Lyons scores 20 to help Furman beat The Citadel 71-61

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Jordan Lyons scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, Alex Hunter and Clay Mounce each finished with 17 points and Furman beat The Citadel 71-61 on Thursday night to sweep the season series against the Bulldogs.

Matt Rafferty, who came in averaging a team-leading 17.7 points per game, finished with a season-low eight points but added 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals for Furman.

Lyons, Hunter and Mounce hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 13-0 run that pushed the lead to 50-31 with 14:56 remaining and the Paladins (17-5, 6-4 Southern Conference) held on from the there. The Bulldogs missed six consecutive shots and committed two turnovers while going scoreless for four-plus minutes during that stretch.

The Citadel however scored 13 of the next 15 points and later used a 13-5 spurt to trim its deficit to six points with three minutes to go but Rafferty answered with a layup before a basket by Lyons capped the scoring with 1:26 left.

Lew Stallworth had 19 points and five assists and Zane Najdawi added 14 points and nine rebounds for The Citadel (10-11, 2-8).

The Bulldogs, who came in averaging 12.7 made 3s per game, hit just 5 of 19 from behind the arc.