Furman Holds off ETSU for Big Bounce Back Win

Furman redshirt freshman Eddrin Bronson 

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Furman has struggled shooting the basketball of late, and that wasn't really a secret to any opponent they have faced of late, but it was the Paladins that decided to switch things up from the outset of the game to put an extra shooter on the floor as, according to head coach Bob Richey in the postgame press-conference, Ben VanderWal willfully gave up his starting position to redshirt freshman Eddrin Bronson (11 pts), and the native of Tampa, FL,  would end up being one of three Paladins in double figures, as Furman held off a game East Tennessee State squad, 73-70, in a key SoCon tilt Wednesday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

The wins sees the Paladins improve to 15-3 overall and 3-2 in Southern Conference action, while the Bucs fall to 10-8 overall and 3-2 in league play. The Paladins have now won five-straight over ETSU in the series in what was the 70th-meeting between the programs, as Furman upped its advantage in the series to 36-34. 

With the Paladins continuing to shoot the basketball from three-point land once again Wednesday night against the Bucs, Furman used its defense down the stretch to help claim their 15th win of the season and third win in Southern Conference play, as Furman used a defensive stretch holding the Bucs scoreless from the field for nearly seven minutes (6:45), and PJay Smith Jr. was able connect on three of his four shots from the charity stripe en route to the key three-point Southern Conference win. 

PJay Smith Jr. would get back on track for the Paladins, recording his sixth 20-point game of the season, as he posted 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 2-for-6 effort from three-point land and finished 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Smith also added six rebounds and an assist to the cause. 

Nick Anderson chipped in 14 points, while only taking five shots, as he connected on 4-of-5 shots from the field, including both of his three-point field goal attempts and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Anderson also dished out four assists and had one rebound.

Bronson, who not only logged his first-career start for the Paladins, but also played a total of 35 minutes in the contest, finished with 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field and finished 2-for-6 shooting from three-point range. He went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe. Bronson also contributed two assists, two rebounds and two steals in the win. 

Davis Molnar posted a season-high nine points, while adding three rebounds in 15 minutes of game action. Garrett Hien and Ben VanderWal both contributed well-rounded efforts for the Paladins, with VanderWal finishing with five points, five rebounds and a career-high four assists. Hien finished with five points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 22 minutes of game time. 

East Tennessee State's star power was on display inside The Well on Wednesday evening, and the two SoCon Player of the Year candidates--Quimari Peterson and Jaden Seymour--combined to score 39 of the team's 70 total points in the setback, however, had to take a combined 39 shots to reach that total. 

Peterson tied for game-high scoring honors by finishing the evening with 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field, which included connecting on just 1-of-7 shots from three-point range, while also connecting on a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Peterson also dished pulled down four rebounds, recorded three assists and dished out a pair of assists.

Seymour, a senior wing from nearby Charlotte, N.C., finished the contest with 18 points on 6-of-18 from the field and 1-for-5 from three-point land. He also connected on 5-of-10 shots from the charity stripe. He also added eight rebounds.

North Texas transfer portal addition John Buggs III rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Bucs, as he finished the contest with 13 points, as he did all of his damage from three-point range, finishing 4-of-6 from long-range and went 4-for-9 from the field. He also completed the contest by going 1-for-1 from the charity stripe after completing a rare four-point play late in the game to provide a little drama to the finish. Buggs added three rebounds and an assist. 

Karon Boyd led the Bucs on the glass with 11 rebounds, with four offensive boards and seven on the defensive end. 

Furman connected on a solid 44.4% (24-of-54) from the field and finished shooting 33.3% (7-of-21) from three-point land, while the Bucs, which seemingly shot a higher percentage the entire night and were 8-0 this season coming into the clash with the Paladins when doing so, finished the night slightly behind the Paladins in efficiency, connecting on 41.8% (23-of-55) from the field, including a 31.6% (6-for-19) effort from three-point range.

The Paladins were solid from the charity stripe, connecting on 72.0% (18-of-25) from the line, while the Bucs finished the night connecting on 66.7% (18-of-27) from the stripe.

ETSU and Furman tied, 30-30, in the points in the paint category, while the Paladins held a slight 21-18 edge over ETSU from beyond the arc. Furman held advantages in points from turnovers (20-15) and bench scoring (16-8). The Bucs held advantages in total assists (14-13), total rebounds (36-33), second-chance points (23-13) and fast-break points (13-10).

How It Happened:

Furman and ETSU played a tight game throughout, with neither team having led the contest by more than eight points, with that lead coming with under a minute left, and the game also featured 12 ties and 13 lead changes before the Paladins eventually emerged with its fifth-staight win in the series and seventh-straight triumph in Greenville. 

ETSU held the lead for a longer period in the contest, holding the advantage for 20:15 of the contest, while the Paladins led for just 14:56 in the game. 

With the game tied 60-60, with 3:47 remaining after Jaden Seymour went 1-for-2 on a two-shot foul at the line for the Bucs, and Garrett Hien would snag one of his seven rebounds to give the Paladins a chance to take the lead. It would then be Hien, who found a wide-open Nick Anderson in the left corner open for a three, which he drained with 3:31 left to give the Paladins a 63-60 lead. 

Anderson attempted only two three-point shots in the game, and drained both of them. They were both arguably two of the biggest shots of the night for the Paladins. His second three would give the Paladins a lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night. 

The Paladins would then get two key defensive stops, including one possession in which the Paladins contested two Bucs shots at the basket after a Karon Boyd offensive rebound, as good defense at the cup forced Quimari Peterson to miss a layup underneath the basket, and the Paladins came up with the ball to

Furman sophmore forward Cooper Bowser

keep the narrow three-point lead and had a chance to extend their lead to two possessions for just the second time in the game.

It appeared it would remain just a one-possession game after PJay Smith Jr. missed a fade-a-way jumper in the lane, however, the Paladins were able to deliver use one of ETSU's main team strengths against it, as somehow VanderWal worked his way between both Seymour and Karon Boyd to tip in the Smith Jr. miss to give the Paladins their largest lead of the night, at 68-60, with just 2:08 remaining in the game.

On the ensuing possession, the Paladins applied some full-court pressure and it was Hien, who tipped a Gabe Sisk pass up in the air to himself to force the turnover, giving the Paladins another crucial possession to try and extend their largest lead of the night. From there, Smith would drive ETSU's top defender--Karon Boyd--down deep in the paint and converted the layup off the right window to give the Paladins a 67-60 lead with 1:29 left, bringing the crowd of mostly Paladin fans of 2,347 fans to their largest decibel level of the night. 

Cue the drama. Furman and ETSU would exchange 1-of-2 trips to the charity stripe to leave the margin at seven (68-61) after Eddrin Bronson missed the second foul shot on a two-shot trip to the line, VanderWal fouled Seymour other end, however, and the talented senior wing back to the charity stripe for double bonus free throws. Seymour knocked down one of two shots leaving the margin at six (68-62) with 47 seconds remaining.

With the Bucs trying to steal or foul, the Paladins broke the press and Nick Anderson dribbled around one defender trying to draw a foul, but didn't and he went in for an easy layup to give the Paladins their largest lead of the night at eight (70-62) with just 38 seconds remaining. 

VanderWal blocked Quimari Peterson's shot from the corner on the other end, but fouled in the process to send Peterson to the stripe where he knocked down a pair of free throws to get ETSU back within six.

VanderWal does many things consistently well, but has struggled at times this season from the charity stripe. 

