In a thrilling clash of undefeated teams in the Southern Men's DII Rugby Conference, Furman battled past UNC-Charlotte 13-5 Thursday night.

Both teams were undefeated in conference play as they met under the lights at Furman. The Paladins took an early lead - center Adam Miller powered through at the 13-minute mark.

But UNC-C regained some momentum, especially after Furman center Jacob Milchuck left the game with a shoulder injury, and then lock RJ Bradley was sin binned for a rucking violation. While Furman was unable to score after those setbacks, Charlotte was unable to score, as well, and the first half ended 5-0.

Early in the second half Furman sophomore Jeffrey Rein slotted a penalty kick to extend the Paladins' lead to 8-0. With 27 minutes remaining, the 49ers found the corner to make it 8-5.  It was a tense ending as both teams tried get that crucial score. The score came from Furman. Senior prop Adrian Marcogliese muscled in a try give Furman a 13-5 lead.

Furman held on despite some mistakes and a big penalty count.

“Our defense was really strong tonight,” said Furman Coach John Roberts. “The team showed tremendous heart in pulling out the win against a very solid UNCC team. At the end we had more than a few athletes who were not playing their natural positon.”