GREENVILLE, S.C. - In a game that was much closer than the score, Furman was able to record a 45-21 victory over Presbyterian College in head coach Harold Nichols' debut Saturday evening.

The Blue Hose stand at 0-1 on the year while the Paladins improve to 1-0.

"There were four or five plays that determined the outcome," Nichols said. "On those plays, we weren't able to capitalize. I'm proud of the effort tonight. The team hung in together and did not quit. I'm proud of our coaching staff.

"Tonight was the first college game for a lot of our team," Nichols said. "It means good things for us in the future. I told our team not to be dejected. We will learn from our mistakes and move on."

PC was unable to convert two fourth-down opportunities, which could have resulted in 14 more points for the squad. After rookie Connor Norman recovered the ball off a punt that hit a Furman player, PC had a fourth-down opportunity after driving to just outside the 20-yard line. Brandon Miley moved to the right to escape the rush and fired the ball into the end-zone. Tyler Robbins caught the ball, but was unable to drag his foot as he was heading out of bounds, resulting in the Paladins getting the ball back.

Trailing 17-7 in the second quarter, Miley directed the Blue Hose down the field inside the one-yard line. Facing a third-and goal, PC was unable to get the ball in, setting up a huge fourth-down play from a foot out. Although cheers went up throughout the Blue Hose crowd, it was ruled that Miley was stopped just shy of pay dirt, which gave the Paladins the ball.

Furman proceeded to drive down the field to score with just 28 seconds remaining before the half, giving the squad a 24-7 halftime advantage.

Nichols' halftime speech seemed to motivate the offense as the Blue Hose, under the direction of offensive coordinator Doug Malone, went straight down the field and scored. Once PC got to midfield, Miley faked the handoff and then faked the reverse. Stepping up in the pocket, Miley rifled a pass to the end-zone as Matt Quinn swiftly ran under it for his first touchdown since 2007. Cam Miller's extra point cut the lead to 10, 24-14.

The Paladins went down the field in part because of penalties and ended up scoring on a two-yard run for a 31-14 advantage.

PC got on the board in the second quarter when Miley connected with Patrick McKoy on a short slant on the left hash mark. McKoy then juked his way out of a tackle and cut across the field, escaping the pursuit of multiple Paladin players as he crossed into the end-zone near the right pylon for six. The play officially went for a 22-yard gain.

With just over 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, PC had a first down inside the 10-yard line. Miley eluded some pressure and lofted the ball into the back right of the end-zone. Sean Adegbola snared it, but hit the back pylon on the play as he was also ruled out of bounds, negating what would have been another touchdown for Nichols' squad.

After losing yards the next couple of plays, Miller came in to attempt a 24-yard field goal. The ball sailed just wide of the goal, giving the ball to Furman on the 20-yard line with just under 10 minutes to play.

Furman played ball-control offense after getting the ball back, chewing up 6:30 off the clock on a 12-play 80-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown.

The Blue Hose, however, would not go away. The young PC squad took over on its own 25-yard line 2ith 3:19 to play.

Redshirt-senior Tim Webb entered the contest and quickly handed the ball off to Lance Byrd for a 13-yard gain after throwing to Byrd for a seven-yard scamper on first down.

Webb hit McKoy and Sean Adegbola for 12 and 15 yards, respectively, getting the Blue Hose to the 13. As time wound down, PC tried to come out of a time-out in a hurry-up offense. Right before the snap, Furman called a time-out.

After misfiring on two passes, Webb hit Adegbola for a three-yard touchdown with four seconds remaining. Miller's extra point accounted for the final tally of the night.

For the game, PC accounted for 432 total yards of offense. Miley completed 18-of-34 for 237 yards to go along with two touchdowns. Webb hit seven-of-11 on his only drive for 55 yards and a touchdown.

McKoy hauled in eight receptions for a game-high 103 yards with a touchdown. Quinn, who was the recipient of a 50-yard pass, had two receptions for 70 yards.  

On the ground, Trandon Dendy totaled 85 yards on 20 carries while Byrd gained 54 yards on eight attempts.

Defensively, Torrell Funderburk had a team-high eight tackles, six of which were solo. He also had an interception and returned it for 14 yards.

Derren Evans had the only sack for PC. He also had a tackle for loss as did Derek Brown.

"The biggest adjustment for any team is from week one to week two," Nichols said. "We will get back to work tomorrow and prepare for Elon."

The Blue Hose host the Paladins Sept. 12 at 1:30 p.m., in the home opener.