Nonetheless, he remained in the game with ETSU applying heavy pressure, however, the Paladins broke the pressure with relative ease, as Smith passed up the nearside of the floor to Bronson and he then quickly advanced the ball across the timeline before throwing a pass well into the forecourt and into the corner toVanderWal, as precious seconds continued to tick off the clock and the Bucs were finally able to catch up with VanderWal to foul him and send him to the line with 26 seconds left. The foul by Seymour was his fifth of the night, as he became first of two ETSU players to foul out of the game with 18 points with just under a half-minute left. 

After VanderWal missed both free throws, the Bucs quickly raced the other way until the ball found its way to the right wing and to top perimeter threat John Buggs III, and the career 40% three-point shooter didn't disappoint, as he not only knocked down a three, but was fouled by Anderson in the process, providing a little late-game drama, cutting a six-point Furman lead with 26 seconds left to just two points with 19 seconds remaining after making the four-point play stick with a made free throw to make it a 70-68 game.

Furman was able to sub VanderWal out, as Charles Johnston entered the game, and the Paladins were able to run a bit of time off the clock before Smith was fouled to send him to the line with 11 seconds left. The senior, who hails from the Volunteer State and just outside of Nashville in LaVerne, TN, missed his first to leave the door open for the Bucs, however, he would connect on the second to leave Furman's lead at three (71-68).

From there, the Bucs opted not to shoot the three on the ensuing possession, and Peterson went in for the uncontested layup to make it a 71-70 game with 4.9 seconds left. Smith would be fouled after escaping the initial pressure on the ensuing inbounds past until Boyd became the second ETSU player to foul out of the game with 2.1 seconds remaining. Smith calmly made both foul shots, giving the Paladins a 73-70 lead. 

ETSU had one more shot and nearly it count, as Peterson's halfcourt heave at the buzzer would have counted, however, the ball hit off the square of the backboard, but was a tad too strong as it bounced off the front rim and up in the air but fell harmlessly to the floor and the Paladins survived for a three-point win.

The opening half of play would see the Bucs and Paladins play a tight game until late in the frame when ETSU assumed its largest lead of the frame at Seymour's lone three-pointer of the night allowed ETSU to take a five-point lead (32-27) lead with 3:11 left in the half. 

After Davis Molnar made a layup on a second-chance layup attempt with 1:27 remaining, the Bucs answered with a second-chance opportunity on the other when Boyd tipped in a Peterson missed shot in the lane, making it a two-possession ETSU lead once again with 57 seconds left in the frame. 

When Bronson missed a three on the other end, the Bucs had a chance to increase their lead to six or seven, but DJ Hughes missed a wide-open layup off an alley-oop pass from Peterson on what appeared to be a perfectly executed play, however, Hughes banged his layup attempt off the glass and then off rim, as Cooper Bowser rebounded the ball with time winding down under five seconds in the half and found Smith who took a couple of dribbles and then threw a long pass to the far corner to a wide open Anderson for a wide open three and he would get his shot off just before the buzzer, and it hit nothing but the bottom of the net as time expired to cut ETSU's lead to just one (36-35) at the intermission. 

Furman returns to the hardwood on Saturday hosting Chattanooga (11-7, 3-2 SoCon) in a 5 p.m. EST contest, which is the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week. The Bucs will continue on the road at league-leading Samford (15-3, 5-0 SoCon) in a tip-off slated for 6 p.m. EST on CBS Sports Network.

Notes:

--The Paladins also improved to 3-0 this season in games decided by three points or less and 9-0 in games decided by 10 points or less. The Paladins are also now 7-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points.

--Anderson's buzzer-beating triple marked the third time in league play and second-straight game in which the Paladins have connected on a three at the buzzer heading to the break. The Paladins had all the momentum heading into the half and would eventually rally to pull out their ninth win of the season when trailing in the second half to capture a win. 

--Furman improved to 15-10 all-time at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and 7-1 in home games this season at one of three different venues. Furman is 5-1 this season at "The Well" 

--Furman improved to 125-22 in games played in Greenville since the 2015-16 season, which includes a 109-19 record at Timmons Arena, a 14-3 mark at "The Well" and a pair of wins at both Bob Jones' Davis Field House and Legacy Charter College. All told, it was Furman's league leading 213th (213-101) win since the start of the 2015-16 season, as well as the Paladins' 116th SoCon win (116-48).

Postgame Press Conference:

(Head Coach Bob Richey)

(Players PJay Smith Jr. and Davis Molnar)

Wofford Hands Furman its Worst SoCon Home Loss in 11 Years

Terriers Post Largest Margin by a of Victory in Series Since 2014

Furman is 14-3 following Monday night's result, and if you asked most fans before the season, that would be a start that they would have taken through the first 17 games. However, there are some alarm bells starting to sound after the Paladins have lost two out of their last three SoCon games by double digits, with the latest coming on the home hardwood to arch-rival Wofford. 

The Paladins are also officially in a funk and for the first time in the 2024-25 basketball season, Paladins head coach Bob Richey has a homework assignment, and it will be to figure out the Paladins' shooting woes, as the Paladins fell for the first time on their home floor this season, dropping an 81-62 contest to visiting Wofford.  

In a game that was postponed due to snow, it jam-packed the week for both Furman and Wofford, however, the Terriers looked the fresher team from start-to-finish, and if there would have been a way to have played that game on Saturday, it might have benefitted the Paladins much more to have just played this game on Saturday during the snow event. Either way, Wofford came to play, while Furman did not. 

The loss marked Furman's worst home loss since Nov. 29, 2017, when the Paladins fell 93-74 to Winthrop and the worst home loss to a Southern Conference foe Feb. 24, 2014, when Furman fell to former SoCon member Elon, 78-49.  

It was the second time in the past three games that the Paladins have been outscored from beyond the arc, as the Terriers were +15 from three-point range, posting a 39-24 edge in that category. The Terriers also owned the paint, posting an 34-28 edge in scoring in the shaded area. It all combined to help the Terriers snap what was a five-game losing streak to Furman in games played in Greenville. 

Wofford's win was somewhat reminiscent of Furman's 75-50 win over the Terriers at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Jan. 22, 2022. That still remains Wofford's worst-ever home loss at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

Wofford's win saw it improve to above .500 overall for the season, at 9-8 overall and 3-1 in Southern Conference play, while Furman falls to 14-3 overall and 2-2 in SoCon Play. Furman has now registered two of its three worst SoCon losses by margin under ninth-year head coach Bob Richey this season, with the 19-point setback to Wofford marking the second-worst loss SoCon loss under Richey. Only the 79-56 loss at East Tennessee State on Dec. 29, 2018 ranking as a larger margin of defeat.

The Terriers asserted their muscle and grit from the opening tip and never looked back and was never really challenged in getting the 19-point road win and it was the Terriers' largest margin of victory in the series since picking up what was a 75-49 win over Furman on Jan, 22, 2015. Wofford improved to 34-22 against the Paladins since joining the Southern Conference during the as a member in 1997-98, while Furman now leads the overall series 92-64.

Wofford was led on the night by Dillon Bailey's 19 points, while Corey Tripp added 16 and Jackson Sivills finished with 12 to finish out the double-figure scorers for the Terriers. Kyler Filewich was once again mastered the glass, posting a game-high 12 rebounds, including six offensive boards, as the Terriers owned a huge 17-rebound (52-35) advantage in the game, which is indicative of their overall dominance and energy they brought to the rivalry matchup. 

