Spartans and Paladins put on a show before a national television audience
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| Furman senior guard Marcus Foster (photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/Furman athletics) |
One of the things that makes college basketball such an interesting sport to cover is the roller coaster of emotions that take place between two teams over the course 40 minutes, and in Sunday afternoon's battle of SoCon titans, UNC Greensboro wore the final emotion of joy, while Furman had only the agony of what might have been if they had capitalized on late chances to send the game to overtime, however, the Spartans emerged from Timmons Arena with an epic 89-87 win before a national television audience on ESPNU.
With the win, UNCG improved to 17-6 overall and 8-2 in Southern Conference, while Furman, who had won six of its last seven games entering the clash, including an 82-79 overtime contest at The Citadel Wednesday night, dropped to 12-11 overall and 6-4 in Southern Conference play in its first game on the back half of Southern Conference play.
The game was a fantastic display of Southern Conference basketball at an elite level, and that's something even the casual basketball fan got to see Sunday afternoon if they tuned in to watch a college basketball game on ESPNU.
It was an outstanding offensive display all day. The game played out like two high-level mid-major teams before a good crowd at Timmons Arena, and it could even be a preview of a championship type game in Asheville, however, there is a lot of season left and the SoCon, which ranks No. 14 in the latest KenPom rankings out of 33 NCAA Division I basketball conferences, is as competitive as it has ever been.
In a game that featured 19 lead changes, and numerous momentum changes as well, it was UNCG that battled a little harder for the win. While discernible wide margins were hard to find on the final statistical data, the game quite simply came down to the Spartans making the tough shots in tough moments on Saturday down the stretch, while Furman did not.
It was a contrast to what the Paladins have been able to do in league games of late, particularly in late-game situations with daggers being delivered by JP Pegues. On Sunday, he had a three miss in the closing seconds, as well as a layup off a great feed from Garrett Hien. He's human, but while those moments are rare for Pegues, they shouldn't overshadow the game he put together as a whole.
The same could be said of Marcus Foster, who added his eighth-career double-double in Sunday's loss, including his fifth in a six game span since returning from injury that sidelined him for nine games. He was fouled after getting an offensive rebound with 0.6 seconds remaining and the Paladins trailing by two (89-87), however, missed the first of a two-shot foul, forcing him to try and miss the second on purpose and hope he could get a tip-in from a teammate to send the game to overtime.
That didn't happen, but despite that, it showcased Foster's overall talent and why he might, too, need to be considered in the SoCon Player of the Year conversations. After falling just three assists short of a triple-double last time out in the win at The Citadel, Foster posted his sixth game of 20 more points in the 13 he has been healthy this season, finishing with 26 points. It was also his fifth double-double in six games since returning, as he added 11 boards.
Keying the win for UNCG were Keyshaun Langley, who scored 21 of his game and career-high 30 points in the opening half, as well as a stellar 18-of-19 team performance at the charity stripe, while also connecting on 53.7% (29-of-54) from the field and a blistering 59.1% (13-of-22) from three-point range en route to its point total against a SoCon foe this season. In two games against Furman this season, the Spartans have connected on 54.5% (24-of-44) from three-point range, as UNCG made 50% (11-of-22) in its 79-68 win over Furman last month in what was the league opener for both teams.
The 89 points scored by the Spartans were one more point than the 88 the Spartans scored last season in what was an 88-80 triumph at Timmons Arena just last season. It marked the first time the Paladins have suffered a season sweep at the hands of a Southern Conference foe since the 2021-22 season, when the Chattanooga Mocs posted the season sweep of the Paladins.
Furman fell to 60-9 against SoCon foes at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 season inside the friendly confines, while falling to 106-18 overall over that same span.
The win by UNCG also gave it sole possession of second place in the SoCon standings, trailing league-leading Samford by a full game in the league standings. Furman's loss dropped into a tie for fourth place in the league standings with the loss with Wofford, which has a matching 6-4 league record after the Terriers' 88-86 overtime win over Western Carolina at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Saturday's SoCon action. The Terriers hold the tiebreaker of the Paladins in the standings by virtue of last week's 77-67 win over the Paladins at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
The Langleys (Keyshaun and Kobe) are identical twins, and they seemingly made big shots all afternoon, with many of those made field goals having been well defended, as it looked as if one might have been trying to out-do the other at different points in Sunday's marquee Southern Conference matchup.
