ROCK HILL, S.C. -
Mari Jordan scored 22 points in his Bethune-Cookman debut, but it was not enough, as Furman held on for a narrow 79-70 win over the Wildcats at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
Despite trailing by as many as 15, the Wildcats fought to keep within striking distance. But, three-point shooting proved to be the difference as the Paladins outscored B-CU 36-24 from beyond the arc in a nine-point victory.
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1st Half
The first six minutes went back-and-forth, with both teams exchanging one-possession leads. But, it was Furman (1-0) who went on a big scoring run to take a big lead.
After a tie game at 10, the Paladins went on an 18-4 scoring run to go up 28-14 with 6:35 remaining. The Wildcats (0-1) prevented the lead from stretching further, but Furman still brought at 11-point advantage into the locker room.
B-CU shot just 37% in the half, but were able to hang around due to a dominant 14-2 edge in the paint. Radford transfer Mari Jordan finished with 14 of the Wildcats' 28 first-half points.
Charles Johnston had 14 to lead the way for Furman.
2nd Half
Bethune-Cookman slowly clawed away at the deficit to begin the second outscoring the Paladins 22-11 during the opening seven minutes to tie the game at 50.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats were unable to push things further as Furman would quickly rebound with an 12-2 run to go back up by double-digits.
B-CU would again put the pressure on with a 7-0 run getting them back within three, but the Paladins closed out the game with an 8-2 burst to close out the season-opening victory.
The shooting was much improved for the Wildcats in the second half (48% from the field and 6-for-12 from beyond the arc). They also had six more shot attempts than Furman.
However, the Paladins finished the game with 14 more free-throw attempts, converting at a 76.7% clip. And in the second, they outscored the Wildcats in the paint 16-14.
- Mari Jordan (22 points) was the only Wildcat to reach double figures in scoring.
- Daniel Johnson and Vuk Boskovic each had six rebounds to lead the team.
- Boskovic, Jameel Morris, and Kevin Patton Jr. had two steals each. Patton also had two blocks.
- Charles Johnston led the Paladins with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Tom House finished just behind at 22.
- Luka Toews had seven assists.
Bethune-Cookman heads out on a tough road trip, beginning Thurdsay at Texas Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST.
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