BUCS BLAST BULLDOGS ON SHORT TURNAROUND
Wilkins and House Lead Paladins Past Spartans
The game between UNCG and Furman represented the two winningest programs in the SoCon over the past 11 seasons, which includes both total overall wins (Furman-237/UNCG-226) and Southern Conference wins (UNCG-132/Furman-129) since the start of the 2015-16 campaign. The game was moved up by a day due to a severe ice storm slated to hit the area late Saturday evening.
UNCG had won each of the past four and six of the last eight meetings between the two programs. However, Furman recorded its first win over UNCG since posting a 69-57 win at the Greensboro Coliseum back on Jan. 30 of 2023.
"It was a combination of things really...We knew we only had seven players and we also were pretty clearly watching how people are playing Alex [Wilkins] right now on ball screens and handoffs and really loading up to him and so we thought we needed to start getting more hits off the ball and we've doing a little bit more screening off the ball and you know we pulled out some of our old classics from last year when we ran Nick [Anderson] and PJay [Smith Jr.] off all those screens and some of the same play packages and it was really a more cognisant effort to try to get to."
"Some of our older teams that have been more mature and we can just let them go play organic basketball and they can make reads and they know all the decisions and this team's just not there yet and so what we're having is these empty possession lulls to where we aren't getting good cutting and good ball movement and we're settling for ball screens and being too stagnant and so the whole issue tonight and the gameplan offensively was to try and eliminate empty possessions and we just really wanted to be in something and so we were gonna get them some head starts and leverage some stuff so we could kind of get it going downhill for them," Richey added.
Thirteen days ago, House was knocked out cold in a collision with VMI's Kaden Stuckey chasing down a loose ball near midcourt, and that forced House into concussion protocol, as he would miss Furman's next two games against Samford and Wofford before returning this past Wednesday against The Citadel.
House and true freshman teammate Alex Wilkins connected on 11-of-17 threes and scored 52 of the team’s 89 points, as the Paladins delivered their most efficient offensive performance of the season in an 89-66 Southern Conference win over UNC Greensboro Friday afternoon at Bodford Arena. Wilkins and House represented two of the four Paladins in double figures in the win.
The win sees Furman improve to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play. The Spartans fell to 8-13 overall and 4-4 in league play. The Paladins also improved to 5-2 in true road games this season, while notching their 79th true road over the past 11 seasons, which ranks as fifth-most in NCAA Division I. The 23-point win over UNCG also snapped a four-game skid against the Spartans by the Paladins.
Wilkins scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, while House posted 17 of his 25 in the opening half of play, connecting on five of the team’s seven three-pointers in the opening frame.
Wilkins, a freshman from Mattapan, MA., connected on 9-of-18 shots from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. He was also 5-for-6 from the free throw line and dished out six assists, recorded two steals and had no turnovers. Wilkins’ 27-point effort was the ninth performance of 20 or more points this season.
House finished 8-for-12 from the field, including a 7-of-10 effort from three-point range and was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The 25-point effort by House was his second-best career performance, which is bested only by his 26-point effort in a 96-72 win over Mercer last season. That contest included a 6-of-9 effort from three-point range.
Cole Bowser turned in his best all-around performance as a Paladin player, adding career-highs for points (13) and rebounds (13) to finish the game with his first double-double. Ben Vander Wal finished of another strong performance, with 10 points and a career-high eight assists in 34 minutes of action.
UNCG would get another impressive performance out of Justin Neely, who narrowly missed another double-double, as he posted 20 points and nine rebounds, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field and was 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Neely also finished the evening with a pair of assists.
Neely was supplemented in double figures in the contest by freshman wing KJ Younger, who finished the night with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Spartans was Valentino Pinedo, who chipped in with 10.
The Paladins ended the night connecting on a season-high 14 three-pointers and did so at a 51.2% (14-of-27) and used a 30-11 run over the final 7:55 of the game to close out the win. It was a complete reversal of a trend that had seen the Paladins blow double-digit in each of the previous outings and get outscored 59-23 combined in the final 10 minutes of each of those losses to The Citadel and Wofford.
