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| Charlie Reddick and Georgia Southern's Jelani Hewitt battle for the basketball in the 2014 SoCon Tournament |
Times have certainly changed for both programs, with Furman now a regular title contender in the SoCon, while Georgia Southern plays its basketball in the Sun Belt Conference and is expected to be among the upper echelon teams in that league this season.
The Paladins will be playing their second game of the preseason, while Georgia Southern will be playing its first. Furman dropped what was a 111-93 contest at Alabama last week, and Sunday's game against the Eagles will mark the second of three scheduled preseason matchups, with the other being a clash against another former SoCon rival-- College of Charleston--slated for next Sunday at TD Arena in Charleston. Georgia Southern will play its only other exhibition contest of the preseason on Saturday, Oct. 24 when it welcomes perennial Big South power Winthrop into the Hill Convocation Center.
Georgia Southern, which is located in Statesboro and is known for its strong football tradition, having won six national titles at the FCS level, comes off a 2025-26 season with a 21-16 overall record, which included an 8-10 record in Sun Belt Conference play, which was good enough for 10th place in the Sun Belt standings. The Eagles would make it all the way to the Sun Belt Championship game as the No. 10 seed, however, dropped a 77-61 contest in the Sun Belt Championship game in Pensacola to the Troy Trojans.
Furman faced that same Troy team in the 2025-26 regular-season opener at Timmons Arena, dropping what was a 64-61 contest to the eventual Sun Belt champions last season.
In that last meeting between the Paladins and Eagles 12 years ago, the Eagles were able to easily dispatch of the Paladins in a matchup in Asheville, as Georgia Southern would post what was a 65-50 win over the Paladins in the final meeting between the two as SoCon members. Furman was under the direction of first-year head coach Niko Medved at that time and finished with a 9-20 overall record, as the Paladins were the No. 10 seed in the SoCon Tournament back in 2014.
Meanwhile, Georgia Southern was the No. 7 seed in the league's tournament some 12 years ago and went on to a 15-19 overall record and would eventually see their SoCon run come to an end in the SoCon semifinal round, as the Eagles dropped a 71-57 game in the semifinals to eventual league champion Wofford.
The Sun Belt is slated to hold its media outing next week in New Orleans, with the Eagles expected to be towards the upper half finishers this season off of last season's run to the title game in Pensacola. The Eagles reeled off wins over No. 11 Old Dominion (W, 88-84), No. 7 Arkansas State (W, 80-77), No. 6 South Alabama (W, 94-85), No. 3 Coastal Carolina (W, 96-72) and No. 2 Marshall (W, 82-78) to reach the title game in the ladder bracket Sun Belt Tournament. However, the Eagles ran out of gas against the Trojans in the title game, losing the game 77-61.
When Georgia Southern and Furman play each other at Timmons Arena on Sunday, it will mark the 52nd all-time meeting between the two programs, with Georgia Southern holding the slight 27-24 all-time advantage in the series, while the Paladins hold the 15-10 lead in the series at Timmons Arena.
The Eagles have won the previous four matchups with the Paladins, including an 82-73 triumph in their last trip to Timmons Arena back on Feb. 27, 2014. The Paladins finished out the 2025-26 season with an 11-5 home record at the newly renovated Timmons Arena. It marked Furman's worst home record to end a season since the 2014-15 season when the Paladins finished the season with just a 7-7 home record.
Georgia Southern never made an NCAA Tournament appearance in its 21 years as a SoCon basketball member, last making the Big Dance as a member of the Trans American Athletic Conference in 1992. The Eagles also made the Big Dance in both the 1987 and '83, respectively.
About the Eagles:
Georgia Southern finished with 21 wins last season, which is its most in a season since the 2018-19 season, as the Eagles matched this season's 21 wins by finishing out with a 21-12 mark under then head coach Mark Byington. The Eagles became just the third team in Sun Belt Conference history to win five games in five days last season to make it all the way to the championship game but unfortunately came up just short of making it six-for-six, as the Eagles lost in the championship game, 77-61, to the Troy Trojans.
The Eagles are now under the direction of head coach Charlie Henry, who enters his fourth season at the helm of the Georgia Southern basketball program. The Eagles took some major steps in the right direction under Henry last season, as the Eagles, at one point, won nine games in a row and in the tournament, won another five-straight.
Under Henry, the Eagles have looked some like the Eagles of the early-mid 1990s under Frank Kerns--teams that shot a lot of threes and favored an up-tempo style--and last season the Eagles shattered program records for three-pointers made (370) and attempted (1,099), and the previous record was also set under Henry a year earlier.
Like most mid-major programs in this current era of college basketball, the roster turnover was pretty substantial from last season. The Eagles must replace top scorers Tyren Moore, Spud Webb and Alden Applewhite from last season, and will have a largely different roster this season, and will have a team that constructed out of the portal that should, on paper, allow it to be competitive atop the Sun Belt this season.
The lone returning player from last year's roster that saw playing time is 6-6 combo guard Dwayne Williams Jr., averaging 12.9 MPG and averaged 4.5 PPG off the bench for the Eagles last season. He had a career night in a win over Coastal Georgia last season, posting a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards.
One of the major additions to the roster will be combo guard Josh Dixon, who is a player that is coming off a solid rookie season at Wisconsin, where he averaged 9.0 PPG in 18.5 minutes-per-game, including shooting 39% from the field and 31.2% (29-of-93) from three-point range last season. Dixon turned in his best performance of the season against Cleveland State last season, as he posted 28 points in 35 minutes, as he connected on 10-of-19 shots from the field, which included knocking down four three-pointers in the game.