For Filewich, its his fifth double-digit rebounding game in his last six outings, and his 10th double-digit rebounding effort of the season. He also led the Wofford with six assists to finish with an impressive line of nine points, six assists, 12 rebounds, one steal and one block. 

Filewich reminds me of former Purdue Boilermaker Bryan Cardinal or a player more familiar to the league in a former era, in Davidson's Max Paulus-Gosselin. He's Wofford's ultimate "glue guy" that isn't afraid to get a little dirty to get the job done. All championship-level teams require such an ingredient. 

Bailey was simply sensational all night for Wofford, hitting shots that could best be described as "answers" as every time the Paladins attempted to cut into the lead, Bailey seemingly providing the answer each time. The Bentonville, AR., native recorded his 10th-straight double-figure scoring game of the season, including his third-straight. The former Division II standout at Northeastern State in Oklahoma finished the game connecting on 7-of-10 shots from the field and an impressive 5-of-7 shots from long range. He also added six rebounds and an assist in the win.

Furman had a pair of players end up in double figures, with Charles Johnston coming off the bench to score 14 points, while guard Nick Anderson finished with 12. PJay Smith Jr. was held to just seven points. Cooper Bowser and Garrett Hien just missed double figures scoring eight points apiece. Johnston connected on 5-of-10 shots from the field and was 4-for-8 from three-point land in the loss. He also led the 'Dins with seven rebounds.

Wofford finished the night shooting 47.1% (32-of-68) from the field and blistered the nets for a 40.6% (13-of-32) from three-point land and finished 57.1% (4-of-7) from the line. Furman came into the game ranking third nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding foes to just 27.2% from long range. In two league losses this season, the Paladins have seen both UNCG and Wofford shoot a combined 25-of-55 from three-point land, which converts to a 45.4% clip. 

Combined in those two games, the Paladins have been outscored 65-51 from long range. A stat that is as rare as 19-point home losses to conference foes for Furman under Richey. 

Furman meanwhile, finished the game with its third-straight game shooting less than 40% from the field in a game, as the Paladins connected on just 33.3% (23-of-69) from the field and only 23.5% (8-of-24) from long-range. The Paladins knocked down 61.5% (8-of-13) from the free throw line. 

Other than rebounding, points in the paint and outscoring Furman from long-range, the Terriers also claimed advantages in total assists (15-12), second-chance points (19-12), and fast break points (6-4). Furman finished with slight advantages in bench scoring (25-22) and points from turnovers (11-10).

How It Happened:

On the strength of a pair of three-pointers from Justin Bailey, the Terriers ran out to a 6-0 lead and led 13-4 at the first media timeout, leading the contest wire-to-wire en route to an 81-62 win over the Monday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Later in the opening half of play, the Terriers would put together what was a 27-8 run over the final nine minutes of the frame, as the Terriers took what was a 40-20 lead into the halftime locker room following a Charles Johnston three-pointer that rattled in at the buzzer. Wofford held Furman to just 2-of-17 shooting from three-point range in the opening half of play, as the Paladins connected on just 20% of its shots from the field in the opening half from the field.

Furman would play better offensively in the second half, but the Terriers continued to make timely shots, particularly on three-balls from Dillon Bailey, who seemingly had dagger answer threes every time the Paladins attempted to make a run in the second half. 

Furman scored 42 second-half points, out-scoring the Terriers by one, however, the Terriers continued their strong shooting to finish off the lopsided with, 81-62, at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 

It marked Wofford's first-ever win over the Paladins in Furman's downtown venue, and first win downtown against the 'Dins since claiming a 68-63 win as an NCAA Division II program at the Memorial Auditorium during the 1993-94 season. The Terriers came close to getting wins at 'The Well' in 2020 before Mike Bothwell hit a late shot to help the Paladins to a 67-66 win, while also narrowly falling to the 'Dins at 'The Well', 70-69, in 2022.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday night with crucial matchups ahead, with Wofford heading to the Scenic City to face off against Chattanooga for a 7 p.m. EST contest against the Mocs in a game that will be televised by ESPN2. Furman will host East Tennessee State Wednesday evening in a 7 p.m. EST contest at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 

Postgame Press Conference:

Players Charles Johnston and Ben VanderWal

 Head Coach Bob Richey

Furman Needs Overtime Again in Charleston to Dispatch The Citadel

 

Furman win over the Bulldogs Wednesday night marked the Paladins' 12 in its last 13 meetings against the Bulldogs and Furman now holds a narrow 52-51 series edge in games played in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C.—It seems like Furman has played basketball away from wherever it has called home for the better part of the 2024-25 season, and it was only made tougher by the fact that the final game of a second four-game road trip to start the season just happened to come against an arch-rival The Citadel, which was still smarting from an overtime loss to the Paladins last season in a game that the Bulldogs outplayed Furman for nearly the entire night a year ago.

In similar fashion to last season's win, the Paladins once again found their magic mojo down the stretch in in one of the SoCon's most hostile road venues--McAlister Field House--which housed a rowdy crowd of 4,117 fans that was made up mostly by cadets dressed in military fatigues, but Furman's defense and rebounding traveled to the Low Country, and those two areas translated in a major way to help the Paladins pull out a tough 67-63 SoCon road win. 

As head coach Bob Richey noted postgame, the Paladins might be the only team in the country that had to play eight of their last 11 on the road. Furman is the only team in the Southern Conference to have had to go on the road for their first three league tilts.

With the win, the Paladins improved to 14-2 overall and 2-1 in SoCon play, while the Bulldogs fell to 5-9 overall and 0-3 Southern Conference play. The win was Furman’s 71st true road win since the start of the 2016-17 season, as well as being the sixth true road win of the 2024-25 campaign, including being the seventh away from Greenville. The Paladins have now won 20 of the past 24 meetings with the Bulldogs and ran their series tally lead to 134-88 following the 222nd meeting in the oldest and most-played Southern Conference Hoops rivalry.

In case you were wondering about the 2024 clash between the Paladins and Bulldogs at McAlister Field House, Furman had to overcome a big deficit in the opening half, and would eventually force overtime on a three-pointer by JP Pegues with eight-tenths of a second left to tie the game, 72-72, as Furman found its second wind and were able to close out the win, 82-79.

There were some similarities to last season’s win by the Paladins in the Port City and the game on Jan. 8, 2025, with the most obvious being both needed an extra five minutes of basketball to decide a victor. However, unlike last year’s clash in Charleston, this one was a struggle on both ends to consistently make shots for both teams. In the Jan. 31, 2024 meeting, Furman benefitted from a couple of late misses at the line in overtime by the Bulldogs on the front end of two different 1-and-1s allowed Furman, which trailed by as many as 18 points late in the opening half, one too many opportunities. The past three meetings in Charleston have not been decided by more than four points.

The main difference this time around was Furman held a 30-19 lead at the break, holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 4:52 of the opening 20 minutes and were seemingly in complete control of the proceedings. However, the Bulldogs put together some of their best work on the offensive end of the floor over the first 11:44 of the second half, however, the remaining 8:16 saw the Paladins do some of their best work on the defensive end by limiting the Bulldogs to just seven points the remainder of the game and a drought of 6:40, as the Paladins went to a 1-3-1 zone and started to apply full-court pressure to force the tempo.

All seven points by the Bulldogs came on three-straight trips over the final 1:36, as he scored a tip-in, connected on a three-pointer and converted a layup to account for the final seven points of the game, and eventually, was enough to help the Bulldogs make it to overtime.