In Friday afternoon’s win at Bodford Arena over UNCG, the Paladins posted 54 second-half points, which included shooting a blistering 66.7% (18-of-27) from the floor and 7-of-12 from three-point land in the second half.
Add to that the Paladins were 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the charity stripe in the second half, and you have a performance that equaled the most efficient offensive performance of the season.
UNCG finished the afternoon shooting 43.4% (23-of-53) from the field, which included a 26.9% (7-for-26) effort from three-point range. The Spartans ended the day connecting on 72.2% (13-of-18) from the charity stripe.
Furman finished the contest owning advantages in the following categories: points in the paint (32-30), points from turnovers (11-7), total rebounds (30-27) and total assists (23-12). The Spartans owned an advantage in second-chance points (8-7). The two teams finished deadlocked in fast-break points (2-2) and bench scoring (5-5).
The Paladins caught fire late and ran away from the Spartans, as Furman connected on 12 of their final 14 shots from the field in the win.
Early in the game, it was both Alex Wilkins and Tom House that helped the Paladins keep their proverbial heads above water against a UNCG team they had lost four-straight against and six of the last eight.
By the end of the first half, it was clear the theme had been established and the battle lines had been drawn, as the duo had scored 25 of Furman's 35 first-half points, with House leading the way with 17 points, which included making five of Furman's seven threes in the opening half of play. Wilkins was on the verge of double figures by the time the opening 20 minute had expired, posting eight points in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.
After Furman scored the first five points on a House three and a Wilkins layup, the Spartans stormed back with seven-straight points, taking a brief 7-5 lead following a KJ Younger layup. Wilkins matched Younger's layup with another layup on the other end, as the Paladins would retake the lead, 9-7, heading to the first media timeout of the afternoon.
Another House jumper and three-pointer put the Paladins up a touchdown, at 14-7, before the Spartans hit a 9-2 spurt, which started with a Valentino Pinedo tip-in and ended with a Justin Neely layup, cutting Furman's lead to 16-14, with 11:56 remaining in the half.
Whenever the Spartans seemed to have momentum and looked ready to overtake Furman on the scoreboard, the Paladins always seemingly had an answer and that would be the case on the next trip down the floor, as Wilkins connected on a corner three to put the Paladins back on top by five, at 19-14.
Wilkins then found Ben Vander Wal on an alley-oop dunk connection to keep the Paladin lead at give, at 21-16, with 8:41 remaining, and it would signal one of the longest offensive droughts of the afternoon for the visitors, as the Paladins would go almost three minutes without scoring.
UNCG would take full advantage of that mini drought by the Paladins, scoring six-straight, with Noah Norgaard accounting for four of those points on a pair of free throws and a jumper to give the Spartans a brief 22-21 lead with 6:33 remaining in the half.
Owen Ritger answered with a layup followed by consecutive threes from House, which were sandwiched by consecutive defensive stops by the Paladins, as Furman pulled back ahead by seven, at 29-22 with 4:58 remaining in the half.
A Pinedo layup would finally get the Spartans back to within one possession with 1:33 left in the half, but House's fifth three of the first half quickly smoked any momentum the Spartans might have garnered, giving the Paladins the 35-29 lead with 67 seconds remaining in the half. A Pinedo free throw with 67 seconds left the margin at five at the half, as the Paladins led 35-30 at the break.
In the second half, Neely's helped the Spartans retake the lead, 45-44, following a layup in the paint with 14:03 remaining. It would turn out to be the final lead of the game for the Spartans, however, the Paladins had trouble pulling away for the opening 10 minutes of the half.
Over the next four-and-a-half minutes, the Spartans would cut Furman's lead to a single point on three occasions, however, the Paladins always had an answer. With the score 53-52 Furman following a three-pointer by Younger with 9:32 left. However, Furman answered with threes from Wilkins and Charles Johnston to help the Paladins build a healthy, seven-point lead, at 59-52, with 8:19 remaining.
