Greenville, S.C. – UNC Greensboro limited Furman to a season-low 50 points on 26.8% shooting as the Spartans escaped with a 58-50 victory over the Paladins in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
With the victory, UNCG improved to 18-9 overall and remained in first place in the league standings at 11-3. Furman dropped to 19-8 on the season and 7-7 in conference play.
Trailing 37-27 with 15 minutes to go, Furman reeled off 10 straight points to even the game at 37-37 on
Tyrese Hughey's three-point play with 10:57 to go. The Spartans answered with a 9-0 run of their own, capped by a three-point play from Ronald Polite III to restore a 46-37 advantage with under 7:30 to play.
Furman continued to face a nine-point deficit at 51-42 with under three minutes left when
Nick Anderson converted on a three-point play in the paint and
PJay Smith Jr. drained a triple to trim the margin to three points with two minutes on the clock. UNCG provided one final answer as Kenyon Giles hit on an elbow jumper and Donovan Atwell drained a three on the following possession to push the Spartans' lead to 56-48 and put the game out of reach with 1:10 remaining.
Giles finished with a game-high 19 points and dished out four assists while Polite added 15 points, five boards, and five assists. The Spartans shot just 39.3% but outscored the Paladins 26-10 in the paint and managed a 9-5 advantage in second-chance points despite being out-rebounded on the offensive end 13-8.
Smith led the Paladins with 17 points on 3-of-8 shooting behind the arc and a 6-for-6 performance at the foul line. Anderson totaled 16 points and
Tom House added 10.
Furman compiled a 40-39 edge on the glass but hit on just 15-of-56 field goal attempts, including an 8-for-30 effort from three-point range. The loss marked the first time in 12 games this season that Furman held the opposition below 40% shooting but came out on the losing end.
The Paladins hit the road on Wednesday night when they visit the Samford Bulldogs. Tip-off at the Pete Hanna Center is set for 7:30 p.m. ET
