CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Furman got run out of the Roundhouse on Saturday night, and the Roundhouse is a fairly large place.

J.D. Pegues and Alex Williams returned, both looked rusty, and Chattanooga led from start to finish to win, 73-58, at the facility now known as McKinley Arena, with 3,901 on hand to see the Mocs end a three-game losing streak against the Paladins.

Furman’s shooting woes seem to be advancing from vice to habit. Pegues scored 16 points and Williams added 15, but Pegues was 6/21 from the field and 0/8 from extra-point range. Wiliams was 5/18 and 1/11, respectively.

They were not alone. The Paladins shot .275 (19/69) as a team, with a .121 (4-33) percentage on three-pointers. In their second consecutive Southern Conference road loss, most everyone wearing purple misfired repeatedly.

Freshman Cooper Bowser was 1/1. It was a slam. Otherwise Garrett Hien went 1/5, Tyrese Hughey 1/3, P.J. Smith 0/3, Carter Whitt 2/9, Ben VanderWal 2/6 and Davis Molnar 1/3. Furman (6-9, 0-2) missed 50 shots, 29 of them from behind the three-point line.

Conditions on the battleground required the use of long-range artillery.

Chattanooga (9-6, 1-1) blazed by comparison, shooting .483 (29-60) overall and .292 (7/24) in triples. Pegues, a guard, led Furman in rebounding with 11. Sam Alexis hauled in 10 for Chattanooga. Plenty of errant shots were there for the taking.

The Mocs led by 10 after the game’s first seven minutes, by 20 after 15 and by 23 (43-20) at halftime. The lead swelled to 28 5:46 into the second.

The Paladins shot better – 30 percent! — in the latter half and got as close as 12 points twice in the final three minutes.

It was really bad, worse than the score indicated but not as it looked. Furman played hard but in vain.

Furman missed its first 13 three-point attempts, and Chattanooga held the Paladins without a basket for a stretch of over 13 minutes in the first half.

The Mocs, meanwhile, hit nine of their first 13 shots, including their first five, and VanderWal’s triple with a minute remaining in the half was starkly alone for the Paladins.

Furman held the Mocs to 1/8 three-point shooting in the second half, but the Paladins closed the game by missing 13 of their final 14 threes. It was the fourth straight game in which Furman hit less than a quarter of its three-point attempts.

Tyler Millen scored 16 points to lead five Mocs in double figures. Jan Zidek and Trey Bonham collected 12 apiece. Sam Alexis had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Honor Huff totaled 10 points and six assists.

The Mocs outscored the Paladins 44-26 in the paint and limited Furman to a season-low 58 points. Chattanooga scored 29 points off fast breaks to Furman’s 14.

About the lone positive of the game from the purple perspective was that the Paladins forced 17 turnovers while committing only nine.

So there’s that.

Pegues posted his second double-double of the season in his first game back from an ankle injury. VanderWal scored eight to go with seven rebounds.

Chattanooga’s victory was the 100^th in head coach Dan Earl’s career.

“I was really proud of our guys, and I think we took a huge step forward with our unselfishness, that is playing the game the right way and competing hard, particularly in that first half,” Earl stated. “Super proud of the guys, I thought everyone contributed in a positive way and it’s nice to get back on the winning track.”

The outcome ended a three-game Chattanooga losing streak and extended Furman’s to three.

There’s no need to panic but plenty of cause for worry. What’s that saying? It’s always darkest just before dawn.

Furman returns home to face The Citadel on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Timmons Arena.

Take a look at the stats here.

Furman’s 359 athletes competing in NCAA Division combined for a 3.26 grade-point average in the fall semester.

Eleven Furman teams, seven of them women’s, came in above 3.00.
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