Spartans Behind Strong 2nd Half, Edge Furman
Final: UNC-Greensboro 79 Furman 68
January 3rd, 2024
Greensboro, NC- On Wednesday night the Furman Paladins (6-8, 0-1) made the trip up to Greensboro Coliseum in a critical early Southern Conference Matchup to take on the host UNC-Greensboro Spartans (10-4, 1-0). The short-handed Paladins entered the game without their 3 leading scorers yet were able to maintain the lead throughout the first ten minutes of the game. Furman utilized a 1-3-1 zone to keep the host Spartans contained mostly in the half court offensively which kept the score close despite the missing Paladins. North Carolina native Carter Whitt led the Paladins early with 5 points to give the Paladins a 21-18 lead at the under 8 media timeout.
The Spartans would respond with a 10-0 run to take the lead 28-23 with 5:36 left in the first half. The Spartans were paced by Keyshaun Langley with 7 early points. Donovan Atwell added 9 more to push the Spartan lead to 31-24. the lead grew to 8 at 33-25 at the under 4 media timeout with 3:59 left in the first half. Tyrese Hughey brought the Paladins back to within 4 at 34-30 with 2:49 left in the half. After a basket plus the foul from Cooper Bowser, the Paladins cut the lead to 1 at 34-33. The Paladins would trail 37-33 at the half after cutting the lead down to 2 before a last second tip in by the Spartans.
Furman ended the first half shooting 35% from the field but shot just 3-15 from the 3 point line. Carter Whitt had 11 first half points to lead the Paladins and Donovan Atwell was right behind him with 9. Jalen Breath led the Paladins with 6 first half rebounds. Total rebounds were fairly even with the Spartans holding a 23-22 advantage. Fast break points and points in the paint were also won by the Spartans which helped pace them to the first half lead.
The second half began much like the beginning of the first half with a quicker pace to the first 2 minutes. The Spartans were able to extend their lead to 51-40 at the under 4 media timeout. UNCG was able to maintain their lead throughout the first 8 minutes of the second half as they continued to attack the Paladins in the paint winning that matchup 28-14 with 12 minutes left in the second half. The Spartans continued to push the lead up to 14 at 69-55. The Spartans shot a blistering 6-7 from the 3 point line to start the second half. The lead was 69-55 at the under 8 timeout. Carter Whitt led the Spartans with 22 total points and PJ Smith had 14. The Spartans had 4 players in double figures led by Mikeal Brown-Jones with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
The Paladins cut the lead to 9 on a 3 point shot by PJ Smith but the Spartans strong second half 3 point shooting kept the Paladins at bay for much of the second half. The Spartans would finish the game shooting 50% from the 3 point line.
