Greenville, S.C. – ETSU held Furman to a 6-for-33 effort from three-point range, including 2-for-15 in the second half, to down the Paladins, 78-69, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.
 
The league-leading Buccaneers improved to 20-8 overall and 12-3 in the SoCon by completing the regular season sweep of the Paladins. Furman dropped its fourth game in its last five outings to fall to 17-11 overall and 8-7 in conference play.
 
After Furman outscored the Bucs 11-7 over the first 5:30 of the second half to grab a 45-41 lead, ETSU connected on seven consecutive shots, including five straight from three-point range, to reel off a 20-4 run that ultimately decided the game. Jaylen Smith scored back-to-back buckets to even the score before Milton Matthews' triple put the Bucs in front 48-45. Alex Wilkins' layup got Furman back within one point, but Matthews and Cam Morris III drained consecutive threes and Matthews and Isaiah Sutherland followed a pair off Furman free throws with another set of back-to-back triples to extended the ETSU margin to 61-49 with 9:26 remaining.
 
Furman trimmed the margin back to single digits, but ETSU connected on six free throws in the final 2:45 and Matthews added his fourth triple of the half to hold off the Paladins.
 
Matthews finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three while Brian Taylor added 17 points and Morris scored 12. The Bucs, 44.8% from the field on the night, shot 50% (12-24) from behind the arc, including 7-for-11 in the second half.
 
Wilkins paced the Paladins with 21 points, Asa Thomas scored 13, and Charles Johnston recorded his 10^th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Vander Wal added a game-high 11 boards as Furman secured a 39-38 edge on the glass. The Paladins shot just 35% from the floor and 18.2% from three-point range.
 
Wilkins scored 12 of his 21 points in the first half and the Paladins converted on 10-of-12 free throws over the first 20 minutes to erase an early 25-19 deficit and go to the locker room knotted at 34-34.
 
Furman returns to the road on Saturday when it visits Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., to take on the Wofford Terriers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.  and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
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