GREENVILLE, S.C. – Tre Jackson led the Western Carolina men's basketball team with 27 points, but Furman used a big run to start the game and another to gain separation in the second half en route to a 93-59 win in front of a sold out crowd inside Timmons Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
Furman improves to 21-6 overall and 12-2 in the Southern Conference while WCU drops to 14-13 and 7-7.
 
Jackson's 27-point output comes on the heels of a 47-point performance Wednesday at Wofford. In Saturday's game, the Columbia, S.C., native finished 10-for-18 from the field with two 3-pointers and made all five of his free throw attempts. DJ Campbell also finished in double figures with 12 points. Vonterius Woolbright tallied eight points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
 
Marcus Foster and Jalen Slawson led five Furman players in double figures with 17 points each. Mike Bothwell tallied 16 points followed by Tyrese Hughey with 11 and Alex Williams with 10. JP Pegues snagged nine rebounds and distributed seven assists. 
 
The Paladins opened the game on a 14-0 run and led 23-10 with 11:09 remaining. After a Slawson jumper gave the hosts a 27-10 at the 9:03 mark, the Catamounts used an 8-0 spurt to pull within nine, 27-18, at the under-eight media timeout. The Paladins led 34-22 at the 3:56 mark following a pair of Bothwell free throws, but WCU used an 8-1 spurt capped by a Marcus Kell 3-pointer to pull within five, 35-30, with 2:19 to play. Furman led 41-31 at halftime.
 
Following a Jackson 3-pointer that trimmed the Furman lead to eight, 44-36 with 18:32 remaining, the Paladins went on a 17-0 run over the next six minutes to lead 61-36 at the under-12 media timeout. WCU got no closer than 21 points the rest of the way with a Ben VanderWal three-point play with 13 seconds left serving as the game's final points.
 
Furman finished 34-for-69 (49 percent) from the field, 7-for-19 (37 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 18-for-28 (64 percent) at the free throw line. The Paladins also held a 53-39 edge in rebounds. WCU was 20-for-63 (32 percent) from the field, 3-for-15 (20 percent) behind the arc, and 16-for-28 (57 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
The Catamounts return to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday, hosting ETSU at 7 p.m. on "Beat the Bucs" night.
 
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