Furman MBB takes down ETSU on the road after yet another “Mr Clutch Moment” from Pegues
The Furman Paladins Men’s basketball squad traveled to Johnson City, Tennessee to face the ETSU Buccaneers this Saturday evening in a nationally televised contest on CBS Sports Network.
The Paladins (13-12, 7-5) righted the ship after losing their last two games, conquering the Buccaneers (13-12, 5-7) in a tight 65-63 final after two clutch free throws from JP Pegues sealed the deal for Furman.
The two teams traded leads in the first half, first Furman pulling ahead, then ETSU following suit. It was a different tale in the second half, as the Bucs snagged the lead and maintained it for the majority of the 20 minute period. ETSU led by as much as 11 points with about 7 minutes left to play in regulation.
But Furman hasn’t historically been known to quit in games and this contest was no exception to that rule. The Paladins came storming back, evening the game at 61 with about two minutes to play. The final two minutes of the game were an absolute stalemate, as ETSU managed one two point shot to go up 63-61, but Furman answered by hitting two free throws to knot it at 63 with only seconds left to play.
When the game is on the line in the final seconds, there’s one man Furman typically turns too, and that’s Mr Clutch himself, JP Pegues. Given the ball with time ticking down, Pegues was able to make something happen as he was fouled and sent to the line for two free throws with 1.8 seconds left. Pegues knocked down both free throws and the ETSU heave fell short, leaving the Paladins the victors.
Pegues led the Paladins with 15 points while Marcus Foster added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
5 players passed the double digit scoring mark for the Buccaneers as Jadyn Parker (13), Jaden Seymour (12), Quimari Peterson (14), Ebby Asamoah (11), and Allen Strothers (10) combined to account for 60 of ETSU’s 63 points.
The Paladins will return to action on Wednesday at home in Timmons Arena against VMI in Valentine’s day Southern Conference action.
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