GREENVILLE, S.C.—The host Furman Paladins jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, and the visiting Bellarmine Knights never recovered as Furman rolled to a 19-6 victory in the Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.
 
The Paladins scored less than a minute into the game and went on post a 3-0 lead over the first 5:39 while the Knights only got off one shot.  By the time Bellarmine finally got on the board with Ian Miller's fifth goal of the season, the game was 12:17 old and Furman had already put up five scores.
 
The home squad then reeled off three in a row before a Jack Perkins goal cut the lead to 8-2. However, the Paladins kept their foot on the gas as their lead grew to 12-3 by the time the halftime horn sounded.
 
Furman's defense then pitched a shutout in the third quarter while their offense tacked on four more goals to take a commanding 16-3 lead after three periods.
 
The Paladins saw their cushion grow to 15 at 18-3 in the early goings of the fourth quarter, but the Knights scored three of the game's last four goals to make the final margin 13.
 
Furman's dominance is evident on the stat sheet as well as on the scoreboard. The Paladins owned advantages of 45-26 in shots, 35-20 in ground balls, and 17-11 in faceoffs. Meanwhile, the Knights committed 18 turnovers on the day, while Furman coughed it up just 11 times.
 
Stephen Wiersbicki and David Williamson both recorded hat tricks and Jonah Moore added a goal and five assists to pace the Furman offensive effort while Graham Macko tallied two goals and an assist to lead Bellarmine.
 
The Knights fall to 1-6 (0-1 SoCon) while the Paladins improve to 2-6 (1-0 SoCon).
 
Bellarmine returns home next week to host Virginia Military Institute in a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
 
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BOX SCORE (HTM)