CofC Wins SoCon Battle against Furman, 67-55

Saturday, January 13

John Kresse Arena

6 p.m.

College of Charleston

Furman

1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: CofCSports.com

Dontaye Draper's 20 points and David Lawrence's 15 points, six rebounds and career-high four blocks lifted the College of Charleston to a crucial SoCon victory over Furman, 67-55, before 3,687 at the John Kresse Arena on Saturday.

With the win, Charleston improves to 11-7 overall and 4-2 in the SoCon, while Furman drops to 7-9 ad 1-4 in the SoCon.

The Paladins started the game quickly on offense and a three-pointer by Robby Bostain 5:02 into the first half gave Furman the lead, 14-6. The Cougars responded with a 9-5 run that was culminated with a lay-up by Draper with 11:27 left in the first half. However, Furman was able to keep their lead by finishing the half outscoring Charleston, 17-16. The Paladins went into halftime with a 36-31 lead.

For the first half, Furman shot 39.4 percent (13-33) from the field and made six out of 13 three-pointers. Charleston shot 36.9 percent (11-30) from the field and made four out of 12 three-point attempts.

The Cougars were able to gain its first lead of the game with a Josh Jackson jumper with 11:23 left in the second half to make the score, 46-44, in favor of CofC. The two teams traded baskets and a free throw from Lawrence with 8:26 left in the game tied the score for the sixth time, 49-49. However, a crucial three-pointer by Philip McCandies with 6:49 left propelled CofC on a 15-6 run to end the game.

Overall, Charleston shot 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field and made six out of 21 three-pointers. Furman shot 32.8 percent (21-64) from the field and made eight out of 25 three-point field goals. Charleston had more rebounds than Furman, 41-38.

Charleston made a season-high 19 free-throws out of 26 attempts in the game, while Furman made five out of six free throws. Furman had more turnovers than CofC, 12-11.

For the Cougars, Jackson also contributed 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds in the victory. Philip McCandies had a game-high ten rebounds for CofC, which was his sixth double-figure rebounding game of the season.

Moussa Diagne led Furman in scoring with a game-high 24 points with a team-high eight rebounds. Bostain finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Paladins.

Both teams will return to action on Jan. 15, with the Cougars facing Georgia Southern at the John Kresse Arena at 7 p.m. on CSS. Furman next game will be at home against Wofford in Greenville, S.C., beginning at 7 p.m.