Younger connected on a corner three and was fouled by Collin O'Neal in the process, giving the freshman guard the potential to complete a four-point play. However, Younger missed the free throw, leaving the Paladins ahead by four, at 59-55, with 7:57 remaining.
From this point forward, it was all Furman, as the Paladins finished the game connecting on 12 of their final 14 shots from the field and went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, as the Paladins would outscore the Spartans 30-11 over the final 7:57 of the game, highlighted by some highlight-reel plays, including a dunk off an alley-oop from Cole Bowser, and then Bowser also had a dunk in transition off a feed from Wilkins and an important corner three as a part of Furman's late-game flurry. All those things combined to help Furman avoid just its third three-game losing streak in SoCon play over the past 11 seasons.
Wofford Squeaks Past Talented Mercer to Garner Season Series Split
Wofford tipped things off early in the day at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium against Mercer in the second meeting between the two teams in two weeks, and after a 109-97 Terriers loss to the Bears back on Jan. 10, Wofford got its revenge in an earlier than expected start due to Winter Storm Fern, downing Mercer, 80-77, before a crowd of 2,054 fans at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
It marked Wofford's third-straight win, as the Terriers improved to 14-7 overall and 6-2 in Southern Conference action, while the Bears had their five-game winning streak snapped, falling to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in league action.
In a season in which the SoCon has ranked in the top five nationally in blowouts in league games (decided by 19 or more points) according to KenPom, Saturday's early tip-off between Mercer and Wofford didn't disappoint and was close throughout.
The game featured 12 lead changes, with Mercer holding a seven-point halftime lead, while Wofford held as much as an 11-point lead with less than five minutes remaining, and yet, the game would still end up coming down the wire, thanks to Mercer's furious rally inside the final five minutes. For Mercer, it was very similar to the way it was able to claw back late in its SoCon opener at Furman on New Year's Eve, which it had a shot to tie it at the buzzer fall off the rim on a tear-drop attempt by Baraka Okojie as time expired, as the Paladins held on for the 74-72 win.
Both stars came to play, with Kahmare Holmes and Baraka Okojie showing out for their respective teams, with Holmes powering the Terriers offensively, with 27 points, while Okojie matched Holmes with 27. Holmes was 10-of-20 shooting for the game, which included a 1-for-4 effort from three-point range, as well as connecting on 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Holmes just missed a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds, and wasn't all that far from a triple-double, as he dished out seven assists for the Terriers in the win. On the defensive end, Holmes added a block and a steal in 35 minutes of action.
Holmes was one of four Terriers in double figures in the win, as he was joined by Nils Machowski's 18 points, while Chace Watley and Brian Sumpter rounded out the Terriers in double figures, posting 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Okojie continued to show why he was one of the very best players in the SoCon, contributing his 27 points 7-of-14 from the field, which included a 1-for-4 effort from three-point range. Okojie finished the afternoon a perfect from the charity stripe, at 12-for-12 on the day. He also led the Bears with eight assists and added one steal.
Okojie was one of three Bears in double figures in the game, with Connor Serven adding 14 off the bench and Brady Shoulders finishing with 12. It was a rare quiet game for Armani Mighty, who got into early foul trouble in the game and finished with just five points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes of floor time.
Wofford shot a solid 46.9% (30-of-64) from the field in the game, while finishing the contest connecting on 44.4% (8-of-18) from long range, as well as finishing 80% (12-of-15) from the charity stripe.
Mercer finished the contest connecting on 42.4% (25-of-59) from the field, which included a 33.3% (8-of-24) effort from three-point land. The Bears were a strong 86.4% (19-of-22) from the charity stripe in the game.
The Terriers got out to a fast start and took a 7-0 lead, playing some good defense early to stymie Mercer's high-powered, highly efficient offense early in the game. The Bears wouldn't score their first bucket until 2:30 into the game, but it was Holmes that had all the answers early for the Terriers, scoring seven of Wofford's first 12 points.