Furman wouldn’t issue the final verdict once again this season until the end of five minutes of extra basketball, and the game-winning shot wasn’t delivered by a JP Pegues or PJay Smith Jr. that delivered the most devastating blow of the night, but rather the red-headed Garrett Hien, who broke in a new haircut in an appropriate venue for short hair, as his left wing three-pointer gave with 1:10 remaining gave the Paladins a 65-60 lead and finally some breathing room on a night that had been tenuous throughout, especially in the second half.

Hien’s triple would be his lone points of the night, however, his shot was no doubt the most clutch one of the night with 1:10 left in OT, extending the Paladin lead to two possessions. The senior from Charlotte, N.C., connected on just 1-of-5 from the field for the game, including 1-for-3 from long range. Hien filled out a solid night of work on the final stats sheet, posting six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

“This year I’ve put so much more work into my three-pointer and with coach Khyle [Marshall] shooting and even when I have missed some shots this season my teammates just keep encouraging me by saying ‘keep shooting…keep shooting’ …and so it’s been different this season because I’ve worked on it constantly where as in past seasons I would be in the gym one day and not be in the gym one day and so I am in the gym every day and I know they are going to start falling eventually and they have confidence in me to take shots so it’s all thanks to them for believing in me to make that,” Garrett Hien said of his game-changing triple with just over a minute left.

Furman’s shots were falling with relative ease through the first 14 games of the season, however, over the final two games of this current road stretch, the Paladins have seen their share of missed open looks, empty possessions, and turnovers. Evidence of the Paladins’ offensive struggles on the road at The Citadel can be found in one stat, which was that Furman finished the night with more turnovers (13) than it had assists (12).

However, the Paladins once again seemingly lived up to their calling card this season, which is “Find-a-way-Furman.” The Paladins connected on just 36.7% (22-of-60) of their shots from the field, including just 27.6% (8-of-29) from three-point range en route to picking up a big Southern Conference road win. Furman did manage to limit the Bulldogs to just 39.6%(21-of-53) for the game, including only 31.6% (6-of-19) from three-point range.

There were so many storylines in Wednesday night’s clash between the Paladins and Bulldogs, and one those was that The Citadel came in as the worst foul shooting team in all of college basketball. The Bulldogs didn’t do anything to disparage that dubious distinction, as the Bulldogs finished the night going a collective 15-of-32 from the free throw line, which converts to 46.9% shooting from three throw line. That’s 11-percent lower than the 57% the Bulldogs came in shooting from the season from the line. Meanwhile, Ben VanderWal’s 6-for-6 effort at the line was paramount for his confidence, as well as the Paladins’ collective confidence at the stripe.

The junior and Furman’s “do-whatever-is-needed” forward came into the contest shooting 54.2% from the free throw line, however, the way his free throw and jump shot looked on Wednesday night inside McAlister Field House, it was evident just how much work that the Elmhurst, Ill., native has put in working on his free throw and shot overall. Even his jumper from about 15-feet out as time expired looked like it was going in before rolling around the rim and bouncing out to leave the game tied, 58-58, delivered a temporary cruel fate, as the Paladins would have delay winning celebrations for at least five more minutes. As a team, the Paladins came into the contest connecting on 68.0% (183-of-269) from the line and finished the win against the Bulldogs connecting 15-of-20 from the charity stripe, which computes to 75.0% as a team.

As important as VanderWal’s work was at the charity stripe, his work on the glass, and particularly the offensive glass (5 offensive rebounds) as well as his comprehensive work on the boards on both ends (9 total rebounds) were just as important, if not more important to Furman’s winning cause. Before fouling out in overtime, VanderWal posted eight points, with six points coming from the line and went 1-of-3 from the field. He ended the night a +11 in his impact when he was on the floor in the stat column, and he ended up being arguably The Citadel’s biggest problem for the entirety of the night, as his five offensive rebounds were absolutely vital to the Paladins picking up a monumental road league win.

“I’ve been working really hard on shooting free throws and just getting in the gym by myself and trying to create pressure situations and it was nice to kind of see that pay off,” VanderWal said of his foul shooting against the Bulldogs Wednesday evening.

“We knew this game was going to be an energy war  coming into it and we knew we had to play hard and we knew we had to get on the glass and I don’t know if we won the rebounds but we knew rebounds had to be a priority and we’ve played a lot of games on the road and we’ve now played I think eight of our last 11 games on the road and we’ve had some travel for Christmas and It’s just been a grind…And to add to that I am guarding a guy who is a great player like [Brody] Fox and so I tried to focus on those things right and just kind of focused on the things that I know I can do well,” VanderWal added.

Furman, which had only one player in double figures for the first time all season last time out in the 17-point, 84-67, loss to UNCG last time out, as PJay Smith Jr. was the lone Paladin to reach double figures in the loss. In Wednesday night’s road triumph, the Paladins were led in scoring by Nick Anderson, who scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field and was 3-fo-11 shooting from long-range. He connected on an important 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line. For Anderson, the performance was important, as he came in off a performance he’d most likely just as soon forget, as he went just 2-of-14 from the field and only 1-of-12 from three-point range in the loss to the Spartans. Anderson posted 15 of his 23 points in the opening half of play.

Also ending the night in double figures for the Paladins were both PJay Smith Jr. and Cooper Bowser, who posted 13 points apiece in the winning effort. Bowser posted his second double-double of the season, adding a career-standard of 14 rebounds to go along with those 13 points.  Bowser finished 6-of-9 from the field, but was just 1-for-4 from the free throw line. For Smith, it was his 11th double-figure scoring performance in 14 games for the Paladins this season. The LaVergne, TN., native also added three assists and recorded four steals.

The Citadel finished the contest with three players adding double-figure scoring performances, with Cam Glover’s 20-point night leading the way, while Sola Adebisi and Brody Fox added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Glover finished a strong scoring night by knocking down 6-of-14 shots from the field, which included going 3-of-6 from long-range and he finished 5-for-6 from the free throw line.

The Paladins ended up owning a huge advantage in the “points from turnovers” category, as the Paladins were a +12 (26-14) in that category. Furman also claimed advantages in the battle of the boards (45-38), total assists (13-10), and points in the paint (26-14). The Citadel claimed advantages in fast-break points (4-2), bench scoring (10-7) and second-chance points (14-11).

How It Happened:

The Paladins would break open what was a close game late in the opening half, as Sola Adebisi got the Bulldogs to within five, at 24-19, on a strong two-handed stuff off the baseline after receiving a pass from teammate Paxton Davidson, as The Citadel trimmed the Paladin lead to 24-19 with 4:52 remaining in the opening half.

Furman would end up putting the clamps down defensively from that point forward in the opening half of play, however, as Furman forced five straight empty possessions and came up with three of their to steals in the contest to close the final five minutes of the opening frame. Consecutive threes by PJay Smith Jr. and Nick Anderson would give the Paladins a 11-point, 30-19, halftime cushion.

The tables would turn fairly early in the second half, however, as the Bulldogs started to find some of their most consistent offensive success of the evening, using a 31-13 out of in the opening 11:44 of the second half to turn an 11-point halftime deficit (30-19) into an eight-point advantage (51-43) following a pair of Christian Moore free throws for the Bulld One of the notable things about Furman’s wins this season is that though Furman has gotten off to one of the best starts in the history of the program, it’s been notable that the way the Paladins have found themselves victorious in many of those games is that it has needed a spark, and at times it has been one guy, while at others, it has been a combination of players.

