It would be a dank night in Spartanburg, but at least joy reigned in Greenville on Saturday afternoon.

Sydney James came through for the Paladins in an exciting Southern Conference victory, 58-56, over Mercer at Timmons Arena.

The 6-foot senior from Ocala, Fla., scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and seven points in a key fourth-quarter stretch. Furman (12-9, 2-3 SoCon) was paced in scoring by Niveya Henley with 14 points.

Mercer got a game-high 20 points from Stacie Jones, 17 from Summah Evans and 14 from Mackenzie Johnson.

First-year head coach Pierre Curtis defeated the Bears in his first meeting and ended the Paladins’ four-game losing streak against Mercer (8-14, 2-4). Furman also ended a three-game skid of its own.

With Furman holding a 47-44 lead midway through the fourth quarter, James buried a 15-foot jumper and then converted a pair of free throws with 3:54 to go to put the Paladins up, 51-44. Following a Mercer basket, she extended her personal seven-point scoring spree by popping a rainbow 3-pointer from the right wing to put Furman up, 54-46, with just under four minutes remaining.

Sydney Ryan, who also scored 12 points, but with 10 of them in the first half, drained two free throws with 36 seconds to go to a 58-51 lead, effectively sealing the win.  She topped Furman’s rebounding effort with nine.

Paraskevi Koilia, inserted in the starting lineup at point guard after Tate Walters was a late injury scratch, contributed a game high six assists in 22 minutes of action.

The Paladins shot .393 (22/56) from the field, and buried 6/12 from triple range.  Mercer shot .343 (24/70).

A pair of Ryan baskets fueled a 9-0 Furman finish to the first quarter, putting the Paladins up, 15-11.

A late second quarter 6-0 Furman burst, featuring two baskets by Koilia and a Ryan layup with 53 seconds on the clock, sent the Paladins into halftime with a 30-21 lead.

The Bears claimed a 43-40 edge in rebounding but were outscored 17-0 in bench production.

 Furman’s next game is Thursday against East Tennessee State in Johnson City, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

Furman senior Cameron Ponder placed third in the 3,000m at the 12th annual Camel City Elite Races Saturday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.

A native of Winston-Salem, Ponder was the top collegiate finisher, posting a time of 7:59.44 in the race, which featured four professional runners and four collegiate athletes. Senior Dylan Schubert took sixth place in the event with a time of 8:08.20.

In the women’s elite mile, Paladin senior Megan Marvin led all collegiate runners and was fifth overall with a time of 4:44.87. Junior Kaylie Armitage came in sixth with a time of 5:03.99.

The Paladins notched four top-10 finishes in the final day of the Bob Pollock Invitational at the Clemson Indoor Track and Field Complex.

Furman dispatched UNC Asheville, 5-2, Saturday in the Paladins’ home women’s tennis opener at Mickel Tennis Center.

The Paladins (1-2) swept the doubles contests to open the match.

In singles action, Furman claimed the top three flights in straight sets. Sara Snyder topped Linge Steenkamp, 6-1, 6-0, and Maeve Thornton beat Louise Booker, 6-2, 6-3, at number two. Ellie Schulson played at flight three, where she posted a 6-0, 6-2 advantage versus Alexis Nyborg.  The Paladins also won at flight five, where freshman Macy Hitchcock downed Avery Sager, 6-1, 6-1. 

Furman men’s tennis wrapped up its four-match homestand on Friday, sweeping the Bellarmine Knights and North Greenville Crusaders.
Furman opened the doubleheader with a 5-2 victory over Bellarmine and followed with a 4-0 sweep versus North Greenville.
the Paladins even their record at 3-3 overall. The Knights and Crusaders dropped to 1-2 and 0-3 on the year, respectively.

Furman swept doubles and took Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 6 singles.

The Paladins won the doubles point and finished off North Greenville with quick singles wins at Nos. 1, 2 and 4.
The Paladins head to West Point, N.Y., next weekend to face DePaul, Army, and Boston College at Army’s Lichtenberg Tennis Center.

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