With only eight scholarship players available within its rotation, both Furman's mettle and toughness would be tested in the midweek SoCon tilt before a rowdy and hostile Samford home crowd. The Bulldog faithful showed up expecting a formality against the undermanned Paladins, however, the Paladins, led talented freshman Alex Wilkins and his seven compatriots, weren't interested in playing along.
The rookie guard from Mattapan, MA., scored a career-high 28 points, and a hearty supporting cast of seven scholarship players delivered a relentless effort on both ends that would have been worthy of a chivalric medal in any medieval court of knights, as Furman triumphed, 77-73, over Samford.
With the win, Furman ascends into a tie for first-place in the SoCon standings after five games, coupled with ETSU's 72-68 loss on the road at Western Carolina. Furman is now 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon, while Samford's loss sees it drop to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in league action. It was Furman's 30th all-time win in the series against the Bulldogs, including its fourth-straight, improving to 30-12 all-time against the Bulldogs.
The road win for the short-handed Paladins also marked its 78th true road win over the past 11 years, including marking the Paladins' fourth true road win (Elon, Manhattan, Chattanooga and Samford) of the 2025-26 season, which ranks fourth in NCAA Division I over the past decade. Only Belmont (92), Vermont (90), and UC Irvine (82) have recorded more over that same duration.
The Paladins were without senior guard Tom House (concussion protocol), junior forward Cooper Bowser (lower-body injury), sophomore guard Asa Thomas (lower body injury) and freshman guard Collin O'Neal (lower-body injury). Furman also lost forward and glue guy Davis Molnar (lower body injury) in a preseason exhibition against Alabama.
Wilkins finished the night connecting on 11-of-20 shots from the field, including 2-for-8 from three-point range and contributed five assists, one steal and a rebound in the win. The freshman from Mattapan, MA., also finished the contest connecting on 4-of-7 from the charity stripe. The 28-point performance marked Wilkins' eighth 20-point performance of the season, which is tied with Wofford's Kahmare Holmes for second-most 20-point performances this season.
While Wilkins was the lone Paladins in double figures in the win, all seven other available players scored in the game, including a near double-double from Charles Johnston, who finished with nine points and a team-high 14 rebounds, while dishing out a pair of assists and record a pair of steals, with only one turnover in 30 minutes of work before fouling out of the game late in the second half. It was Johnston's 11th double-digit rebound performance in 18 games this season.
Ben Vander Wal, Eddrin Bronson, Cole Bowser and Abijah Franklin all chipped in with eight points, while Mason Smith finished with six points and was the Paladins' second player to reach a double-digit rebounds total, ripping down a career-high 11 boards.
Owen Ritger's lone points were two of the most important of the night, as his points came early in the second half, using a turn-around jumper, fade-a-way jumper as the shot-clock expired extended Furman's lead to eight (50-42) at the 15:35 mark of the second half.
Samford's scoring efforts were led by a double-double performance from Dylan Faulkner, as he posted 19 points and 11 rebounds, which marked his third double-double of the season, including his second in Southern Conference play. Faulkner was one of four Bulldogs in double figures in the game. The Lipscomb transfer finished the night connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including going 5-for-9 from the charity stripe. He also finished with a steal and an assist.
Faulkner was joined in double figures by Will Shaver, who added a career-best 15 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs, while SoCon leading scorer--Florida Southern transfer Jadin Booth--settled for eight points below his scoring average of 20.4 PPG coming into the contest, finishing with 12 points on a 4-of-11 shooting performance, including 2-for-5 from long range.
The 41% three-point shooter, who led the nation in threes per game, averaging just over four made per game and 61 makes for the season coming in was held to half that total by the Paladins. The 12 points against the Paladins was Booth's lowest scoring effort in five league games thus far, which has included 26-point and 33-point performances against UNCG and Western Carolina, respectively, so far in league play.
True freshman guard Isaiah Campbell-Finch rounded out the double-figure scorers for Samford, as he finished with 10 points on a 3-for-7 shooting effort.
The Paladins connected on 43.3% (29-of-67) and connected on 25.8% (8-of-31) from three-point range, while adding a 68.8% (11-of-16) effort from the charity stripe.
Samford finished the evening connecting on 43.9% (25-of-57) from the field, including just a 25.0% (5-of-20) effort from three-point range. The Bulldogs were a solid 78.3% (18-of-23) from the free throw line.
Furman finished the night claiming statistical advantages in total rebounds (43-32), which included 15 key offensive rebounds that led to an 11-8 advantage in second-chance points. Samford led most of the key statistical categories, however, only slightly. The Bulldogs held advantages in the following categories: total assists (13-12), points in the paint (38-30), points from turnovers (16-9), fast-break points (21-16), and bench scoring (21-16).
The lead changed hands a total of 11 times, with five ties over the course of the contest. Furman, which turned the ball over 20 times in Saturday's home win, trimming that by 10 in the road win over the Bulldogs.
One of the more interesting stats of note, over the past three games, Furman has outscored its foes 60-12 in the last five minutes of the first half and first five of the second half, which is sometimes referred to as the "middle 10" or more commonly, "middle eight" by coaches, players and media personnel. It simply refers to the end of the first half and the opening portion of the second half, spanning the first 4-5 minutes of each.
How It Happened:
With only eight players available on the trip, head coach Bob Richey knew his Paladins would have to be calculated in their approach and how they would maximize their chances to snatch what would be a huge SoCon road win, and that meant taking care of the basketball.