The Bulldogs came out and posted a 23-5 run in the opening eight minutes of the half to take a 42-35 lead following a bucket by Colby McAlister with 13 minutes left. A minute later, Cooper Bowser scored on a layup in the paint to end what had been a six-minute scoring drought for the Paladins. With just under 12 minutes left, head coach Bob Richey decided his team needed a little shot of adrenaline, and he called upon senior forward Tyrese Hughey, who hadn’t played in three contests, to try and inject some life on both the boards and defensively for the Paladins at a crucial point in the game. It would end up paying off, as Hughey would end up taking Furman’s energy up ever so slightly in the four minutes of time he would see on the floor.

With Furman trailing by five, Hughey first committed a foul and then his aggressive pressure would end up forcing a key Paxton Davidson turnover and the Paladins would then begin to chip away at the Bulldogs lead. Hughey was rewarded on a nice alley-oop assist from PJay Smith Jr., and Hughey put the ball softly off the window for two points, getting the Paladins to within a point, at 42-41. Hughey’s aggression saw him commit four fouls in just four minutes of court time, however, he helped set the tone for the way the Paladins would play for the remainder of the night even though the Bulldogs threatened to pull away once again, pushing their lead back to eight just before Hughey exited the lineup with 8:16 left.

“Tyrese [Hughey] has won a lot of games here,” head coach Bob Richey said of Hughey’s needed lift and experience he provided off the bench Wednesday night.

“Tyrese has been on a championship team and he’s played a lot of minutes in some big-time ball games and we felt like we should have played him a little bit in the UNC Greensboro game the other night and he’s got the ability to play that kind of enforcer role for us and brings some toughness and bring some edge and I thought he did that tonight, and unfortunately he got a little winded there towards the end and started fouling a little bit but yeah he did enough to bring some spark and energize us a little bit and then we went to the 1-3-1, which I also think changed the game a little bit.”

The Paladins teetered on the brink of going behind by more after Smith turned it over once again on the ensuing possession for the Paladins, the two teams would then trade turnovers over the next minute-and-a-half before Ben VanderWal was fouled on a break-a-way by Sola Adebisi, putting the junior forward at the line for a pair of free throws. With a clean looking, new and improved shooting motion, VanderWal’s charity shot attempts were both good, getting the ‘Dins back to within six (51-45) with just under seven minutes remaining.

Furman’s full-court pressure then forced a Bulldogs turnover, which was picked up and put in off the glass by Cooper Bowser to get Furman to within four with 6:20 left. The Paladin dedication on the defensive end of the floor continued to be impressive, as Nick Anderson came up with another steal and the ball would eventually find its way to PJay Smith Jr. for an open look from three, which he buried to get the Paladins to within a single point, at 51-50, with 5:47 left to go.

Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, both teams suffered a cold spell from the field until Anderson was fouled by The Citadel’s Cam Glover on a three-pointer with 3:07 left. Furman’s top foul shooter, who had only missed one free throw all season coming in (27-of-28), missed the first of a three-shot foul to leave the Paladins behind by just the single point. However, he would make the final two, allowing the Paladins to take a slight 52-51 lead. Anderson would add two more free throws after getting fouled going to the basket on Furman’s next trip down the floor, making it a 54-51 Paladin lead with just 2:02 left to go.

The Citadel would finally snap a near seven-minute scoring drought when Adibese tipped in a missed three-pointer from Moore, cutting Furman’s lead to one, 54-53, however, it would continue to be a strong showing down the stretch on the offensive end from Smith, who parted the lane and went strong to the bucket to give the Paladins the 56-53 lead with 1:28 left.

Just 18 seconds later, Adibese connected on a left wing three to tie the game, 56-56, with 1:10 to play. Furman continued to try and force the tempo, and following the triple by Adibese, Nick Anderson caught the Bulldogs flat-footed on the defensive end of the floor for the easy layup off the left side of the window to put the Paladins up a pair with just 58 seconds remaining.

Adibese continued to drive the Bulldogs offensively on the next possession, and his layup with 43 seconds left tied the game, 58-58. Following a turnover by Furman’s Smith after he had corralled an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer from Anderson, The Citadel raced quickly the other way, but Davidson missed a short free throw line jumper in the lane and then Moore grabbed the offensive rebound but somehow missed the wide-open follow-up attempt, and that would leave one last chance for the Paladins, and Tom House would throw a long pass down the floor to a wide open Ben VanderWal in the corner for a wide-open 18-foot jumper, which rimmed-in-and-out as the final buzzer sounded, leaving the score tied, 58-58, heading into overtime.

Though he might have missed the potential game-winning jumper to open the overtime session, VanderWal managed continued to be a constant problem for the Bulldogs, both on the boards and now drawing fouls and getting to the line. He converted four free throws on two trips to the stripe to account for the first four points of the extra session to give the Paladins a 62-58 lead with just 2:50 remaining. A Brody Fox layup in transition got the Bulldogs back to within two with 2:12 remaining, and that would set the stage for Hien’s late-game heroics.

An offensive rebound by Cooper Bowser after a missed long-range effort from Anderson allowed the Paladins a vital second bite at the cherry, and when the ball wove its way around the horn to the left wing to Hien, he didn’t hesitate or shy away from the big moment, and his quick, high-arching three hit nothing but net, and Hien erupted in excitement, as the Paladins grabbed the all important 65-60 lead with just 1:10 remaining.

Davidson missed a three on the other end and VanderWal grabbed the board, however, on Furman’s next possession, Smith turned the ball over in a well-devised trapping press by the Bulldogs, which would eventually lead to Smith having to commit an inadvertent foul on The Citadel’s Fox with just 24 ticks remaining. Fox made the first charity shot, but missed the second on the two-shot foul.

However, The Citadel’s Dante Kearse came away with the offensive rebound and he put the ball back in off the glass, cutting Furman’s lead to just two with 10 seconds to play. Smith was immediately fouled, and he would ice the game at the line, with a pair of free throws as the Paladins held off the Bulldogs, 67-63, avoiding a second-straight SoCon setback.

Furman will now have a few extra days to get some rest, with a snowstorm scheduled to hit Upstate S.C. region and that caused the postponement of Furman’s game with I-85 rival Wofford originally slated to tip Saturday at noon at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and has now been moved to Monday night at 7 p.m. EST.

 

 

 

 

Furman and The Citadel Ready to Renew SoCon's Oldest Hoops Rivalry

Furman (13-2, 1-1 SoCon) at The Citadel (5-8, 0-2 SoCon)

Where: McAlister Field House (5,600)/Charleston, S.C.

When: Jan. 8, 2025/7 p.m. EST

Coaches: Furman--Bob Richey (169-73/9th season)/The Citadel--Ed Conroy (75-127/7th season at The Citadel over two different stints)

When the Bulldogs and Paladins tip it up on Wednesday night in what will be the third Southern Conference game of the season for both teams, it will mark the 222nd all-time meeting between the two programs in a rivalry that dates back to the 1919-20 season, which saw the Bulldogs hold off the Paladins 22-16 in Greenville. 

Furman head coach Bob Richey

The two have met met every season ever since, with the lone interruption in the series being a two-year hiatus from 1942-44 for World War II. Despite winning six of the first eight meetings between the two, The Citadel has seen the Paladins dominate the all-time series between the two, owning a 133-88 all-time series lead.

The Paladins trailed nearly the entire way in the meeting between the two at McAlister Field House last season, however, the Paladins would get more late-game heroics from JP Pegues to force overtime and eventually hold off a pesky Bulldogs team, posting an 82-79 overtime win over the Bulldogs. 

