Dec. 26, 2007
Greenville, S.C. -
The Furman men's basketball team concludes its seven-game road swing with a pair of contests at the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic December 28 and 29, at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California.
Furman (0-10) opens the tournament Friday night against Big West Conference favorite Cal State Fullerton (6-3) with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The Titans are currently ranked No. 25 in the latest College Basketball Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and are averaging 84 points per game. Josh Akognon and Frank Robinson have led Cal State Fullerton averaging 19.0 and 17.1 points per game, respectively. The tournament inaugural marks the first meeting between the two schools.
Furman will face the winner or loser of Friday's second game between the host St. Mary's Gaels (10-1) and the Howard Bison (3-9). St. Mary's is ranked No. 2 in the College Basketball Insider Mid-Major Poll and was picked second behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference preseason poll. Howard, out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has battled early season injuries and dropped four straight games entering the Shamrock Classic. The tournament championship game is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with the consolation game scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Furman continues to ranks as one of the youngest teams in the country with as many as four freshmen in the starting lineup and five rookies in the Paladins' nine-man rotation. Freshman guard Justin Dehm leads the Paladins averaging 9.6 points per game. The Peoria, Ill., native tallied a career-high 22 points in a 71-66 loss to Utah Valley last Friday at the Gossner Foods Holiday Classic in Logan, Utah.
Since joining the starting lineup at the beginning of the month (5 games), freshman Noah States leads Furman averaging 12 points per game. The 6-foot-8 forward is shooting 50.7% from the floor and 50.0% from three-point range. He netted 13 points in the Gossner Foods Classic consolation game to earn all-tournament honors.
Following this weekend's tournament, Furman returns home to host league rival Western Carolina on January 3, at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The Paladins will play seven of their nine contests during the month of January at Timmons Arena.
Furman vs. Cal State Fullerton Notes 
