FURMAN STUNS DEFENDING CHAMPIONS

PA.» Jordan

V ILLANOVA,

Lyons scored 17 points, Matt Rafferty and Clay Mounce each had 15, and Furman stunned defending national champion Villanova in overtime, 76-68, on Saturday.

Noah Gurley and Alex Hunter added 13 points apiece for the surging Paladins, who have started 5-0 for the first time in 30 years.

Phil Booth scored 20 points and Colin Gillespie had 19 for the No. 8 Wildcats, who were coming off a 27-point loss to Michigan in a rematch of April’s national championship game. It marked the first time Villanova lost backto-back home games since December of 2013.

Lyons and Rafferty delivered huge buckets in overtime to key a 7-0 spurt that put the Paladins ahead 69-63 in the final minute, enough cushion for them to hang on for the victory in front of a shocked sellout crowd at the recently renovated Finneran Pavilion.

Trailing 58-53 with under four minutes to play in regulation, Joe Cremo hit a 3-pointer, Booth scored and Gillespie made a layup in transition to put Villanova in front, 60-58, in the final minute.

After Lyons hit two free throws to tie the game at 60, Booth missed on the other end and Hunter misfired on a long 3-pointer in the final seconds. Cremo was called for a foul while going for the rebound, but Rafferty couldn’t connect on the front end of a 1and-1 with 2.6 seconds left, setting the game up for OT.

Two days after pouring in 54 points while matching an NCAA record with 15 3-pointers, Lyons had a slew of big buckets, including one that put Furman ahead 48-46 with a little over eight minutes remaining.