The threes were falling tonight as the Paladins wiped out the Samford Bulldogs on their way to their fifth straight victory. After leading by two at halftime, Samford tied the game at 45 shortly into the second half. The next bucket was the first of four second-half threes for Tom House, and the Paladins never relinquished the lead again.
There were many standout performances that put the Dins just one made three short of the conference tournament record. Nick Anderson pulled his weight in the first half and finished with 26 points on a blistering 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. PJay Smith was not to be outdone, finishing with 24 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals. He gave up only 2 turnovers against the vaunted Samford press. In fact, Furman forced an incredible 20 turnovers against the Bulldogs, shutting down any comeback attempt. Finally, Tom House was dominant off the bench, going 6-of-7 from three, for 21 points off the bench.
The defense and bench production has been a harbinger of Furman’s success, especially on this latest five game winning streak. The Dins will try to keep it up on a quick turnaround against the number one team in the league. Furman takes on Chattanooga on Sunday at 4:00 PM in the SoCon semifinals.