Mercer would take its first lead of the afternoon when Zaire Williams dunked it home in transition to give the Bears a 13-12 lead with 11:14 remaining in the opening half. With the tied, 31-31, with 3:48 left in the opening half, the Bears would use a 12-5 run to take a 43-36 and momentum into the halftime locker room. A pair of Okojie free throws would get that positive ending to the half started for Mercer, and it would finish with two more Okojie free throws and things looked good for the Bears at the break.
The second half would see the Terriers begin to find their rhythm, and just like the opening 20 minutes of basketball, Wofford would open the second half with a 7-0 run, as the lead changed hands several times within the opening four minutes of the second half. Brian Sumpter's floater would ultimately give the Terriers a 47-46 lead just before the first media timeout of the second half.
Neither team was able to create any separation on the scoreboard over the next four minutes, as Kahmare Holmes and Cayden Vasko converted a pair of buckets, as Mercer took a timeout, the JRIS crowd looking to get one final time before the winter weather hits came to life, as the Terriers had assumed what was a 63-57 lead.
A 6-2 run by the Bears was capped by two more free throws from Okojie, as Wofford held a narrow 65-63 lead in the game with 9:11 remaining. Chace Watley connected on one of the biggest shots of the night on Wofford's next trip down the floor, as his three-pointer put the Terriers up 68-63 with 8:58 remaining, and his shot helped quell some of the momentum the Bears had begun to build.
Four minutes later, Watley's layup helped Wofford extend its lead out to its largest of the day, at 11, as the Terriers held a 76-65 lead with 4:50 remaining.
But Mercer has been so good in late-game situations in Southern Conference play this season, whether behind on the scoreboard or ahead. About the only game in which they haven't played well in the closing portion of the game was in one of its two losses in league play at East Tennessee State, when it was the Bucs that really controlled things down the stretch.
Ten-straight points by the Bears trimmed Wofford's lead to a single point, as once again a pair of Okojie foul shots were part of the equation, as it the Memphis two freebees were the genesis of the run, while a Connor Serven layup with 1:23 remaining helped trim the Wofford lead to a single point for the Bears, at 76-75.
Kahmare Holmes was able to drive the lane and draw a blocking foul from Brady Shoulders at about the free throw line, earning a trip to the charity stripe. He connected on both foul shots to extend the Wofford lead back out to three, at 78-75.
On Mercer's next trip down the floor, Okojie made an outstanding improvisation with the vision to spot a wide open Armani Mighty under the basket and a high enough pass that only Mighty can be the recipient, however, it was too high to make an alley-oop conversion, however, Mighty was able to make a great catch and quickly go back up for a power dunk and cut the Wofford lead to a single point, at 78-77.
Watley made two more free throws to push Wofford's lead to three, at 80-77 with 25 seconds remaining.
Mercer called a timeout to set up a final play with 18 seconds remaining, and after Okojie pump faked to get his defender in the air, tried to jump into his defender to draw a three-shot foul, which wasn't called but had been called in an earlier instance in which Mercer's Zaire Williams had done the exact same thing to draw a similar foul on Wofford's Holmes, however, it wasn't whistled in this instance.
However, Mighty made one of the best plays of the day, as he came up with the ball that was not close to making it to the basket because of the contact, and he plucked it out of the air and passed it back to Okojie, who was this time, was wide open at the top of the key for a three, but his shot came off the front rim as the buzzer sounded and Wofford survived in a thriller to claim a season series split.
Samford Snaps Four-Game Skid; Downs Chattanooga to Earn Series Split
Samford's current struggles started in the Scenic City, as the Bulldogs trailed by as many 28 in that contest and ended up losing by nine (L, 79-88). Things came full circle, then, for head coach Lennie Acuff and his Samford Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center, as the Bulldogs ended up righting the ship some 14 days later against those same Mocs, posting a 75-64 over those same Mocs.
