Furman

2023 - 3 - 16

No. 13 Furman deals No. 4 Virginia another early NCAA tourney exit (ESPN)

JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded ...

It was a good trap." "We're just soaking it all in," Pegues said. Virginia had a 12-point lead with 15:11 to play but Furman switched to a zone defense and chipped away at the lead, eventually going ahead on a Slawson layup with 5:02 to play. "That's where I thought, 'Okay, we got it back.' Good, tough play and thought we were going to be playing on Saturday. So as soon as I got the ball and I [saw] a shot attempt I had, I knew all I could do at that point was just ride up and shoot it and I had full belief that it was going in and it did." Furman's victory was the first upset of the tournament and they were a trendy pick to get it done. "... "As soon I saw it to into Garrett Hien's hands, I was like, I want the ball," Pegues said. "Couldn't see out of it," Clark said. The Cavaliers rebounded to win the national title in 2019 but have lost in the first round their past two tournament appearances. What a day to be a Paladin." "We played well in [the Southern Conference] championship, but we played better today.

Virginia's big blunder in March Madness upset to Furman has social ... (Fox News)

When University of Virginia guard Kihei Clark heaved a bad pass down court, the Furman Paladins seized an opportunity to pull off a March Madness upset.

Watt](https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/j-j-watt) is loving how March Madness has begun. [CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP](https://www.foxnews.com/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink) [FURMAN RECORDS FIRST UPSET OF 2023 MARCH MADNESS, TAKING DOWN VIRGINIA WITH WILD LATE SEQUENCE](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/furman-records-first-upset-2023-march-madness-taking-down-virginia-wild-late-sequence) Virginia has been a team susceptible to upsets due to the slow, methodical style of play under head coach Tony Bennett. The New England Patriots tried a last-second trick play against 13 Furman hit a last-second 3-pointer to take down No.

How No. 13 Furman upset No. 4 seed Virginia on Day 1 of March ... (The Athletic)

Furman senior forward Jalen Slawson led all scorers with 19 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against Virginia.

12 seed [Charleston](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/charleston-cougars-college-basketball/) on Saturday in Orlando, Fla. [Furman](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/furman-paladins-college-basketball/) upset No. [Pittsburgh](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/pittsburgh-panthers-college-basketball/), and now they are one win from returning. [Kihei Clark](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/kihei-clark-tXREDaV93X8zh7Qe/) was trapped in the backcourt with Virginia up by two and chose to wing a desperate pass the length of the court; Furman intercepted it and quickly passed to Pegues for a go-ahead 3-pointer. 4 seed [Virginia](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/virginia-cavaliers-college-basketball/) on Thursday in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Virginia rallied from that point to lead by four in the final seconds before calamity struck, but they had an opportunity to put the game away early and failed. A rock-solid floor general his whole career, Clark might be the last player in the country you’d think of to make an error like that, but his career ends on the sourest of notes. Furman will probably have a tough time advancing to its second Sweet 16 if leading scorer [Mike Bothwell](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/mike-bothwell-MnfBG71OOEzE1OHg/) can’t be more involved in the game than he was Thursday. [Marcus Foster](https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/marcus-foster-AcJEhJEG9wYHa6ph/) triple. The 19-4 run that flipped the game in five minutes concluded with a Slawson driving 3-point play, a Slawson 3-pointer, and a Slawson 3-point play on a hook shot in the lane. He had a game-high 19 points and he was the best player on the floor. Furman doubled its NCAA Tournament win total — the first came in 1974 over South Carolina, at the Palestra — with a furious rally that owed much to the switch to zone, and to the 6-foot-7 Slawson.

No. 13 seed Furman Upsets No. 4 seed Virginia, 68-67, in NCAA ... (Virginia Sports)

The Paladins made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to secure their first NCAA Tournament win since 1974.

Hien quickly passed the ball to Pegues, who drilled his first and only 3 of the game with 2.4 seconds remaining. The Paladins led for the next 3:25 of game time before a pair of made free throws by Beekman with 1:37 to play flipped the score to give the Cavaliers the lead, 64-63. Midway through the second half, the Paladins switched to a zone defense, which initially disrupted UVA’s flow on offense as Furman embarked on a 19-4 run to claim its first lead the game, 57-54, with 5:02 to play. The Cavaliers led by as many as 10 points [17-7] before the Paladins scored 15 of the next 21 points to shrink the UVA lead to one, 23-22. McKneely connected on back-to-back 3s – UVA’s first of the game – to extend the Cavaliers’ lead once again back to 12 points [50-38]. Furman (28-7) only led for 3:28 of game time, but outscored Virginia (25-8) 41-35 in the second half.

From Greenville to Orlando, Furman Paladins fans celebrate NCAA ... (Greenville News)

Furman fans will never forget where they were when JP Pegues drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Paladins a 68-67 lead over Virginia.

[JP Pegues drained a 3-pointer from the right wing ](https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/furman/2023/03/16/furman-game-winner-jp-pegues-upset-virginia-march-madness-best-shots-ncaa-tournament-2023/70007285007/)to give the No. The Haights were among the host of purple-clad Furman faithful in attendance Thursday afternoon at the Amway Center. Furman graduates Evan and Christina Haight, both in the class of 2015, moved from Spartanburg to Charleston last year. [Two point four seconds later, Furman sealed its first NCAA tournament win](https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/furman/2023/03/16/furman-basketball-upsets-virginia-in-ncaa-tournament/70007267007/) since 1974 against South Carolina. After the win, celebrations erupted on the Furman campus at a watch party in the Trone Student Center. The Aztecs spoiled a Saturday match-up of Palmetto State programs with a

Furman beats Virginia in first round of NCAA tournament (WYFF Greenville)

The No. 13 seed Furman Paladins beat No. 4 seed Virginia in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.