WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Abijah Franklin’s 15 points helped Furman defeat Holy Cross 80-67 on Wednesday.

Franklin had five rebounds for the Paladins (4-0). Marcus Kell scored 14 points, shooting 5 for 12, including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc. Charles Johnston shot 4 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points.

Tristen Wilson finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks for the Crusaders (0-3). Holy Cross also got 17 points and two steals from Arius Alijosius, and Jaelon Germany finished with 12 points.

Furman took the lead with 17:20 remaining in the first half and did not trail again. Luka Toews led the Paladins in scoring with nine points in the first half to help put them up 42-28 at the break. Furman pulled away with a 12-2 run in the second half to extend a four-point lead to 14 points.

They were outscored by Holy Cross in the second half by a one-point margin, but still wound up on top, as Johnston led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points.

Up next

Furman: visits Belmont on Saturday.

Holy Cross: hosts UAlbany on Sunday.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.