Greenville, S.C. – Sophomore
Abijah Franklin scored a team-high 20 points and Furman pulled down 25 offensive rebounds en route to an 85-78 exhibition victory over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
The Paladin defense limited the Eagles to 29% shooting, including a 4-for-14 effort from three-point range, in the first half to carry a 37-32 advantage into the break. Six different Paladins scored during a 27-11 spurt in the second half that increased the Paladins' lead to 67-49 on back-to-back slams from
Cole Bowser and Franklin with under nine minutes to play.
Georgia Southern responded by outscoring the Paladins 22-8 over the next six minutes to trim the margin to 75-71 on Truman Claytor IV's triple with 2:28 left, but
Marcus Kell answered with consecutive three-pointers to help the Paladins hold off the late charge.
Franklin was just 6-of-20 from the floor but connected on 7-of-9 trips to the foul line to reach 20 points. Bowser added 12 points and eight rebounds while Kell finished with 11 points.
Furman shot 38.4% from the field and converted on 17-of-23 trips to the foul line. The Paladins posted a 53-38 rebounding edge and totaled 22 points off 17 Georgia Southern turnovers.
Claytor paced the Eagles with 25 points and Dallas Gardner added 24. Georgia Southern shot 38.1% from the field despite making good on just 7-of-27 threes.
Furman returns to action on Sunday, October 25, with a 4 p.m. exhibition at College of Charleston.
Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases.
