Conway, S.C. (Furman SID) – Wyoming built a 17-point second half lead and held off a late Furman charge to down the Paladins, 78-71, on the final day of the Myrtle Beach Invitational Sunday morning at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C.
The Cowboys (4-1) carried a 37-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. After Furman hit two free throws to open the second half, Wyoming reeled off an 11-0 run, including eight points from Sam Griffin, to open up a 48-31 lead with 17:22 remaining.
Furman trailed 62-50 with under 7:30 to play before junior JP Pegues scored eight consecutive points, culminating with a four-point play with 6:10 left to trim the Wyoming lead to 62-58. Pegues converted on two trips to the foul line with 1:40 on the clock to pull Furman within three points at 70-67, but Brendan Wenzel drilled a triple on Wyoming’s next possession and Caden Powell followed a missed three by the Paladins with a pair of free throws to put the Cowboys in front 75-67 with 1:14 to go. Furman got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Wyoming shot 47.5% from the field and connected on 12-of-25 three-point attempts for the game while Furman shot just 41.5%, due in large part to an 8-for-34 shooting effort behind the arc.
Griffin paced all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting and guard Akuel Kot added 20 points. Wenzel and Powell rounded out the Cowboys’ double figure scorers with 13 points apiece.
Pegues led Furman with 22 points while Marcus Foster totaled 18 to become the Myrtle Beach Invitational’s all-time scoring leader with 78 combined points over three games. Foster was also selected to the all-tournament team on Sunday afternoon. Carter Whitt finished with nine points and seven assists for the Paladins.
Furman (3-2) is back in action on Saturday, November 25, when it visits UAB.
