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Western Carolina holds off Furman
Western Carolina let an 18-point lead slip away but recovered to claim an 85-76 Southern Conference men’s basketball victory over Furman on Jan. 30.
A Ramsey Center crowd of 1,327 saw Negus McKenna score 24 points while hitting seven of nine three-pointers. Antonio Russell added 18 points for the Catamounts followed by Corey Muirhead with 16 and David Berghoefer with 10.
Western Carolinas Negus McKenna scored 24 points while hitting seven of nine three-pointers in last week’s 85-76 Southern Conference win over Furman. – WCU photo by Mark Haskett
Eric Webb paced the Paladins with 21 points. Also in double figures were Bobby Bostain with 17 and Moussa Diagne with 12.
After trailing throughout the game, Furman used a 15-3 run, including five by Jadee Jones, to take a 61-57 advantage on Webb’s free throw at the 10:24 mark.
The game went back and forth until Berghoefer hit a foul shot giving the Cats the lead for good, 71-70, with four minutes remaining.
Trey Hopkins’ layup upped the margin to 77-72 at the 1:02 mark.
Western put the game away by going eight-of-eight from the foul line, including a six-of-six showing by Russell.
WCU built a 34-17 lead with 8:42 to go in the half following a 20-3 spurt, including a trio of three-pointers by McKenna.
The margin reached 42-24 after Russell’s jumper with 4:21 on the clock.
Furman climbed back in contention with a 12-2 run, including five each by Webb and Bostain, making it 44-36 at the 1:47 mark.
The Cats were on top 46-38 at intermission.
WCU shot 50.9 percent from the floor while the Paladins made 45.9 percent of their field goal tries.
Berghoefer’s 12 rebounds helped the Cats to a 38-27 advantage on the boards. Diagne led Furman with five.
Both teams took care of the ball and committed just nine turnovers.
Completing the WCU scoring were Eric Wilson with eight, Hopkins with six and Kyle Greathouse with three.
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