You’ve read the recap.  Now, let’s go inside the numbers from Furman’s seven-point victory over Winthrop Saturday night.

  • Many of the significant numbers Saturday night centered around fouls. We’ll start with the Paladins making eight more free throws than Winthrop attempted. Despite Winthrop tallying just three more fouls than Furman, the Eagles were just 9-for-12 from the line, while Furman was 20-for-28. Jordan Lyons attempted more free throws by himself (13) than did Winthrop.

“Over the development of my game here, since I’ve been at Furman, every year we’ve just tried to make sure I’m a complete player. I never wanted to be just a shooter. People are gonna know that I can shoot. People are gonna have me down as a shooter on the report. I want to be able to bring a versatile game, whether that’s getting my teammates looks, getting to the basket, getting to the mid-range, getting to the free throw line — whatever the team needs, I just want to be able to provide it and do whatever I can to help us win … When you get to the free throw line, it can open up things for you and your teammates. When you can do that, it only helps. Tonight, I made a couple early, and they started really flying out there, so I just wanted to use my shot-stop and try and get into the paint a little bit, and see if I could get other teammates shots or layups, or see if I could get to the free throw line and get some more that way. I think we did a good job of that collectively, as a whole, of getting to the line, attacking strong, playing off two feet, (and) finding each other. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.” – Jordan Lyons

  • While converting a number of free throws, the Paladins were also able to put fouls on Winthrop’s big men. They particularly enjoyed success against forward/center D.J. Burns, whom they limited to just 11 minutes of action in a game from which he fouled out.

“We knew we had to do a great job on Burns, and man, did we. I mean, wow. Our guys fought … I thought we did a great job taking him out of the game.” – Furman coach Bob Richey

Forward Micheal Anumba also fouled out for the Eagles.

  • Lyons connected on 6-of-14 shots for the Paladins, overcoming recent struggles and parlaying a sizzling first half into a 26-point effort.

“I knew it was coming. Jordan’s a shooter. That’s what he does. I’ve been telling him, ‘Hey, focus on the routine. Don’t worry about the result. Just keep focusing on your routine and getting good reps.’ He came in here Thursday, and I don’t know if he missed. He was working hard, he was sweating, he was shooting game-like shots. He had to be (shooting) 85 percent. He was just hitting everything.

“I had a feeling. I told the coaches in the locker room before the game, ‘He’s got the look’ … He had the look, and when he gets that look, man, he can score with anybody.” – Richey

“It was really awesome. I have a coaching staff and teammates who, even though my shot’s been struggling a little bit, they’ve never doubted me, and they still believe in me. They still put that confidence in me every day, whether I’ve been struggling a little bit, they know I can shoot. It’s something I’ve done my whole life. I really appreciate the people I’m around every day for just keeping me up and staying in the gym with me. It was good to see a couple go in and to kind of feel that rhythm back. It was a good win for us.” – Lyons

  • Another key number:  2,752. That was the reported attendance number in the arena Saturday. Despite the announced number, the crowd was loud, lively from the opening tip, and noticed by the Paladin coaches and players.

“The crowd was awesome. We were really excited for this game, (and) we were really excited for this atmosphere. The community and the university really did a good job. They showed out, they were loud, and we feed off that. The energy and the atmosphere was awesome. I think we all fed off it, and it made us play with more energy. It made us play with more emotion. That really helped.” – Lyons

“There was a lot of build-up for this game. (There was) a lot of hype for it. We were all really excited to play, and I think getting this first win in here was awesome. It was cool to see the community come out, and it was cool to see all the purple in there. I think we’re gonna feed off that (going) into conference play, and I think even more people will show up. I think (our) playing in here is a good thing.” – Forward Clay Mounce

“If we can produce that energy — and that’s the start — where can this go? That’s how I think, that’s how my AD thinks, and I just want to make sure everybody understands that we appreciate the support, we appreciate everybody coming out, and we appreciate everybody getting behind us.” — Richey

Finally, the Hustle Stats:

  • Points in the Paint:  Winthrop 34, Furman 32
  • Points off Turnovers:  Furman 18, Winthrop 16
    • Furman tallied 15 first-half points off 12 Winthrop turnovers; the Eagles finished with 17 for the game, to the Paladins’ 11
  • Second-Chance Points:  Winthrop 14, Furman 8
  • Fast-Break Points:  Winthrop 2, Furman 2
  • Bench Points:  Winthrop 41, Furman 8
    • Chase Claxton, Charles Falden, and Chandler Vaudrin totaled 35 of those 41 points, with Vaudrin finishing with a double-double and Claxton having arguably his best game of the year

FURMAN 80, WINTHROP 73

WINTHROP (4-7): Anumba 1-3 0-0 2, Hale 6-19 2-2 17, Zunic 0-4 0-0 0, Ferguson 4-10 1-1 11, Burns 1-1 0-0 2, Pupavac 0-0 0-0 0, Falden 5-11 0-0 11, King 2-3 0-0 6, Claxton 6-8 2-3 14, Vaudrin 3-5 4-6 10. Totals 28-64 9-12 73.

FURMAN (10-3): Gurley 6-13 2-2 15, Hunter 3-7 0-1 8, Slawson 2-3 2-2 6, Lyons 6-14 10-13 26, Mounce 5-12 6-9 17, Clark 2-5 0-1 4, Pugh 0-1 0-0 0, Bothwell 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 26-60 20-28 80.

Halftime — Furman 46-33. 3-Point Goals—Winthrop 8-28 (Hale 3-13, Zunic 0-1, Ferguson 2-6, Falden 1-4, King 2-3, Vaudrin 0-1), Furman 8-22 (Gurley 1-3, Hunter 2-4, Lyons 4-8, Mounce 1-5, Pugh 0-1, Bothwell 0-1). Fouled Out — Burns (WU), Anumba (WU). Rebounds — Winthrop 42 (Vaudrin 10), Furman 35 (Gurley 9). Assists —Furman 19 (Mounce 7), Winthrop 13 (Zunic 5). Total Fouls — Winthrop 20, Furman 17. Technical — NA. A —2752.