Another important addition made to the roster during the off-season was the signing of guard Rashad Williams, who comes from Seton Hill University, where he appeared in 30 games for the Griffins, which included making 20 starts. During his time with the NCAA Division II program, Williams averaged 13.4 PPG and shot 41% (139-of-339) from the field and an impressive 36.8% (53-of-144) from three-point range last season.
In addition to his impressive double-figure scoring average last season, Williams also added 3.8 RPG, 3.9 APG and 2.0 SPG, as he proved to be a complete player on both ends of the floor. Williams will be in contention to start at the point guard position for the Eagles this coming season.
Dallas Gardner is a 6-4 combo guard that missed the entire 2025-26 season with an injury, so the 2026-27 campaign will be his first season suiting up for the Eagles after transferring in from UNC Pembroke two years ago. During his final season at UNC Pembroke, he saw action in all 32 games, which included making 29 starts and averaged 15.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 1.9 APG. He shot an impressive 48.5% (148-of-305) from the field and connected on 31.3% (26-of-83) from three-point land. Gardner posted double-digit scoring efforts in all but three games for the Braves, which included six 20-point scoring performances and a pair of 30-point scoring efforts.
Armani Henderson is a 6-2 guard that came to Statesboro from Trinity Valley Community College, where he saw action in the lineup as a combo guard in 35 games, including making 29 starts. He is another double-figure scorer addition to the lineup for the Eagles, who averaged 13.8 PPG and averaged 5.7 RPG, as he is a tremendous rebounding guard, especially on the offensive glass, grabbing 59 offensive boards last season at TVCC. He had a career-high 22 points against Panola College and posted double-figure scoring games all but six of his appearances last season.
One of the more impressive freshman additions made by head coach Charlie Henry includes 6-0 guard Jayden Crawford out of Alexander High School in Douglasville, as Crawford helped his program to a 5A State Title last season, while picking up All-State honors as a senior and finished with an impressive 2,500 points in his prep career. The natural point guard averaged 12.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.0 APG and 3.2 SPG in his prep career.
Freshman guard Jeromy Davis played against Furman's Collin O'Neal during his prep career, as he comes to Georgia Southern from Christ Presbyterian Academy in Brentwood, TN. He scored more than 1,300 points in his prep career and was a two-time all-region selection, and will likely equate as a combo guard at Georgia Southern.
One of the big additions to the frontcourt from the portal is Truman Claytor IV, as the 6-6 small forward comes to Statesboro from Arkansas Little Rock where he saw action in 26 games and averaged 15.6 MPG off the bench last season for the Trojans. He finished with seven games in double figures and scored a season-high 17 points against Eastern Illinois. Prior to his one season at Little Rock, Claytor spent two seasons at two different JUCOs, with stops at Cape Fear CC and Gulf Coast CC.
Cole Crissman will give the Eagles some size inside and can play the four or five spot at 6-10. Crissman spent the past two seasons at Tallahassee State and is coming off a 2024-26 season in which shot 42.2% from the field and averaged 7.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG.
The Eagles will also have a little bit of a European influence on their roster this season, as 6-9 Tsvet Sotirov comes aboard for his final season after playing the past two at Northern Illinois after starting his career at Saint Louis. He started 14 games and played in 27 contests for the Huskies last season, averaging 5.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG, averaging 20.9 MPG.
Rookie 6-9 forward Hayden Clay will also see some action in the frontcourt in the coming season for the Eagles. He earned all-state honors as a senior at Pace Academy, helping Pace to a state runner-up finish and a region championship. He averaged 15.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 1.4 BPG during his prep career.
Forward Elidjah Savane is a native of Nanterre, France and will have two years of eligibility remaining after coming aboard from Cloud County Community College where he spent his first two seasons. The 6-8, 211-lb forward can play the four or the five, and averaged 18.5 PPG and shot 58.7% from the floor last season, and also dished out 34 assists in finish final campaign at Cloud County. He averaged an impressive 11.3 RPG and could be a force on the boards this season for the Eagles.
A Brief Look at the Paladins:
The Paladins and Crimson Tide battled in Tuscaloosa a little over a week ago, with the Paladins dropping what was a 111-93 game against the Crimson Tide, as Furman connected on 18 three-pointers in the game and had six players finish in double figures in the setback.
Forward Marcus Kell posted 22 points in his Furman debut, which included connecting on 4-of-8 shots from three-point range, while combo guard Abijah Franklin scored 18 of his 21 points in the game in the opening half of play. Franklin did most of his damage from long range, finishing the night by connecting on 4-of-5 from long range.
Big man Charles Johnston, who remains eligible through a TRO granted in the state of California, added a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Tom House's eligibility remains in question in the state of Ohio, as the chaos continues to be battled out in the court rooms over a fifth year of eligibility for the class of 2022, although he is now recently listed as a part of Furman's roster. His status for Furman's game against Georgia Southern is still unknown.
Guards Cole Bowser and Collin O'Neal finished with 11 points apiece, while rookie sharp-shooting rookie guard Cam Elwer added 10 off the bench for the Paladins.
Furman's Starting Five vs. Alabama
G-Abijah Franklin
G-Luka Toews
G-Cole Bowser
F-Marcus Kell
C-Charles Johnston
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