Greenville, S.C. – Marcus Kell scored seven of his team-high 16 points in overtime to help Western Carolina edge Furman, 80-77, in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
 
The loss snapped Furman's six-game winning streak and dropped the Paladins to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the SoCon. Western Carolina improved to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in the league.
 
Tied at 65-65 at the end of regulation, Kell scored seven points as the Catamounts opened the overtime period with an 11-3 run to build a 76-68 advantage. After three Asa Thomas free throws trimmed the margin to five points, Julien Soumaoro connected on a jumper with 40 seconds to go to restore the Catamounts' seven-point lead. 
 
Following a Tom House layup and Paladin timeout, Furman's fullcourt pressure produced back-to-back steals and layups from Charles Johnston and Alex Wilkins to cut the WCU lead to 78-77 with 23 seconds to go. Cord Stansberry drew a foul on the next inbounds pass against the Paladins' pressure and converted on two free throws to give Western Carolina an 80-77 edge. After advancing the ball into the frontcourt, Furman called timeout with under seven seconds left. Furman got the ball to Wilkins on the final possession but his off balance three-pointer from the left wing came up short.
 
Kell hit 7-of-14 shots to post 16 points while Soumaoro also totaled 16 to lead the Catamounts. Stansberry finished with 15 points and Tidjiane Dioumassi added 12 for a Catamount squad that buried 10-of-20 three-point tries and grabbed 17 rebounds to fashion an 18-9 advantage in second chance points. Soumaoro led Western Carolina with eight boards to propel the Catamounts to a 48-35 rebounding margin.
 
Furman trailed 38-30 at the half and faced a five-point deficit in the final six minutes before a House triple and back-to-back baskets in the paint from Wilkins gave the Paladins a 60-58 lead with 4:16 to go. Western Carolina tied the game on a basket by Soumaoro with 2:15 to go and both teams had chances to pull ahead in regulation. Furman got the ball with under 25 seconds remaining and a chance to win the game, but Thomas could not convert on a triple from the right corner.
 
Furman managed to shoot 45%, including an 11-for-32 effort behind the arc, and outscored the Catamounts 34-28 in the paint. The Paladins turned the ball over just 10 times, but Western Carolina scored 16 points of the miscues and Furman shot just 47% (8-17) at the foul line.
 
Wilkins finished with a game-high 24 points while Johnston registered 14 points. Vander Wal scored 11 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists.
 
Furman returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to face the Chattanooga Mocs in a nationally televised matchup on CBS Sports Network. Tip-off at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn., is set for 5 p.m. Western Carolina visits Samford on Wednesday night.


 
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