Keyshaun Langley finished his afternoon by connecting on 10-of-17 shots from the field, including connecting on 6-of-9 from three-point range and connected on a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. He also contributed two assists, two steals and had four rebounds.
Mikeal Brown-Jones, who has been one of the best players in the Southern Conference all season, finished with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists, and blocked a pair of Paladin shots. He finished the afternoon connecting on 5-of-12 shots from the field, including 1-of-2 from long range and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe.
Jalen Breath rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Spartans, as he finished with 13 points, five rebounds and one steal.
Kobe Langley, who made two winning shots down the stretch for UNCG in situations in which he was well-guarded by Furman's Marcus Foster, finished just out of double figures with nine points. The league's assists and steals leaders, finished with five helpers and two thefts to round out a stellar afternoon.
Furman's Marcus Foster and JP Pegues were both outstanding in defeat for the Paladins, with the Paladin all-conference duo combining for 51 points, with Foster pouring in 26, while Pegues finished with 25.
Foster, a redshirt senior from Atlanta and the SoCon's third leading scorer (19.3 PPG coming in to Sunday's game), however, doesn't show up in the rankings after having finished nine games due to a lower body injury. That will soon change if Foster remains healthy, and if he continues to play the way he has as of late, as he will have played in enough games to qualify statistically.
Foster posted his 26 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, which included a 6-for-9 effort from three-point land. He also finished 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. He added 11 rebounds and three assists to finish out his strong afternoon.
Rounding out the Paladins in double figures was Alex Williams, who added 13 points, three rebounds and an assist. PJay Smith Jr. just missed finding his way into double figures, finishing with nine points, two assists, two steals and a rebound off the bench.
For the game, the Paladins shot the ball well all afternoon, finishing the contest by connecting on 48.1% (26-of-54) from the field, including shooting the ball at a 40% (12-of-30) from three-point land. The Paladins connected on an outstanding 23-of-27 (85.2%) charity stripe shots, despite missing its final three. The Paladins started the game by hitting their first 19 free throws before a miss came from JP Pegues at the 6:51 mark of the second half. Furman would finish the afternoon connecting on four of its final eight after that perfect 19-for-19 start.
Overall, UNCG finished with slight edges in points in the paint (28-24), bench points (14-11), fast-break scoring (9-6), total assists (19-18) and total rebounds (30-26).
Furman finished the contest holding advantages in points from turnovers (16-11), free throws made (23-18) and free throws attempted (27-19).
How It Happened:
The game started with high intensity and was played at a fast and furious pace for most of the afternoon. By the time the two teams headed for their respective benches for the first media timeout, they had already combined 31 points, with the Paladins holding the 16-15 lead after the refs whistling to stop play following an Alex Williams dunk in transition with 14:27 remaining in the opening half of play.
The Spartans and Paladins would trade blows throughout the opening half, and with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening half, UNCG's Keyshaun Langley already had 19 of his game-high 30 points, as he would finish the opening frame with 21.
UNCG's fast start was fueled in large part by its shooting touch from long range, as the Spartans connected on seven of their first eight shots from deep as a part of a 9-for-14 effort from three-point land in the opening 20 minutes.
With 8:45 remaining in the half, Keyshaun Langley put the Spartans on top 31-27 with a running jumper in the lane that just fell over the front rim. Furman got the ball in quickly to Carter Whitt, who drove strong the hole for a layup on the other end to get the Paladins to within two, at 31-29.
Both teams would exchange rare missed opportunities before Keyshaun Langley would record another two-point field goal after a Furman turnover on the inbounds pass, making it a 33-29 game. Langley would steal the Furman inbounds pass after his made basket, however, the Spartans could turn it into points and a six-point lead, as Donovan Atwell missed a three.
Foster ripped down the rebound off the Atwell missed triple and would knock down a triple from the top of the key on the other end, getting the Paladins to within a point, at 33-32, with just over seven minutes remaining in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.
From there, four-straight points at the free throw line from both Mikeal Brown-Jones and Keyshaun Langley gave the Spartans a 37-32 lead with 5:27 remaining in the opening half.
Furman responded with three free throws from JP Pegues on the other end after he was fouled by Muon Reath in the act of shooting a three, and he calmly went to the line and knocked down all three foul shots to make it a 37-35 game with exactly five minutes remaining in the opening half of play. The three foul shots were part of a combined 19-of-19 from the charity stripe from both teams in the opening half of play, with the Paladins knocked down all 13 of its charity shots, while UNCG connected on all six of its free throw attempts.
