Greenville, S.C. – Justin Neely posted a double-double with a game-high 24 points and UNC Greensboro held off a late rally to down Furman, 67-64, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Sunday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
 
The loss dropped the Paladins to 16-9 overall and 7-5 in the SoCon. UNCG prevailed for the fifth straight time in Greenville to improve its record to 10-15 overall and 6-6 in the league.
 
Furman trailed throughout the second half but trimmed the double-digit down to one point on Alex Wilkins free throw with 2:01 to play. Furman forced a miss on UNCG's next possession; however, the Paladins turned the ball over and the Spartans' Noah Norgaard followed a 30-second timeout by draining a three-pointer from the left wing with 47 seconds left to push the margin back to 65-61. 
 
Wilkins answered with a pair of free throws for the Paladins to pull within two at 65-63 and Charles Johnston rebounded a Spartan miss with 13 seconds to go. Cooper Bowser, who poured in a team-high 20 points for Furman, drew a foul after receiving a pass in the paint. The junior stepped to the line and made the first free throw but missed the second opportunity. Neely pushed the UNCG lead to 67-64 on two free throws with six seconds remaining and Wilkins double clutch three-pointer missed at the buzzer to allow the Spartans to escape with the win and earn a regular season split versus the Paladins.
 
UNCG shot just 41.5% but connected on 10-of-19 three-point attempts and scored 16 points off 11 Furman turnovers. Neely went 8-for-14 from the field and pulled down 13 boards to lead both teams in scoring and rebounding while Norgaard and Donald Whitehead Jr. added 11 points apiece.
 
Furman shot 43.4% from the field and converted on 13-of-17 trips to the charity stripe, but the Paladins connected on just 5-of-19 three-pointers. Head coach Bob Richey's team posted a 36-32 rebounding edge and outscored UNCG 32-18 in the paint.
 
Wilkins scored 15 points to join Bowser in double figures and dished out five assists. Asa Thomas scored nine points in his first action since January 10.
 
The Paladins held a 17-14 lead early in the game before UNCG finished the first half on a 25-15 run to carry a 39-32 lead into the locker room. The Spartans stretched their advantage to 10 points in the early moments of the second half.
 
Furman travels to Macon, Ga., to face the Mercer Bears on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
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