GREENVILLE, S.C. (Jan. 15, 2025) – In a game featuring 12 ties and 13 lead changes, the ETSU men’s basketball team was edged by Furman 73-70 on Wednesday night inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Trailing by eight with less than 40 seconds remaining, the Bucs mounted a late comeback to pull within a point with 4.9 left in the contest. Following a foul by Karon Boyd, Furman hit both free throws to go up by three with 2.1 seconds left and the Paladins hung on after Quimari Peterson’s halfcourt shot hit the backboard, bounced to the front of the rim and popped out at the buzzer.
In a back-and-forth, hard-fought SoCon showdown, Furman made one more field goal (24-23), one extra three (7-6) and both teams netted 18 free throws. The Bucs were 18-of-27 on the line, compared to Furman going 18-of-25. Overall, ETSU was 23-of-55 from the floor (42%) and 6-of-19 from beyond the arc (32%), while Furman went 24-for-54 (44%) and 7-of-21 from three-point range (33%).
The Bucs were plus-three on the glass, 36-33 and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points, but Furman cashed 14 ETSU turnovers into 20 points. Both teams scored 30 points in the paint. Neither team led by more than eight with Furman going up 70-62 in the final seconds and the Bucs were ahead 32-27 with 2:50 left in the first half.
Quimari Peterson led the Blue & Gold with a game-high 21 points, while Jaden Seymour totaled 18 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Karon Boyd grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and added five points. John Buggs III finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three, including a four-point-play with 19 seconds remaining to pull ETSU within two, 70-68.
With the loss, ETSU moved to 10-8 overall and 3-2 in league play, while Furman – who has now won seven straight against the Bucs in Greenville – improved to 15-3, 3-2.
The Bucs head to Birmingham to take on Samford in a rematch of last year’s SoCon title game on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET inside Pete Hanna Center. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
