Greenville, S.C. – Furman raced out to a 44-11 halftime lead and cruised to an 85-42 victory over The Citadel in Wednesday's regular season home finale for the Paladins at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
With the victory, Furman improved to 22-8 overall and 10-7 in league play. It marks the seventh time in the last nine seasons that Furman has reached the 22-win plateau. The win also clinched a first-round bye for the Paladins at the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship, which is set for March 7-10 at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville in Asheville, N.C. The Citadel dropped to 5-23 overall and 0-17 in the SoCon.
Furman held the Bulldogs without a made field goal until the 11:38 mark of the first half while building an early 16-2 lead. The opening field goal turned out to be one of just four in the half for The Citadel as Furman's defense held the Bulldogs to 4-for-26 shooting from the floor over the opening 20 minutes to fashion its 44-11 halftime advantage.
The Paladins outscored The Citadel 23-11 over the first nine minutes of the second half to increase its lead to 45 points at 67-22. Furman finished the game shooting 52.5% from the field, including 15-of-33 from long range.
Tom House and
PJay Smith Jr. paced the Paladins with 19 points apiece while
Garrett Hien scored 14 to reach 1,000 points for his career. House nailed all six of his three-point attempts to become just the third player in school history to record a perfect night behind the arc on five or more attempts.
The Paladins posted a season-low opponents' field goal percentage by holding the Bulldogs to 25% shooting, including just 5-for-24 from three-point range. Furman outscored the Bulldogs 17-2 in transition and 28-14 in the paint.
Brody Fox led The Citadel with 14 points.
The 42 points allowed marked the fewest given up by a Paladin squad during the
Bob Richey era and the fewest allowed to a SoCon opponent since limiting Western Carolina to 37 in an 85-37 victory during the 2016-17 campaign.
Furman concludes the regular season on Saturday with a 2 p.m. showdown versus the Wofford Terriers at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
