East Tennessee State Buccaneers vs Furman Paladins
Bradford, ETSU beat Furman, advance to SoCon tourney finals
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Desonta Bradford had 20 points and eight rebounds and freshman Mladen Armus had his first double-double to help East Tennessee State beat Furman 63-52 on Sunday night in the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals.
The second-seeded Buccaneers (25-8) will play No. 1 seed UNC Greensboro in the championship game Monday. ETSU beat the Spartans 79-74 for the conference tournament title last season.
Armus finished with 10 points and a season-high 12 rebounds and Devontavius Payne scored 12 points for the Bucs.
No. 3 seed Furman (23-10) had its seven-game win streak snapped.
The Paladins missed 10 of their first 11 field-goal attempts and Bradford hit a jumper to cap a 16-5 spurt that gave ETSU a 10-point lead. After Clay Mounce made back-to-back layups to pull the Paladins within six, Armus converted a 3-point play and threw down a dunk to spark a 12-3 run that make it 32-17 and the Bucs led by double figures the rest of the way.
Jordan Lyons led Furman with 17 points.
Game Information
Asheville, NC
Referee:Tim Gattis
Referee:Billy Dunlap
Referee:John Hampton
2025-26 Standings
| Southern ConferenceSouthern Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | 13-5 | - | 23-11 |
| Mercer | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Wofford | 11-7 | 2 | 19-13 |
| Samford | 11-7 | 2 | 18-14 |
| Furman | 10-8 | 3 | 22-13 |
| Western Carolina | 10-8 | 3 | 15-16 |
| UNC Greensboro | 9-9 | 4 | 15-19 |
| Chattanooga | 7-11 | 6 | 13-19 |
| The Citadel | 7-11 | 6 | 11-22 |
| VMI | 1-17 | 12 | 6-26 |
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