Greenville, S.C. (Furman SID) – Furman raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half en route to its fourth straight win over Wofford, 80-67, before a crowd of 6,199 on Saturday evening at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville, S.C.
 
The Paladins, winners of six straight, improved to 19-6 overall and maintained a share of first place in the Southern Conference at 10-2. Wofford fell to 13-12 overall and 5-7 in league play.
 
Furman scored the first eight points of the game, including six from Jalen Slawson, and built a 42-23 lead before carrying a 42-25 advantage into halftime. The Paladins shot 52.9% and connected on six triples in the first half.
 
Wofford opened the second half with eight straight points to trim the Paladin lead to 42-33, but Furman’s Alex Williams capped a 10-2 run with a trey from the wing to stretch the margin to 52-35 with 15:29 to go. The Terriers made a late run to pull within 70-60 before Garrett Hien drained a triple from the top of the key, and Williams stole the ball near midcourt and finished with a two-handed jam to put the game away.
 
Slawson, the SoCon’s Player of the Month for January, paced the Paladins with 16 points and nine rebounds while Williams connected on 6-of-10 shots to post 15 points. Sophomore JP Pegues added 13 points and seven assists, and fifth-year senior Mike Bothwell rounded out Furman’s double-figure scorers with 10.
 
The Paladins, who committed just six turnovers, forced Wofford into 15 miscues to outscore the Terriers 21-4 on points off turnovers. Furman fashioned a 35-30 edge on the boards and 42-32 scoring margin in the paint.
 
After not attempting a free throw in the opening 20 minutes, Furman went 8-for-9 at the charity stripe in the second half and shot 47% from the field on the night. Wofford shot 50% from the floor but converted on just 58.8% of its trips to the line.
 
B.J Mack contributed 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Terriers. Freshman guard Jackson Paveletzke posted 14 and Amari Tice added 11 off the bench.
 
Saturday’s victory gave Furman its first four-game winning streak over the Terriers since claiming four consecutive wins versus its I-85 rival from 2003-05. The Paladins completed the regular season home-and-home sweep of the Terriers for the second straight year, the first back-to-back sweeps of Wofford since 1970-71.
 
Furman returns to action on Wednesday, February 8, against VMI. Tip-off in Lexington, Va., is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM, 1330 AM, and via the Audacy app.