With the win, Samford improved to 10-11 overall and 3-5 in Southern Conference action, while Chattanooga, which has now lost consecutive games after a three-game winning streak, fell to 9-12 overall and 3-5 in league play.
Jadin Booth was again doing his thing, scoring a game-high 28 points and was one of two Bulldogs in double figures in the game, as Dylan Faulkner added a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Booth, a transfer from Florida Southern, finished his day playing all 40 minutes and connected on 9-of-16 shots from the field, which included a 6-for-12 effort from three-point range. He also finished the game with three rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded one steal.
Faulkner also had another big day, posting a 6-for-10 effort from the field, but was just 6-for-14 from the charity stripe in the game.
Chattanooga finished the game with three in double figures in the game, with Jordan Frison able to pace the Mocs with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds in 27 minutes of work, while both Brennan Watkins and Jikari Johnson added 10 points apiece. Tate Darner finished with nine points and three assists.
Frison finished the game 4-of-8 from the field and 1-of-3 from three-point range. He also finished his day going 2-for-3 from the charity stripe.
Chattanooga finished the contest connecting on 41.7% (20-of-48) from the field, including 38.5% (10-of-26) from three-point range, as well as shooting an uncharacteristic 66.7% (14-of-21) from the charity stripe.
Samford finished the contest 40.4% (21-of-52) and finished with a similar shooting percentage from three-point range, finishing the contest 34.5% (10-of-29), while shooting 63.9% (23-of-36) from the line. The two teams shot a combined 58 free throws in the game and combined to make just 37 foul shots for just a combined 63.7% shooting clip between the two teams from the charity stripe.
The Mocs had their three-ball working early in the game, making five of its first six three-pointers in the game, rushing out to an 18-13 lead. However, the Mocs would go just 5-for-20 from long-range for the rest of the game.
Samford responded with a barrage of triples of its own in the early going, using an 11-0 run to assume a 24-18 lead with 7:10 remaining in the opening half. Collin Mulholland and Billy Smith then scored seven straight for the Mocs, as the Mocs went back on top, at 25-24, with 4:26 remaining in the half. The two teams would eventually settle for a 32-32 halftime score. The two teams combined to make 13 threes on 22 made field goals in the opening half of play.
Chattanooga started the second half strong, using an 8-2 run out of the locker room to open up a 40-34 lead following Josh Bowman dunk at the 17:26 mark. Samford bounced back to score eight-straight, capped by a pair of free throws by Kam Martin to make it a 42-40 game with 13:21 remaining.
After Teddy Washington Jr. and Jordan Frison converted consecutive contested layups to put the Mocs up 48-45, with 9:10 remaining. Lennie Acuff called timeout to get his team settled and the Bulldogs responded with a 10-2 run to go back in front by five and eventually extended the lead to eight, at 62-54, following a pair of Faulkner made free throws with 4:46 remaining.
Darner converted a driving layup to get the Mocs to within five, at 66-61, with 2:29 remaining, however, that would be as close as Chattanooga would get the rest of the game, as Booth answered with maybe the biggest of his six threes to put the Bulldogs back up eight, as Samford closed the game on an 8-3 run to set the final margin at 13.
The Bulldogs return to action Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, as they will be in Greenville, S.C., to take on Furman in a 5 p.m. EST contest, which will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network. Chattanooga will be back in action on Jan. 29 as well, hosting Wofford in the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week, with tip-off time set for 6 p.m. EST at McKenzie Arena.
Catamounts Throttle Keydets By 30 in Cullowhee
While VMI and Western Carolina moved up their tip-off time by a couple of hours in order to get ahead of Winter Storm Fern, the Keydets must have felt like the winter storm was Western Carolina, which rocked the Keyders, 88-58, Saturday afternoon inside the Liston B. Ramsey Center.
The win would see Chattanooga improve to 7-12 overall and 3-5 in league play, while VMI dropped to 6-15 overall and 1-7 in league play, marking the sixth-straight loss for the Keydets.
