the arc while Valdes and Dowd added 11 points apiece.
 
Furman was held to 39% shooting on the night. After going 3-for-11 behind the arc in the first half, the Paladins hit on 6-of-13 three-point tries over the final 20 minutes to outscore the Trojans 38-28 in the second half.
 
Freshman Alex Wilkins led Furman with 16 points and redshirt sophomore Eddrin Bronson came off the bench to ignite the Paladins' rally down the stretch with 15 points. Bowser finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Johnston hauled down a game-high 10 boards.
 
Troy jumped out to a 15-3 lead and shot 50% in the first half to fashion a 36-23 advantage at the break. The Trojans pushed the margin to 42-27 on Campbell's triple with 16:57 left. An 11-0 spurt midway through the second half, featuring a pair of threes from Bronson, got the Paladins within two points at 44-42 before Bowser knotted the game for the first time on his dunk with under four minutes left.
 
The Paladins are back in Timmons Arena on Monday night when they host the Columbia International Rams. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Click here to purchase tickets.
 
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