ORANGEBURG, SC—Senior guard Carrio Bennett tossed in a team-high 14 points and nailed three 3-pointers but it wasn't enough as the Paladins of Furman hand SC State its first loss of the season 59-55 Tuesday at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

       JUCO transfer Brandon Riley chipped in 12 and added junior forward Joe Ikinmwin added 11 and grabbed five rebounds in the losing effort. Furman was led by Amu Sakka with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds, while Justin Dehm added 11 in the victory.

      SC State falls to 2-2 on the season, while Furman improves to 3-1 overall.

       The Bulldogs jumped out to an early seven point lead, 28-81 off a layup by Joe Ikinmwin with 3:37 left in the first-half. A pair of free-throws by Brandon Sebirumbi and a layup by Chris Toler pulled the Paladins within one, 28-27 with a 1:10 left in the half. Bennett's 3-pointer with 0:42 seconds left gave SC State a 31-27 advantage at halftime.

       Amu Saaka's 3-Pointer at the 6:18 mark gave Furman its biggest lead of the night six, 47-41. Riley's pair of free-throws with 3:43 left in the game pulled the Bulldogs within three, 51-48. Free-throws seemed to be the deciding factor down the stretch as Furman shot 15 of 24 from the free-throw to seal the 59-55 victory over SC State.

      SC State will be on the road Friday when they travel to Clemson, SC to face ACC foe Clemson University in a non-conference matchup Friday in Little John Coliseum. Tip-off is7:30 p.m.

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