Furman Men’s Basketball falls short in final seconds at Princeton
The Furman Paladins hit the road on Saturday afternoon to face the undefeated Princeton Tigers in non-conference play.
The Paladins (4-4) controlled the contest for the majority of its duration, but the Tigers (8-0) found a way to win it, coming back from a deficit that reached 9 points with only 3 minutes remaining.
Following a missed layup by Princeton guard Xaivan Lee as the game clock ticked under 10 seconds, Tiger forward Caden Pierce grabbed the offensive board and hurled the ball back to a waiting Matt Allococo who pumped, dribbled once, then set his feet and nailed a three from a step outside the arc over a rapidly closing Paladin defender to complete the comeback and put Princeton up for good. The Paladins quickly inbounded the ball and ran the floor, allowing Furman guard JP Pegues to throw up a prayer from 27 feet that rolled off the back of the rim, leaving Princeton the victors by a 70-69 final margin.
Senior starting forward Garrett Hien led the Paladins with 16 points and 8 rebounds on 7-9 shooting, while preseason all-Socon guard JP Pegues added 14 points and a team high 5 assists on 5-12 shooting, including a 2-6 mark from three point range.
Lee poured in 24 points on 7-19 shooting for the Tigers while Pierce recorded a double double with 22 points and 15 boards. Matt Allococo was the hero of the day for Princeton, rattling home the game winning three point shot, his only conversion from deep in the contest.
The road through a monstrous non-conference schedule won’t get any easier for the Paladins as they travel to face Arkansas in Fayetteville on Monday evening.
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