JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The air in Freedom Hall was fraught with desperation as Furman fought to end a slump and East Tennessee State sought to keep a Southern Conference men’s basketball streak going.

Junior J.P. Pegues scored seven of Furman’s final nine points, including four free throws in the final minute, to help the Paladins rally past Buccaneers, 65-63, Saturday evening.

With 7:15 left and ETSU leading, 56-45, Furman (13-12, 7-5 SoCon) had little margin for errors and didn’t make many.  

The Paladins connected on 12/13 field-goal attempts in the final 13 minutes.

“We found our effort and connection late, and we just had some guys rise to the occasion,” said Furman head coach Bob Richey on the post-game radio interview with Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy.

Furman entered the game with three losses in its previous four games. East Tennessee saw a three-game win streak end.

“It was the war we knew it was going to be,” Richey said, “and look, man, it hadn’t been an easy week. We’ve got some things we’re still working through and growing through.”

They were both on and off the team. The Furman athletic community is tight-knit and supportive of one another, and the team dedicated the game to the memory of Bryce Stanfield, the football player who collapsed at a workout on Wednesday and died Friday.

Seven players experienced flu symptoms during the two days leading up to the game.

“This game can be really hard if you try to play it like an individual sport,” Richey said. “We built this program on being great teammates, on flying around on defense and moving value in the ball.

“We don’t need constant home runs. We need guys who are connected and willing to share, willing to move it and get good looks.” 

Trailing 30-29 at halftime, the Buccaneers opened the second half on an 11-3 run to grab the lead and increased their advantage to 11 points at 56-45 on Quimari Peterson’s layup.

ETSU continued to hold a double-digit lead until Pegues and PJay Smith converted on back-to-back jumpers beginning with the Nashville, Tenn., product’s basket with 6:05 to play. The Bucs pushed the margin back to eight, but Marcus Foster answered with five straight points, and Pegues responded to an ETSU bucket with a triple to bring Furman within 61-59 with 2:55 remaining.

Pegues fed Cooper Bowser for an alley-oop slam to knot the game at 61-61 with 2:15 left and Furman got a defensive stop to take possession. A turnover on an inbounds pass led to a breakaway slam for ETSU’s Jaden Seymour with 1:03 to play.

“We’re going to chop this thing one game at a time,” Pegues said. “I’m proud of my teammates for staying determined and having the perseverance to win.”

On Furman’s next possession, Pegues drew a foul with 43.6 seconds remaining and coverted both free throws to even the game at 63-63. Seymour missed a jumper from the right baseline with 23 seconds left and the Paladins got the ball in the hands of Pegues, who drew a foul on a drive down the right side of the lane with 1.8 seconds left. He converted 2/3 free throws and ETSU threw the inbounds pass away. Pegues was fouled Furman’s inbounds and missed the front end of the one-and-one but the Bucs’ last-second pass down the court was knocked away by Cooper Bowser as time expired following a timeout.

An ugly, defense-dominated game got prettier in the second half when the Paladins shot .591 to reach .500 for the game. Pegues led the Paladins with 15 points and added five boards and four assists. Foster scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Tyrese Hughey and Ben Vander Wal chipped in with eight points apiece.

 Peterson scored 14 points to lead five Bucs in double figures. Jadyn Parker scored 13, Seymour 12, Ebby Asamoah 11, and Allen Strothers 10. ETSU (13-12, 5-7) shot .397 from the floor but made just 4/19 three-point tries and 13/22 free throw.

Furman returns home on Wednesday to host the Virginia Military Keydets at 7 p.m. back at Timmons Arena.

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