Charleston Southern Buccaneers vs Furman Paladins Match Player Stats On Dec 11, 2018

Noah Gurley scored 17 points, and No. 23 Furman fended off several challenges for a 77-69 victory over visiting Charleston Southern on Tuesday night in Greenville, S.C.

Alex Hunter and reserve Andrew Brown, who each made four 3-point baskets, finished with 16 points apiece as the Paladins (11-0) continued the best start to a season in school history.

Matt Rafferty's 14 points and 14 rebounds, plus reserve Tre Clark's 11 points also gave a boost to Furman, which became the country's first 11-game winner. The Paladins hold a 17-game regular-season winning streak.

Furman stayed undefeated despite getting a total of three points from Clay Mounce and Jordan Lyons, who entered the game averaging a combined 32.8 points per game. Lyons, who had a scoring average of 20.2 points, was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting from the field.

It was the first home game since the Paladins entered the national rankings last week for the first time in program history. They notched two road victories while holding the No. 25 spot.

Duncan LeXander and Deontaye Buskey scored 13 points apiece and Christian Keeling added 12 points for Charleston Southern (4-5), which dropped to 0-4 in road games.

The Buccaneers climbed within 54-52 with less than 10 minutes to play. However, in a span of 2 1/2 minutes, Clark, Hunter and Gurley bagged 3-point shots as Furman stretched its edge to 68-56 for its largest lead of the game.

Furman led 37-34 at halftime despite shooting only 41.7 percent from the field. A 26-14 rebounding advantage helped make up for that.

Eight of Charleston Southern's 13 first-half field goals were from 3-point range. The Buccaneers made only two second-half 3-pointers.

The teams combined to shoot 0-for-5 on first-half free throws.

Furman held a 24-15 edge less than eight minutes into the game.

It was the first meeting in 10 years between the in-state schools. Furman has won eight of the 11 matchups in Greenville.

--Field Level Media