Furman's two-point deficit would be short-lived, however, as Keyshaun Langley connected on a quick corner three on the other end, allowing the Spartans to once again assume a five-point, 40-35 lead with 4:34 remaining.
A three-point play the old fashioned way by Foster kept the trend of back-and-forth three-point three-point responses alive, as his foul shot after the made layup got the Paladins to within a deuce, at 40-38 with 4:14 left. Foster's play would be the start of an 8-0 run by the Paladins to eventually take a 43-40 lead.
A Tyrese Hughey layup off a beautiful feed from PJay Smith Jr. tied the game, 40-40, and then following a missed three by the Spartans from Mikeal Brown-Jones led to a transition opportunity the other way, and PJay Smith Jr. missed a three, but was fouled by Brown-Jones. After Smith converted all foul shots, Furman held a three-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half.
Furman would take the momentum of a 51-47 lead to the break after outscoring the Spartans, 8-7, over the final three minutes, and it was JP Pegues, who for the fifth time in the past seven conference games, scored Furman's final points of an opening half, as his three with 35 seconds remaining in the first half allowed Furman to take the four-point lead and the momentum into the half.
In the second half, the Spartans would score the first four points to tie the game off a pair of Paladin turnovers. The two teams went back-and-forth over the opening portions of the frame until it looked as if Furman might be able to create a little cushion on the scoreboard, taking a 63-58 lead on a pair of free throws by Alex Williams with 13:30 remaining. Just moments earlier, Williams' three had given Furman its largest lead of the game of six points, as he splashed home a three from the top of the key to make it a 61-56 game.
After Williams foul shots gave the Paladins a five-point lead, however, UNCG would fashion a 22-7 run to seemingly take control of the basketball game. The run would culminate with a Joryam Saizounou three from the corner, which gave the Spartans an 80-70 lead with just over six minutes left.
Furman's response was swift, bouncing right back with an 8-0 run to get within two, as Foster's triple from the top of the key brought the 2,438 fans in attendance to its feet, making it a 80-78 game with just under five minutes left.
Kobe Langley then made a tough layup on a play well defended by Foster, and as the ball rolled in over the rim, the Spartans had an 82-78 lead with 4:22 remaining.
Hughey's offensive rebound and put-back got the Paladins to within two, however, once again Kobe Langley would make a tough shot in the paint, as his step-back jumper gave UNCG an 84-80 lead with 3:40 left.
Following a 1-of-2 performance by Foster at the line to get the Paladins back to within three, UNCG would respond with Keyshaun Langley's sixth three of the game, which was arguably also the Spartans' most important of the night, as UNCG assumed an 87-81 lead with just 2:28 left.
Furman called on its "Mr. Clutch", JP Pegues, to get them back into the game, as he knocked down back-to-back threes, which was sandwiched by a Carter Whitt steal off a UNCG turnover, tying the game, 87-87. The latter of Pegues' two triples came with just 1:29 remaining.
Jalen Breath converted a backdoor layup off a nice feed from Donovan Atwell, giving the Spartans the lead once again, 89-87, with 59 seconds left.
Furman called timeout to set up a play, however, and had beautiful execution except for the exclamation point, as Garrett Hien found JP Pegues under the basket for a wide-open layup, but he was too far under the basket and his layup attempt rolled off just over the front of the rim. Keyshaun Langley grabbed the board and found a wide open Mikeal Brown-Jones, who missed a three on the other end with 17 seconds left and Foster rebounded the ball.
He found Pegues, who shot a three from the top of the key, which was off the mark, but Whitt rebounded and miss tear drop floater hit the front of the rim, and Foster then corralled the loose ball and got off a shot before getting fouled by Jalen Breath with 0.6 remaining. Foster had to make both to force overtime, but after missing the first attempt, was forced to miss the second and hope for a tip-in to send the game into overtime. He missed the second, but Furman couldn't convert the tip-in attempt and the horn sounded on Furman's fourth loss in SoCon play.
The Paladins will look to regroup on the road Wednesday night against a team that defeated UNCG on its home floor, as Furman will be at Hawkins Arena to take on Mercer (10-13, 3-7 SoCon) in a tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST in Macon, GA. UNCG has a huge test ahead and could draw even atop the SoCon with a win over Samford (20-3, 9-1 SoCon). Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m. EST at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Postgame Press Conference:
Head coach Bob Richey--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCgVu5Qxdwg
Players JP Pegues and Tyrese Hughey--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ieX5CokQg
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