Pegues connected on a three-pointer with less than a second left to force overtime in a game Furman didn’t take its first lead until the 7:44 mark of the second half, as the junior guard's triple rang true to tie the game, 72-72, and the Paladins would limit The Citadel to 1-of-8 in overtime to come away from a packed McAlister Field House with a key 82-79 Southern Conference win. It was a game that the Bulldogs, who outplayed the Paladins for much of the night, let slip through their collective grasp. It was the third of just four road wins for the 'Dins in what was a peculiar 17-16 season in a follow-up to their championship run of 2022-23.

Off to a 13-2 start this season, the Paladins have surprised nearly everyone around the league except themselves. Furman was picked to finish fifth, while the Bulldogs were selected to finish 10th. Despite the fact that Furman has won 19 of the past 23 meetings between the two, it's been a hotly contested rivalry of late.

The Bulldogs last pulled off a victory in the series just two years ago in Furman's school-record 28-win, SoCon title-winning season, as the Bulldogs pulled off a 69-65 win in Charleston.

Prior to that four-point win over the Paladins a couple of years ago, you have to rewind back to Bob Richey's first season in charge of the  Paladins program to find the most recent Bulldogs win, as the Duggar Baucom-led Bulldogs would overcome as much as a 17-point second-half deficit to hold on for a 100-92 win. 

In Baucom's first season in charge, which was the 2015-16 season, the  Bulldogs were able to post an 89-86 win over in Charleston and a year earlier, the 62-56 win by Chuck Driesell's Bulldogs club at Timmons Arena round out the four wins for The Citadel in the past 23 meetings between the two.

Previewing the Bulldogs: 

It's long been known that The Citadel's Ed Conroy is one of the best basketball minds anywhere. Once a Bulldogs player and now in his second stint as the head coach of the Bulldogs, Conroy, whose father Pat Conroy,  became a best-selling author, with books like Prince of Tides and My Losing Season which details life as a cadet and Bulldogs basketball player, revealing a look at what it was like being a student-athlete at The Citadel in mid-late 1960s, focusing primarily on Pat Conroy's senior campaign in 1966-67.

Conroy's father details a revealing, harsh and brutally true look at The Citadel's athletics culture in that time period, and in particular, the basketball program, which made put him at odds with the program for a while until all was forgiven several years later. 

Pat Conroy passed away in 2016, and the family name is now praised once again and very much held in high regard throughout the low country for the many positive things both the late Pat Conroy did, as well as what his son is currently doing for the Military College of South Carolina in a positive manner, and in particular, the hoops program. 

Ed Conroy is not only one of the best coaches in mid-major basketball, he's also one of the best people, as he is not only one of the most-repected coaches in the country, he's also well-liked by coaching peers because of his kindness and professionalism. 

At a program like The Citadel, he's a perfect fit because of his understanding of the culture and what it takes to be successful as a head coach in what is one of the most challenging jobs in all of NCAA Division I College Basketball. 

Conroy even spent a stint at Furman as an assistant coach for three years from 1994-97 during the Joe Cantafio era (1994-97). 

Since he was long seen as an extension as his father, the younger Conroy drew some of the dislike and distrust during the period before all was all forgiven by the program and it's loyal following of fans and alums. 

It had certainly helped that in his first stint as the head coach, he had coached the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons in program history when he led the 2008-09 The Citadel Bulldogs to just their second 20-win season in program history, and the program's first non-conference affiliated postseason basketball tournament, as The Citadel ended up garnering an invitation to the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. 

After another 16-16 record a year later, Conroy departed Charleston to become the head coach of the Tulane Green Wave. After things didn't go according to plan and Conroy was fired at Tulane, he was welcomed back to Charleston as the new-old head coach after being re-hired to lead the Bulldogs in May of 2022. Ever since, he's been trying to build The Citadel Basketball program into a consistent winner in the Southern Conference, which has been a thankless task for a program that has never made the NCAA Tournament. 

The 2024-25 season has seen the Bulldogs get off to another rocky start in the 2024-25 season, as the Bulldogs come into the clash with the Paladins sporting a 5-8 overall mark, including an 0-2 mark in league action. The Bulldogs have opened SoCon play with losses with two of the top three projected three finishers in the league, suffering a 30-point loss at reigning league champion Samford (L, 56-86) to open SoCon play and dropped what was a 81-68 loss to Chattanooga last time out on Saturday on their home floor. 

The lone win over an NCAA Division I opponent came against Stetson early on in the season, as the Bulldogs were able to get a 74-52 win over the defending Atlantic Sun Tournament champions. The other three wins for the Bulldogs have come against Toccoa Falls (W, 94-57), Erskine (W, 86-56), St. Andrews (W, 100-85) and North Greenville (W, 79-54). 

The Bulldogs suffered double-digit losses in five of its eight losses against Division I competition so far this season, with only the road loss at Boston College (L, 60-69), the home loss to North Carolina A&T (L, 73-82) and road loss at Central Arkansas (L, 71-73) being the exceptions to that. The Bulldogs lost by 52 points at Vanderbilt (L, 53-105), 13 points vs Chattanooga (L, 68-81) last time out, 30 points at Samford (L, 56-86), 28 points vs. Campbell (L, 58-86) at home, and 15 points at home vs. College of Charleston (L, 61-76). 

Needless to say its been a rough start to year three of Conroy's second stint in charge of the program. One thing is that the Bulldogs have never had an issue with is getting a little extra motivation to play its arch-rival from the Upstate, especially on their home floor. 

The Bulldogs have some nice pieces, despite their struggles through the first 13 games of the 2024-25 season. The most notable of those players and a key addition via the transfer portal has been transfer Brody Fox () from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  The 6-6, athletic guard has been sensational for the Bulldogs since being acquired during the off-season, and his game has translated especially well to the Southern Conference.

So far through the first 13 games in a Bulldogs uniform--all of which he has gotten the starting nod--Fox is averaging 16.6 PPG, which is tied for highest scoring average in the league so far this season. Fox has some similarities as a point-forward to that of former Paladin and Summerville native Jalen Slawson in terms of his athleticism and ability to play multiple positions on the floor depending on the opponent's personnel on the floor at any different portion of the game. 

The most notable comparison that most can see between the two is the athleticism and leaping ability. Fox's ability to slash and take the ball aggressively to the rim is an element that's not been often been seen in recent seasons in Charleston. A native of Mahtomedi, MN, Fox has posted double-figure performances in 10 of 13 games this season, including each of his first eight. He started the season with eight-straight double-figure scoring performances, which included a season-high 29-point effort in the win over St. Andrews. 

The 6-6 guard has scored 20 or more points on five occasions this season, with the most recent being the last time out against Chattanooga, as he posted 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 7-of-11 effort at the line. Fox is a straight scorer, and I've mentioned it several times in other articles that he scored an eye-popping 72 points in a game at UW-Stout last season. He's a scorer, however, he's not a great perimeter threat, having connected on only 2-of-18 (11.1%) long-range efforts this season. He is shooting 54.5% (78-of-143) from the field so far this season, however, he shoots only 52.7% (58-of-110) from the charity stripe. 

Not only has Fox been impressive on the offensive end of the floor this season for the Bulldogs, he's also been solid on the defensive end of the floor, as he currently ranks tied for first in the league in steals in conference games after the opening week of play, as he is averaging 2.5 steals-per-game in league play. 

