March 3, 2004

Final Stats

North Charleston, S.C. - Down 18 with 9:21 left in the game, Emre Atsur and Corey Muirhead sparked a WCU rally, tying the game at 64-64 with 4:12 remaining. However, the Furman Paladins never relinquished the lead and sank its free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 73-68 victory over the Catamounts in the first round of the 2004 Southern Conference Tournament.

The Paladins (17-11) got 25 points from Maleye Ndoye and advance to play East Tennessee State, the top seed from the North Division, at noon on Thursday. Western Carolina's season ends at 13-15.

Ndoye's efforts late in the first half and early in the second helped Furman build a lead of 18 at 60-42 with 9:16 remaining. Ndoye had 25 points for the game, including five 3-pointers and 8-for-18 shooting overall. The Paladins also got a great effort from their freshmen class, highlighted by 10 points from Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Quan Prowell and 13 from guard Eric Webb.

"It was a great blend of the old and the new," said Furman coach Larry Davis. "Ndoye led us in scoring and the freshmen scored the last nine points of the game."

Despite falling behind, the Catamounts (No. 5, North) didn't give up. Western senior, Emre Atsur, sparked a comeback. Atsur scored all 13 of his points in the second half, adding four assists, and made a pair of 3-pointers that kick-started a 22-4 Western run that tied the game with 4:07 remaining.

Once Atsur got the ball rolling, Kevin Martin and Corey Muirhead picked up their games for the Cats. Martin scored five straight in the run, including an alley-oop dunk, and Muirhead tossed in nine of his 15 points in quick succession - also with an alley-oop.

Furman regrouped and negated two Catamount chances to take the lead. On the offensive end, the Paladins found the touch again and regained the lead for good.

Robby Bostain rolled in a running jumper and Prowell, converted a three-point play in the paint to push the lead back to five and force the Catamounts to foul the rest of the way.

"We showed a lot of poise down the stretch," Davis added. "Quan Prowell's tip in was a big play in the game. We made our free throws and did what we had to do to win."

After scoring the 22 points in a nine-minute stretch, Western was held to four points in the final four minutes.

"We expended energy, but we got stopped three times after tying the game," said Western Carolina coach Steve Shurina. "They were good at keeping us at bay. Good teams will let you come back but not overtake you. That's what they did."

Martin finished with 18 points on 7-for-18 shooting. He also grabbed nine rebounds. David Berghoefer recorded a double-double for Western with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Martin finishes the season with 673 points, ninth on the WCU single-season list. Also, with three 3-pointers, Atsur closes his career with 81 all-time treys, finishing tied for ninth on the WCU career list with two-time SoCon Player of the Year Frankie King.

Ndoye was the catalyst for the Paladins early in the game, scoring 17 in the first half. Furman built a seven-point lead at halftime with the help of a late 11-2 run in which Ndoye scored seven points.

Furman shot 46 percent from the field for the game, but were outrebounded by the Catamounts 41-30.