Charleston, S.C. – The College of Charleston held off a furious second-half rally to edge Furman, 89-83, in exhibition men's basketball Sunday afternoon at TD Arena.
The Paladins, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half, outscored the Cougars 22-7 over a stretch of six minutes late in the second half to trim a 77-60 deficit to 84-82 on a pair of free throws from
Charles Johnston with 1:45 to play. Furman's defense got a stop of CofC's next possession and
Cameron Elwer got a look at a potential go-ahead three, but the shot missed, and Charleston's Martin Kalu scored in the paint with 52 seconds left to double the lead.
After Furman missed on another three-point opportunity, Charleston failed to convert on two free throws. The Cougars, however, claimed the offense rebound off the second miss and Kalu went 1-for-2 at the line to up the margin to five points.
Abijah Franklin answered by hitting 1-of-2 at the line with 15.6 seconds remaining, but CofC's Tavari Johnson drained a pair of free throws on the other end of the floor with 13 seconds to go to seal the verdict.
The Cougars, who shot 52.5% from the floor on the afternoon and connected on 11-of-24 triples, shot a blistering 59.4% in the first half, including an 8-for-13 effort from behind the arc, to build a 52-39 lead at the break. Ben Bradford led the Cougars with 15 points and Eli Ellis scored 13. Max Green and Xavier Abreu tallied 12 points apiece and Braden Pierce added 11.
Franklin paced the Paladins with 21 points despite a 0-for-6 afternoon from three-point range. He added four rebounds and four assists. Johnston notched his second double-double of the preseason with 20 points and 12 rebounds while
Marcus Kell added 10 points.
The Paladins turned the ball over just nine times and feasted on 17 Cougar miscues to hold a 24-6 advantage in points off turnovers. Charleston held a 42-39 edge on the glass, but Furman finished with 18 offensive boards to fashion a 21-20 margin in second-chance points.
Furman opens regular season play on Monday, November 2, in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon when it takes on Bethune-Cookman in Rock Hill, S.C.
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