Furman routs Western Carolina 97-73 in SoCon quarterfinal

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Daniel Fowler scored 18 points and No. 3 seed Furman routed sixth-seeded Western Carolina 97-73 on Saturday night in a Southern Conference quarterfinal.

Furman (23-9) will play second-seeded East Tennessee State in a Sunday semifinal.

Jordan Lyons added 15 points for the Paladins, who shot 56 percent from the floor. Matt Rafferty chipped in 14 points and team highs of nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Marcus Thomas scored 17 points and Mike Amius had 16 for Western Carolina (13-19).

Furman used a 14-3 run, capped by back-to-back dunks from Clay Mounce, to build a double-digit lead midway through the first half. The Paladins stretched the lead to 21 points four minutes later. Lyons and Alex Hunter made consecutive 3-pointers to end the spurt. Western Carolina cut the deficit to 64-51 but didn't get closer.