Set to team with Fox in the backcourt Wednesday evening are 6-0 senior point guard Cam Glover (8.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.9 APG) and 6-6 junior shooting guard Sola Adebisi (8.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG). Both have been solid for the Bulldogs this season, with each having had their moments. 

Glover, who is a graduate transfer from NCAA Division II Montevallo, is listed as a starter, and though he started the first six games of the nine he's seen action in this season, he has started on the bench in each of the past three contests. 

Glover has posted five double-figure scoring efforts this season, however, he has not reached double-figures in scoring in each of the past five outings, as he came closest to doing so last time out against Chattanooga, as he finished with eight points on what was a 3-fof-5 shooting effort from the field.

Adebisi has caused some matchup issues for opponents at times this season, and he enters Wednesday night's midweek showdown between the Palmetto State rivals having logged starts in all nine games he's seen action in this season for the Bulldogs. 

He was a late arrival from Florida State via the transfer portal, and he's been a nice addition to the Bulldogs' roster. The 6-6 Adebisi has found his way into double figures on four times this season, which includes a 12-point effort the last time out against the Mocs. 

Adebisi is a has a nice shot from the perimeter, although he's only 9-of-31 (29.0%) from long-distance this season. He shoots a solid 54.3% (44-of-81) from the field, and he logged his most-productive performance of the season in the Bulldogs' lopsided win over Erskine, posting 16 points against the Flying Fleet in the second game of the season.  

Like Fox, Adebisi has the ability to play multiple spots because of his overall ability and skill as a ball-handler, and he's been probably most effective on the glass this season, averaging a team-best 6.8 RPG this season.  Should Glover not start again Wednesday night for the fourth-straight game, look for Lipscomb transfer Paxton Davidson (6.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG).

Davidson is exactly the kind of player and guard you'd expect him to be, which is savvy and smart, as well as being a player that takes decent care of the basketball, which is pretty much a requirement to see time on the floor for Conroy. 

He isn't going to wow you with great offensive numbers or his shooting percentages, but he does have a good understanding of what Conroy's offensive system entails, as well as given the Bulldogs some added maturity on the floor, as he makes sound decisions with the basketball. Davidson's breakout performance for the Bulldogs came in the 73-71 road loss at Central Arkansas, as he posted a season-high 23 points in the two-point loss. It is one of two double-figure scoring performances this season for The Citadel. Davidson is shooting 32.3% (21-of-65) from long-range this season. 

In the paint, the Bulldogs will rely on the services of both Kenyan Davis (9.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG) and transfer portal addition John Adams (5.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG). Davis battled some injuries, but the 6-5 forward has started 12 of 13 games for the Bulldogs as a sophomore this season and has picked up where he left off as one of the league's top rookies a year ago. He's improved both his scoring and rebounding averages this season, as he has gone from averaging along six points per game last season to just under double figures this season, at 9.2 PPG. 

In fact, Davis scored in double figures in the first three games of the 2024-25 season, posting 10, 11 and 18 points in his first three games to start out the campaign this season. His 18-point effort in The Citadel's 22-point win over Stetson. His 18-point effort also matched his career high of 18, which he established previously in The Citadel's win vs. Chattanooga in his rookie campaign last season. 

Davis is shooting 41.4% (41-of-99) from the field so far this season, while connecting at a 28.3% (21-of-27) from three-point land. In last season's overtime setback to the Paladins in McAlister Field House, Davis posted 15 points and give boards. 

Adams has been a solid addition this season, and the 6-8 forward has given the Bulldogs some decent size and athleticism, but it will be challenging against one of the bigger teams overall in the league. He's shooting 56.5% (26-of-46) from the field this season and enjoyed his best games of the campaign against Campbell, Stetson and Chattanooga, posting eight points in each of those games. 

Colby McAlister (7.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG) rounds out the significant contributors for the Bulldogs coming into the matchup, and he's been the top guy coming off the bench this season, as he is kind of The Citadel's "glue guy". He's found his way into the double figures scoring column five times this season, including a season-high 17 points in the Bulldogs' win over Toccoa Falls. He posted a pair of 15-point efforts in back-to-back outings against Vanderbilt and Central Arkansas in recent outings.  

According to KenPom, the Bulldogs have ranked near the bottom of college basketball on both ends of the floor, making it tough to come by many wins. The Bulldogs rank No. 346 (95.2) of 364 NCAA Division I college basketball teams in offensive efficiency, as well as ranking No. 341 in defensive efficiency (115.4) this season. 

One of the real head-scratchers is the fact that the Bulldogs rank as one the worst free throw shooting team in college basketball, connecting on just 57.9% from the line as a team this season. All told, KenPom has the Bulldogs ranked No. 357 of 364 in all of NCAA Division I. The Bulldogs rank second-to-last in the SoCon in scoring offense (71.8 PPG) and rank sixth in scoring defense (71.8 PPG). The Bulldogs rank sixth in the league in team field goal percentage (45.2%), as well as ranking eighth in the nine-team SoCon in three-point field goal percentage (30.4%). 

Noting the Paladins:

--Furman has dropped both of its games this season by double digits, which include a 35-point setback at then No. 1 Kansas and a 17-point, 84-67, setback last time out against UNCG. As a rule, the Paladins aren't used to such a strong start, as well as haven't been used to getting blown out in losses, and though there are only two of them, the way Furman has lost games this season is of slight concern. With that said, it's more likely that the UNCG loss was an exception to the rule to SoCon losses in eight previous seasons under Richey, as is the loss to Kansas at the end of November. Things snowballed in both games, with every shot seeming to go down on one end, while everyone seemed to miss on the other end. 

--Furman's 17-point loss to the Spartans was its second-worst SoCon loss by margin under current head coach Bob Richey and worst since the Paladins dropped a 23-point contest at East Tennessee State (L, 56-79) in late December of 2018. Strangely, the Spartans have more double-digit wins over the Paladins under Richey than any other SoCon program, having now posted five. 

--The Paladins continue to be one of the best defensive teams that has suited up over for head coach Bob Richey, who is in his ninth season at the helm. Despite seeing the Spartans blister the nets at 57.4%, the Paladins still rank 61st nationally in field goal percentage defense (40.5%), tied for 44th in scoring defense (65.0 PPG), and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.0%). 

--Furman's 12 non-conference wins are a school record, and it's 13-1 start marked the best 14-game start to a campaign since the 1931-32 season. 

--Furman point guard PJay Smith Jr. continued his strong to start to the 2024-25 season last time out at UNCG, as he posted 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field and was 4-for-11 from three-pont land in the setback. He led the team with his scoring effort and it marked the first time this season that the Paladins only had one player in double figures. He currently ranks 11th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (46.5), eighth in three-pointers made per game (3.54) and 30th in three-pointers made (46). Smith has 20 or more points in six of the 13 games he's seen action in this season, including 29 point efforts on two occasions. He has scored in double figures in 10 out of the 13 games he's played for Furman this season. 

--The Paladins have had 11 different double-figure scorers this season and six different Paladins have led the Paladins in a game in scoring this season. 

--Offensively, Furman averages 17.7 assists-per-game, which ranks 19th in all of NCAA Division I, and it's 1.62 assists-turnover-ratio ranks the Paladins 26th in the nation in that statistical category. 

--The Paladins have only suffered consecutive conference losses on eight occasions in the eight previous seasons Bob Richey has been the head coach, with three of those groups of consecutive league setbacks coming in the 2023-24 season. 

