Box Score Greenville, S.C. – Furman used a 7-0 run to gain separation in the second overtime period as the Paladins earned a 90-88 double overtime win over Western Carolina inside Timmons Arena on Saturday afternoon. The game was the first double-overtime affair for the Catamounts since an 88-83 win over Wofford on March 5, 2016.
Furman improves to 8-0 overall and 1-0 in the Southern Conference while Western Carolina drops to 2-7 and 0-1.
Carlos Dotson recorded his fourth double-double of the season and second straight with a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds. Marc Gosselin posted his 10th career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Kameron Gibson finished with 17 points while Onno Steger had 14, one shy of tying a career-high.
Jordan Lyons led Furman with a game-high 29 points. Matt Rafferty had a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Clay Mounce also posted a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Alex Hunter also finished in double figures with 11 points.
The Catamounts won the opening tip and opened the game on a 5-0 run thanks to a Gibson 3-pointer and a Gosselin layup. The Paladins answered with a 10-0 run fueled by 3-pointers by Noah Gurley and Lyons to lead 10-5 with 15:53 to play in the half. WCU tied the game at 10 on a pair of Steger free throws and led 17-12 after a Steger 3-pointer with 10:39 remaining. After the Paladins scored seven straight points to lead 19-17, WCU answered with consecutive 3-pointers by Halvorsen and Josh Cottrell for a 23-19 lead. Gibson's 3-pointer at the 3:08 mark gave the Catamounts a 33-26 advantage, their largest of the half. Furman closed the half on an 8-0 run for a 34-33 halftime lead.
Steger opened the scoring for the Catamounts in the second half as his long-range jumper gave the visitors a 36-35 lead 35 seconds into the second half. The lead changed five times in the next 4:14 with the Paladins gaining a 42-40 lead after Rafferty hit the second of two free throw attempts at the 14:36 mark. Four consecutive made free throws by Marcus Thomas and Dotson gave WCU a 47-44 lead at the 12:21 mark with the three-point lead the largest held by either team in the opening 13 minutes of the second half.
Furman led 60-55 after a Rafferty layup but the Catamounts responded with a 7-0 run for a 62-60 lead with 4:26 left in regulation. Lyons tied the game at 60 with just under three minutes to go. Dotson gave the Catamounts the lead on a reverse layup at the 1:28 mark and pushed the WCU advantage to 66-62 with 38 seconds left. Hunter made two free throws on the next Furman possession before Steger made one of two free throws for a 67-64 Catamount advantage with 27 seconds left. Lyon tied the game on a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left and Matt Halvorsen's game-winning attempt clanked off the rim, sending the game into overtime.
Hunter gave the Paladins a 76-71 lead on a layup with 2:23 to play in the first overtime. WCU drew within three, 76-73, thanks to a Dotson layup with just over two minutes left and tied the game at 76 on a Gibson 3-pointer with 1:29 to go. Neither team made a shot for the remainder of the first overtime.
Lyons' 3-pointer gave the Paladins an 82-78 lead just over a minute into the second overtime frame. The Catamounts evened the slate at 82 before a Tre Clark layup ignited a 7-0 run for an 89-82 lead with 33 seconds left. Layups by Dotson and D.J. Myers brought the Catamounts within three, 89-86, with nine seconds remaining. Hunter made the first of two free throw attempts for a 90-86 lead. Gosselin made a layup with 0.1 seconds left but Furman successfully put the ball in bounds to secure the win.
Furman went 34-for-73 (46.6 percent) from the field, 7-for-28 (25 percent) from behind the arc and 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) at the free throw line. Western Carolina finished 33-for-80 (41.3 percent) from the field, 10-for-37 (27 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) at the charity stripe. The Paladins outrebounded WCU 53-45.
Western Carolina travels to NC State on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
