Greenville, S.C. – Freshman Alex Wilkins tallied a career-high 33 points to power Furman to a 75-70 Southern Conference victory over Chattanooga Sunday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
 
With its third straight victory, Furman improved to 16-7 overall and 7-3 in the conference. Chattanooga dropped to 9-14 overall and 3-7 in league play. 
 
Wilkins, a native of Mattapan, Mass., went 10-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-8 behind the arc, and converted on 7-of-8 free throw attempts to become the first Paladin freshman to reach 30 points since Jason Stewart netted 30 at Clemson on December 16, 1995. His 33 points marked the second most ever for a Furman rookie, trailing only Jonathan Moore's 34 versus Georgia on December 15, 1976.
 
After Chattanooga scored the game's first basket, Furman reeled off a 29-5 run to open a 29-7 advantage on Eddrin Bronson's pair of free throws with 8:12 left in the first half. Furman extended the margin to 36-12 before carrying a 42-23 lead into the locker room.
 
Teddy Washington Jr. scored 11 points in a 13-0 run by Chattanooga early in the second half to trim a 49-30 deficit down to 49-43 with 13:24 to play. Furman maintained a six to 10-point advantage until the final minute when Jordan Frison's jumper cut the lead to 68-64, but Wilkins connected on 5-of-6 free throw attempts in the final 42 seconds and Bronson drained a pair of chances at the charity stripe with less than 13 seconds remaining to close out the victory.
 
Furman shot 50% from the field and totaled 18 assists on 25 baskets en route to securing the regular season home-and-home sweep of the Mocs. The Paladins connected on 9-of-20 three-point tries, outscored the Mocs 30-26 in the paint, and finished 16-of-21 at the foul line.
 
Bronson posted nine points while Cooper Bowser scored nine in hist first action since suffering an injury at Manhattan on December 18. Ben Vander Wal added seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Brennan Watkins' 19 points paced Chattanooga and Washington finished with 16. The Mocs shot only 41%, including 28% from three-point range, but got 35 points from their bench to keep the game close down the stretch.
 
Furman travels Johnson City, Tenn., to face East Tennessee State on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall before returning home to take on UNC Greensboro on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 8.
 
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