By now it's become pretty evident that preseason Player of the Year Ricky Bradley Jr. is not coming back this season, and a season that held so much promise for head coach Andrew Wilson at the outset of the campaign has now turned into a complete disaster.
Meanwhile, Tim Craft's group of talented Catamounts continue to see improvements in several areas as the season progresses, and on Saturday, it was an offensive showcase by the Purple and Gold ahead of the impending winter weather, as the Catamounts finished the day scoring a season-high 88 points against an NCAA Division I foe.
Marcus Kell led four Catamounts in double figures, as he finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-7 effort from three-point range. He was also 1-of-1 from the charity stripe. The all-conference post player also added four rebounds and an assist to WCU's cause in the win.
Joining Kell in double figures for the Catamounts was Cord Stansberry, who added 17 points on a 7-for-15 shooting performance, including a 3-for-8 effort from downtown. He also added five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Both Julien Soumaoro and Samuel Dada added 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for the Catamounts, while Abdulai Fanta Kabba posted 10 rebounds, four blocks and four points off the bench for the Catamounts.
VMI finished with two in double figures, with defensive specialist AJ Clark leading the way with 17 points, five rebounds and one assist, while Tan Yildizoglu added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists to the VMI cause. TJ Johnson, who finished with nine points, was held out of double figures for just the third time in 21 games this season. It marked the first time since scoring a season-low five points in an 82-57 loss at Central Florida that Johnson has been held out of double figures.
As evidence of WCU's offensive efficiency in Saturday's win one need only look at the final box score, which is pretty revealing, as the Catamounts had a season-high 17 assists, while committing only four turnovers over the course of the afternoon.
The Catamounts shot it at a 51.4% (37-of-72) clip for the game, while connecting on 40.6% (13-of-32) from three-point range. The Catamounts shot just three free throws for the game, finishing 1-of-3 from the stripe. In fact, between the two teams only nine free throws were shot the entire game and a combined total of 13 fouls were whistled. Those totals are almost hard to believe for an NCAA Division I basketball game.
Western held VMI to below 40% shooting for the contest, as the Keydets connected on just 39.6% (21-of-53) from the field and shot 36.7% (11-of-30) from three-point range. The Keydets were 5-of-6 from the line.
The game was close in the early going, but after being tied 11-11, the Catamounts used a 14-7 run to push their lead to seven, at 25-18, following a Justin Johnson three pointer at just over the halfway point of the opening 20 minutes. VMI hit back with a 10-5 run of its own to get to within a bucket, at 30-28, following a pair of those rare free throws by Walker Andrews to make it a 30-28 game with 5:59 remaining in the half. A 9-3 run to close the half by the Catamounts gave them the momentum and a 39-33 halftime lead.
After the Catamounts scored the first 11 points of the second half, to take a 17-point lead, at 50-33, following a Tidjiane Dioumassi three-pointer with 17:44 remaining. Over roughly an eight-minute span spanning two halves, the Catamounts essentially decided the game with a 20-3 spurt. After a Clark bucket cut the deficit to 15 with 16:51 remaining, it would be as close as VMI would get the remainder of the afternoon.
VMI and Western Carolina both return to action next week, with the Keydets taking on The Citadel in Charleston next Thursday, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. EST at McAlister Field House. Western Carolina will travel across the mountain to take on border rival and league-leading East Tennessee State at Freedom Hall Thursday evening, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST.
Ice Storm Fern Power Rankings:
1. East Tennessee State (15-6, 7-1 SoCon)
2. Wofford (14-7, 6-2 SoCon)
T-2. Furman (14-7, 5-3 SoCon)
T-2. Mercer (14-7, 5-3 SoCon)
5. Chattanooga (9-12, 3-5 SoCon)
6. Samford (10-11, 3-5 SoCon)
7. UNCG (8-13, 4-4 SoCon)
8. Western Carolina (7-12, 3-5 SoCon)
9. The Citadel (6-15, 3-5 SoCon)
10. VMI (6-15, 1-7 SoCon)
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