In the opening half of play, the Bulldogs threatened to take over the game a little over the halfway point of the opening 20 minutes of basketball, as a Dylan Faulkner slam and free throw on a three-point play the old-fashioned way staked Samford to a 28-21 lead with 8:23 remaining in the opening half.
The Paladins would post a mini 5-0 run to get back into the game, getting to within a bucket when Alex Wilkins knocked down a pair of free throws to make it trim Samford's lead to 28-26 with 7:33 remaining in the opening half.
After a Will Shaver dunk and a pair of Judson Bjornstadt free throws saw Samford stretch the lead to six, at 36-30, with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half, the Paladins hit back with another five-straight, getting a pair of made free throws from Ben Vander Wal, a dunk by Charles Johnston, and an Abijah Franklin charity shot would get Furman to within 36-35 with 1:58 remaining in the half.
Faulkner went 1-of-2 from the line on Samford's next trip down, but Franklin connected on a right-wing triple to give the Paladins a 38-37 lead with 1:19 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs then got a layup from Faulkner and a free throw from Isaiah Campbell-Finch put Samford back up two, at 40-38, with just eight seconds left.
It was just enough time for Alex Wilkins to cap off his 14-point opening half, with a running floater from about 12-feet out, tying the game with one second remaining, as the two teams went the halftime locker room level at 40 apiece.
Samford has been plagued by slow starts in several games this season, however, the slow start this time around came to open the second half, with Furman's defensive effort and intensity playing a big role, as the Paladins used a 10-2 run to build an early 50-42 lead at the 15:35 mark, as Owen Ritger's turnaround, fade-a-way jumper with the shot-clock winding down gave the Paladins a 50-42 lead. The 10-2 start to the second half gave the Paladins a lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game.
Over the next four minutes and change, the Paladins would build their lead to as much as nine on three occasions, with a Wilkins driving layup giving Furman a 61-52 lead with 11:17 remaining.
The Paladins see their lead hover around 6-8 points over four minutes, however, one of Jadin Booth's two three-pointers in the game would get the Bulldogs to back within one possession, at 65-62, with 7:02 remaining. A Keaton Norris jumper in the paint with 4:33 remaining got the Pete Hanna Center crowd back into the game, trimming the Paladin lead to a single point, at 67-66.
While Furman's defense had been good to start the half, it was even better to close out the win, as Furman held the Bulldogs scoreless from the field over the final 4:32 to secure its 13 overall win of the season and fourth in five league games so far this season.
Furman's winning response to Samford's late charge is one that has been emblematic of the type of program that Bob Richey has built in his nine-year tenure as the head coach, and has personified the "Find a Way Furman" mantra echoed over the past couple of seasons.
On Furman's next possession down the floor, the Paladins were patient and Eddrin Bronson's extra pass gave Charles Johnston just enough time to load up a corner three, as hit shot but the bottom of the net, accounting for Furman's lone triple of the second half and extended Furman's lead back to two possessions, at 70-66, with 4:10 remaining.
A fade-a-way jumper from the left baseline from about eight feet out by Wilkins extended the Furman lead back out to six, at 72-66, with 3:36 left to play. A pair of Faulkner foul shots got the Bulldogs to within three, at 74-71, with 24 seconds remaining, however, after Cole Bowser was fouled, he faced a crucial one-and-one situation for the first trip to the free throw line as a he was fouled by the Bulldogs with 18 seconds remaining.
He calmly stroked home both free throws, as he extended Furman's lead back to five, at 76-71. On Samford's next trip down, Furman's defense was outstanding, forcing Isaiah Campbell-Finch into a contested three-point attempt, but a foul whistled on Mason Smith chasing down the loose ball in the corner with 1.8 left, as the ball was heading out of bounds.
Keaton Norris connected on both free throws to get the Bulldogs back to within three points, at 76-73. Wilkins was fouled immediately on the inbounds pass with 1.1 remaining. Wilkins made the first free throw to make it academic, and then missed the second, allowing time to expire and Furman to escape with one of its gutsiest wins of the Bob Richey era.
Samford will have another huge test coming to Homewood this weekend, as the Bulldogs will host league co-leader East Tennessee State in a 2 p.m. EST contest that will be nationally-televised as a part of the CBS Sports Network package. The Bucs took both meetings against Samford last season, including posting a 65-60 win over the Bulldogs at the Pete Hanna Center before a crowd of 4,723 fans to snap the Bulldogs' 28-game home winning streak at the Pete Hanna Center.
Furman will return to the floor on Saturday to host I-85 Wofford (11-7, 3-2 SoCon), which lost 76-67, to Chattanooga Wednesday night at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, with tip-off time having been moved to 5 p.m. EST for regional television purposes. The Paladins and Terriers is the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week and will be televised locally within the SoCon's footprint on Nexstar affiliates throughout the region.
The Terriers claimed two of three meetings against Furman last season, including a 92-85 triumph in the 2026 SoCon Championship game.
The Terriers claimed an 81-62 win over the Paladins in Greenville last season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena last season, accounting for Furman's biggest losing margin at home in 11 years, dating back to a Nov. 29, 2017 loss at Timmons Arena to Winthrop (L, 74-93). It was Furman's worst home league loss since Feb. 24, 2014, as the Paladins dropped a 78-49 game to former SoCon member Elon.
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