ROCK HILL, S.C.--Fresh off a decent showing in its exhibition game against an elite Alabama team, Furman’s much-anticipated season opener of the 2025-26 season fell well short of the anticipation, as the Paladins opened their campaign with a 97-71 setback to Big South favorite and reigning champion High Point in the final game of the day in the Field of 68’s Opening Day Marathon played at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.
With the season-opening loss, the Paladins dropped their first season opener under head coach Bob Richey, who had been 8-0 in regular-season openers Richey entering tonight's contest, dropping a game a blowout fashion to officially open the new season.
For High Point’s first-year head coach Flynn Clayman, he couldn’t have asked for a much better start to his tenure as a rookie head coach, who begins his career in emphatic fashion, as the transition seemed almost seamless from the Alan Huss era-to-the-Flynn Clayman era.
Clayman was part of High Point's 29-win, NCAA Tournament team a year ago and along with Huss, helped the Panthers to 56 wins over the previous two seasons. Now, he's built a roster full of the best mid-major players money can buy. It was on full display in the opener, as High Point simply didn't look like a mid-major.
Playing the way it did tonight, I am sure that no one in the Big South or SoCon could have touched High Point, and if the Panthers play the way they did tonight for a majority of the rest of the season, the Panthers would easily win most if not all mid-major leagues in the country, including the Big South and SoCon with ease.
Graduate transfer guard Rob Martin led the way with 22 points for the Panthers and was one of five players in double figures, and he showed why he was such a pivotal part of a SEMO team that finished with its second-most wins in program history and made it to the OVC Tournament title game just last season.
He connected on 10-of-18 shots from the field, including going 2-for-5 from three-point land and was 0-for-1 at the charity stripe. In addition to his game-high 22 points, Martin also added four steals, three assists, and two rebounds.
Joining Martin in double figures for the Panthers were forward Owen Aquino and forward guard Conrad Martinez, who contributed 17 points apiece, while Terry Anderson finished with 12 and Cam'Ron Fletcher added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while also adding three assists, a steal and a block to the Panther cause. Both Martinez and Anderson combined to score 29 of High Point's 38 bench points in the game.
For Martinez, his aim was true all night from three-point range, as he finished the contest by connecting on 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point land and was 2-of-2 from the line, while dishing out a team-high four assists.
The Paladins ended the night getting another solid effort out of Charles Johnston, who finished the contest with 16 points and 12 boards on the heels of a strong start to the season in the exhibition against Alabama, which saw him post 14 points and 12 boards in the 96-71 loss last week.
Johnston, who was one of four Paladins in double figures, finished his night by connecting on 6-of-12 shots from the field, finishing 2-for-7 from three-point range and 2-for-2 at the line. Additionally, the junior from Sydney, Australia added an assist and a steal, with the only blemish on his entire stat line being a pair of turnovers. Johnston once again put in a solid night on the floor, logging nearly 28 minutes of court time.
Joining Johnston in double figures were three Paladins with 11 points. Freshman point guard Alex Wilkins, senior wing Ben Vander Wal and sophomore guard Asa Thomas finished out the night with 11 points apiece.
Wilkins, who made his first official career start, finished 4-of-9 from the field, which included going 1-of-3 from long-range and 2-for-2 at the charity stripe, while also adding two rebounds, two assists and six turnovers.
Senior Ben Vander Wal finished with his 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe, while also adding five rebounds, two assists and a block in a solid 34 minutes of work.
Clemson transfer and shooting guard Asa Thomas rounded out the Paladins in double figures by adding 11 points off the bench, as the Paladin newcomer finished 3-of-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from the line, while going a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Thomas also added two rebounds, one assist and one block.
Preseason All-SoCon pick Tom House narrowly missed double figures and added eight points and three rebounds in his 2025-26 debut, while Cooper Bowser and true freshman Abijah Franklin added six points apiece.
Bowser, who like House was a preseason All-SoCon selection, added nine rebounds and four assists, while Franklin, who logged almost 19 minutes of action off the bench in his rookie debut, added three assists and had just one turnover.
One of the stats highlighted from Furman’s loss to Alabama was the fact that to have such a young backcourt, which was led by Alex Wilkins, Collin O’Neal and Eddrin Bronson, who combined to commit only nine turnovers against the Crimson Tide and won the points off turnovers stat, 17-13.
