Dec. 29, 2007

Box Score

Moraga, Calif. - Freshman Justin Dehm poured in a career-high 23 points and Furman converted 14-of-24 second half free throw attempts to edge Howard 67-62 in the consolation game of the 2007 Shamrock Classic Saturday night at McKeon Pavilion on the St. Mary's College campus.

The win, Furman's first of the year, snapped the Paladins' 12-game skid and closed out a seven-game road trip with a third place finish at the four-team tournament.

Dehm netted 15 first half points and Furman buried five first period treys to build a 32-31 lead at intermission despite the Bison shooting 75.0% (12-16) from the floor. Trailing 30-23 with 4:31 remaining in the half, Darryl Evans' three-point play helped key a 9-1 spurt that gave Furman a 32-31 lead at the break.

Furman (1-11) continued the run in the second half outscoring the Bison 11-2 over the first five minutes to build its biggest lead of the game at 43-33 with 14:41 left. Kandi Mukole connected on a three-pointer to end Howard's stretch of just one field goal in 9:12. Mukole and Kyle Riley traded buckets as the Bison trimmed Furman's lead to 43-42 with 11:27 left.

George Brozos, who tallied all 12 of his points after the break, answered with a trey to up the lead to four and Alex Opacic followed with a layup to increase the advantage to 48-42. The Bison cut the lead back to two points with under seven minutes remaining, but Dehm answered with a jumper and two free throws to up the margin back to six. Furman kept Howard at bay, converting 10-of-16 free throw attempts over the final four minutes to secure the victory.

Dehm finished the game 8-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-7 beyond the arc. Opacic connected on 3-of-7 field goal attempts and 5-of-8 free throws to join Dehm and Brozos in double figures with 12 points. Furman collected nine steals and forced 23 Howard turnovers leading to 22 points. The Paladins shot 41.7% (20-48) from the field, but connected on 10-of-23 three-pointers and made 17-of-29 free throws on the night. Furman turned the ball over a season-low 10 times.

Howard (3-11) shot 65.7% for the game, but attempted just 35 shots to Furman's 48 attempts. Eugene Myatt paced the Bison with 19 points while adding five rebounds. Riley added 14 points and Mikole chipped in 11 while Adam Walker grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. The Bison made only two three-point field goals on four attempts. Howard held a 28-21 rebounding advantage, but Furman snagged 11 offensive boards.

Furman returns to Southern Conference play Thursday night hosting Western Carolina in a 7 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena. The game marks the first of seven home contests for the Paladins during the month of January.