Probable Paladin Starters:

G--PJay Smith Jr. (17.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.5 APG)

G--Nick Anderson (11.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.7 APG)

F--Ben VanderWal (5.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG)

F--Cooper Bowser (8.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 BPG)

C--Garrett Hien (8.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.8 APG)

Key Players off the Bench:

G--Eddrin Bronson (6.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG)

C--Charles Johnston (7.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 45.5% from 3pt range/15-of-33)

G--Tom House (6.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG)

F--Davis Molnar (2.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG)

UNCG Halts Furman's Winning Streak in Demonstrative Fashion

GREENSBORO, N.C.—UNC Greensboro claimed its fifth win in its past six games against Furman, as the Spartans got a game-high 25 points from Kenyon Giles and claimed what was an 84-67 win over the Paladins Saturday afternoon at the First Horizon Coliseum.

With the win, the Spartans improve to 9-6 overall and 2-0 in SoCon play, while the Paladins saw their six-game winning streak come to an end, falling to 13-2 overall and 1-1 in league action. It was UNCG’s third-straight win over the Paladins, as the Spartans claimed wins of 79-68 (In Greensboro) and 89-87 (In Greenville). 

The Spartans improved to 6-0 at the First Horizon Coliseum this season and moved to a 26-21 lead in the all-time series between the two SoCon rivals. The win ties the Spartans atop the league standings with both Samford (11-3, 2-0 SoCon) and Mercer (9-6, 2-0), who both won road league tilts earlier in the day.

For Furman, which has won 211 games since the start of the 2015-16 season, Saturday evening’s 17-point loss to the Spartans marked its 100th overall defeat in that span. It was UNCG’s 207th win over that same span, including its league-standard 118th SoCon win over the past nine years.

Giles powered a UNCG offense that shot the ball at a 57.4% (31-of-54) clip for the game, which included a 52.2% effort from three-point range (12-of-23), as well as outscoring the Paladins 36-27 from beyond the arc—a stat that Furman rarely if ever loses in a game. The Paladins have given up 80 or more points this season on two occasions this season, with both of those resulting in losses. The 84 points scored by UNCG were a season-high against an NCAA Division I foe. 

Individually for Giles, he showed why he is one of the SoCon’s top players and newcomers, as he finished the connecting on 10-of-13 shots from the field, including making 5-of-6 from three-point range. He also added five rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded a steal.

Giles was joined in double figures by fellow transfer portal addition Ronald Polite III, who contributed 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from long range. In addition, Polite III knocked down 5-of-7 shots from the charity stripe. All told, Giles and Polite combined to go 8-of-10 from three-point range, while the rest of the team connected on 4-for-13 from long range.

For a second-straight season, Joryam Saizonou came off the bench to provide the Spartans with 11 points, as he posted a season-high 13 points against Furman last season in UNCG’s early-January 11-point win over the Paladins at the First Horizon Coliseum.

The Paladins had just one player reach double figures in the contest, as senior guard PJay Smith Jr. notched his sixth 20-plus scoring performance of the season, as well as his 10th double-figure scoring outing in 13 games so far this season, finishing with 24 points. In the loss, Smith Jr. connected 8-of-16 shots from the field and went 4-for-11 from three-point land. He made all four of his free throws and contributed a rebound and an assist.

While for much of the night it seemed like the Spartans couldn’t miss open looks, and even made some contested ones, the Paladins struggled to find their shooting rhythm from any range, as the Paladins finished the contest connecting on just 39.3% (22-of-56) from the field for the game, while making only 25.7% (9-of-35) from three-point range. The Paladins finished the evening a solid 77.8% (14-of-18) from the charity stripe.

While UNCG had the major advantage in shooting accuracy from both two-point and three-point range, other categories in the game, somewhat surprisingly, were much closer. The Spartans held advantages in points from turnovers (16-9), points in the paint (26-22), second-chance points (14-12), fast-break points (6-3), and total assists (12-11).  Furman had a narrow edge in bench points (18-17), while both teams were deadlocked, 30-30, on the backboards.

How It Happened:

For much of the season, Furman has had answers in games when it seemingly shouldn’t have, however, on Saturday evening when it needed answers, it couldn’t find the ammo to load its guns effectively. In the first half, Furman got the shots it wanted, however, the problem was when they fired them, they were blanks.

The second half saw UNCG step up its defensive grit and effort, however, even at that, the Paladins trimmed it to eight points on two but failed on four attempts to cut into that deficit even further, however. The Paladins came away only with empty possessions with chances to cut into that UNCG lead and make things interesting. Mike Jones’ teams have a knack for holding their own in those moments, never letting the hard-charging foe faced with a deficit get completely back into the game, and in those moments, UNCG’s defensive acumen was top-notch.

In the opening few minutes, it appeared that both PJay Smith Jr and Kenyon Giles were playing with each other one-on-one, as Smith scored Furman’s first eight, while Giles would tally UNCG’s first four. From there, others would settle into the scoring for the Spartans, while Furman, which has found scoring from a lot of different places this season, couldn’t find that scoring outside of Smith all evening.

In fact, Furman, which came into the game with 11 different double-figure scorers this season, had only one in a game for the first time season, and finished a game with only one. Even in its loss at Kansas earlier this season, both Eddrin Bronson (14 pts) and Garrett Hien (12 pts) both scratched out double-figure scoring performances.  In stark contrast to its second SoCon game, the Paladins had six players finish in double figures in their 29-point road-opening win at Western Carolina.

The Paladins were leading 9-7 after a Garrett Hien made foul shot before the Spartans would commence a 10-0 run to completely take control of the game, with the scoring run beginning with a pair of Malik Henry foul shots and end with a Giles three-pointer at the 13:09 mark of the opening frame to prompt a Bob Richey timeout.

The Spartans would eventually head into the halftime locker room with a 43-32, marking the third time the Paladins had trailed by 11 this season. The Paladins trailed games to both Kansas and Florida Gulf-Coast by 11 points at the half, going 1-1 in those games. This game would trend towards the Kansas game rather than the FGCU contest.

Early in the second half, the Paladins sliced the UNCG lead to eight after Hien converted a layup in the paint, however, while the Spartans’ response was not immediate, it was a swift and decisive and just over a minute later a Giles layup in the paint extended the UNCG lead back to double digits, at 49-39, at the 15:39 mark. From there, the Spartans would fatten their lead to 19 points over roughly the next three minutes, with a Saizonou layup in the paint extending the UNCG lead to 19, at 61-42, with 12:41 remaining in the game.

The Paladins would never get closer than 12 points the rest of the way, with the Spartans extending their lead to as many as 21 points on two occasions, with the latest of those coming following a Roland Polite III three-pointer with 4:16 remaining, which gave the Blue and Gold a 78-57 lead.

Quotable: “They were more aggressive to the paint than we were and they put the ball down harder on the deck than we did and they were aggressive finishing at the rim than we were and like I said usually this game goes to the aggressor and a lot of times when you’re not aggressive you play on your heels a bit and all the sudden you get those shots and you feel like they have to go down and they don’t.”—Furman head coach Bob Richey on Saturday’s loss to UNCG

Up Next: Furman will be on the road for the third-straight game to open SoCon play, taking on The Citadel (5-8, 0-2 SoCon), with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST at McAlister Field House.  UNCG returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 9, taking on Chattanooga (9-6, 1-1 SoCon) at McKenzie Arena in a key league tilt, which will be televised by CBS Sports Network. Tip-off for that contest is set for 5 p.m. EST.