In the season-opening loss against High Point, the Paladins turned the ball over 22 times, which led to 25 points for the Panthers. Furman, meanwhile, forced just six turnovers and only scored three points off those turnovers forced. The Panthers had 16 steals in the game, while Furman, which had nine thefts in the exhibition against Alabama, finished with just one against High Point.
High Point finished the night connecting on a blistering 58.0% (40-of-69) from the field, which included a 45.0% effort from three-point range (9-of-20) and also finished 53.3% (8-of-15) from the charity stripe.
The Panthers connected at a scorching 63.9% (23-of-36) in the opening 20 minutes of basketball, taking a 55-40 lead into the halftime locker room. The pace slowed only slightly in the second half, however, the margin increased, as the Panthers outscored the Paladins by 11 in the latter 20 minutes (42-31) of basketball.
Furman, meanwhile, finished the game connecting at a 43.9% (25-of-57) clip for the game, which included finishing 26.9% (7-of-26) from three-point range and shot a solid 73.7% (14-of-19) at the charity stripe.
High Point finished the night by owning advantages in the following categories: points in the paint (52-36), points off turnovers (25-3), total rebounds (41-28), steals (17-1), second chance points (12-9), fast-break points (14-4), total assists (17-13) and bench scoring (38-19). Furman owned advantages in free throw attempts (19-15) and points from the line (14-8).
Furman's 22 turnovers against High Point were its most since turning it over 22 times in a 117-110 double-overtime loss to Tulane on Dec. 14, 2023. It ranks as the most turnovers for a Furman team in regulation since Dec. 19, 2020, when the Paladins turned it over 23 times in an 87-71 loss at Winthrop.
In fact, it 262 games under Bob Richey prior to Monday night's season opener, the Paladins had only had seven games in which they turned it over 20 or more times, finishing 2-5 in those games. The only two wins came against South Carolina State (Dec. 3, 2022) and USC Upstate (Nov. 28, 2020). Furman's 22 turnovers in regulation was bested only once in Richey's tenure as head coach, and it ironically came in Rock Hill, as the Paladins finished with 23 turnovers in an 87-71 loss at Winthrop on Dec. 19, 2020.
How It Happened:
Both teams came out and established a furious pace early in the first six minutes of the game, with Rob Martin and Alex Wilkins showcasing an array of offensive talent from the outset of the game, with the two trading basket-for-basket early on, as an Alex Wilkins triple would tie the game, 12-12, at the 15:31 mark of the opening half.
Just before the first media timeout of the night, High Point's Rob Martin converted a nice step-back jumper to give the Panthers a lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the night, as the two teams headed to their respective benches at the first media timeout with High Point holding a 14-12 lead following a furious opening six minutes of basketball.
The Paladins would fall behind by 10 as a quick 8-0 spurt was capped by Conrad Martinez, which led to a Furman timeout with 12:24 remaining in the opening frame and the Panthers holding a 22-12 lead. The Paladins had let the game slip away, and against a team as fast and efficient offensively as the Panthers are, that can prove to be a steep hill to climb, especially for a team that is young, breaking in a new backcourt, with a trio of talented, but young first-year players seeing their first official action at the collegiate level.
While the game wouldn't immediately get away from the Paladins, the eventuality that it would was always a lurking thought in the back of most folks' mind that watched the game unfold.
After turning the ball just nine times against Alabama, the Paladins were uncharacteristically careless with the basketball in the opening 10 minutes of the basketball game, and that ended up providing a main overarching theme to the lopsided loss. The Paladins
With the Panthers ahead 33-17 following a technical foul on Rob Martin following a made field goal, Wilkins stepped to the line and knocked both free throws and then a layup by Ben Vander Wal cut it to 33-21 before Martinez answered with a three to restore a 15-point lead for the Panthers, making it a 36-21 High Point lead at the under eight media timeout with 7:44 remaining in the half.
Vander Wal would then get fouled on a
layup attempt to cut the Paladin deficit to 13 after making both free throws, but a little over a minute
later the Panthers took their biggest lead of the half at 17, but settled on a
15-point lead, at 55-40 at the half.
The second half would see the game get completely away from the Paladins, as the Panthers connected on 5-of-11 three-point field goals to push the lead to as much as 32 points in the second half before taking the foot off the proverbial gas and claiming what was a 26-point win.
Furman will look to regroup Friday evening, as the Paladins will welcome reigning Sun Belt Champion Troy (1-0) to Timmons Arena for a 7 p.m. EST. The Trojans were the Sun Belt's representative in the NCAA Tournament last March.
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