Shakeups and Winter Weather Highlight Midway Point of SoCon Hoops

Furman wing Ben Vander Wal

Thursday night's action on the SoCon hardwood was once again fast and furious, with teams knowing when you get to February is when it becomes crunch time for positioning yourself for the conference tournament in early March, as teams try and put themselves in the best position for the conference tournament. 

If Thursday night proved anything, it was that the final month of basketball in the SoCon regular season is going to do its best to provide a chaotic finish and could serve as a harbinger of another wild tournament playing out in Asheville. At least that's how it seems. 

Literally anyone can beat anyone and there's no great team, but there are several good teams. That is somewhat echoed by the fact that the SoCon has hovered around 20-22 in the KenPom strength rankings for almost the entire season, however, reached its lowest ranking this week falling to No. 23 of 31 leagues in NCAA Division I college basketball in KenPom's latest conference power rankings. 

That's probably one of the lowest KenPom rankings we've seen this league at for at least a decade. The last time the league finished a season with a ranking lower than No. 22 in KenPom's rankings you have to go all the way back to the 2014-15 season when the SoCon ranked No. 25 nationally in KenPom's power rankings, which saw No. 1 Wofford hold off No. 10 Furman, 67-64, in the championship tilt in Asheville. The win was Wofford's second-straight tourney title win in Asheville, and we haven't had a repeat winner since!

One thing that is becoming more discernable is that there are pretty much four teams that have separated themselves in the league title chase and will be the four favorites to cut down the nets in Asheville and they are in no certain order: East Tennessee State, Mercer, Wofford and Furman. 

The night started in Greenville, where Samford (11-12, 4-6 SoCon) met Furman (16-7, 7-3 SoCon) in a CBS Sports Network matchup, and the Paladins won their second-in-a-row, holding off a late flurry from Samford to get a 78-73 win.

Tom House (21 pts) and Alex Wilkins (20 pts) led three Paladin players in double figures in the contest, as the duo combined for 41 of the team's 78 total points in Thursday night's win. Coupled with its 77-73 win in Homewood 15 days ago, the Paladins now have completed a second-straight regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs, and have now won five-straight against Samford.

Ben Vander Wal was the third Paladin in double figures, as he chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists before fouling out late. Both Vander Wal and Wilkins would foul out late in the game, but the Paladins got a layup and a pair of free throws during a crucial stretch, as the Bulldogs were able to trim what was once a 14-point Furman lead (57-43) to just two (75-73), but this time the Paladins did enough down the stretch to close out a five-point, 78-73, win. 

Samford's Jadin Booth led all scorers with 23 points, including 17 of which came in the second half. The Bulldogs also got a double-double from Dylan Faulkner, who posted 19 points and 13 rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. 

Furman's outstanding freshman guard Wilkins scored 10 of Furman's first 14 points of the second half, which also helped the Paladins to stretch the lead out to as much as 14 in the process. However, the Bulldogs behind Booth's down-the-stretch scoring in the clutch, and with Wilkins on the bench and then out of the game due to fouling out with 4:59 remaining, the Bulldogs would make things interesting, but in the end they couldn't get over the hump, and the Paladins held on for the win.

Furman's efficiency offensively continues to be something to be monitored, as the Paladins have played some of their best offensive basketball over the past two games, with Wilkins at at the forefront of that efficiency. He's taken 27 shots in the last two games, scoring 47 points. All told, in two games he's shooting 59.2% (16-of-27) from the field, while connecting on 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc, which equates to a 63.6% shooting clip in the past two games.

As a team, Furman connected on better than 50% of its shots for the second-straight game, finishing the contest against Samford shooting a 58.3% (28-of-48) from the field, which is the highest mark of the season. In fact, Furman's shooting percentages the past two games of the season, having also shot 55.2% (32-of-58) in the win at UNCG.

In the other early start, it was the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week between Wofford (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) and Chattanooga (9-14, 3-7 SoCon), and the Terriers would go on the road to the Roundhouse and end their losing streak to the Mocs in a big way, getting a 26-point road win over the defending regular-season SoCon champions.

The win, coupled with ETSU's home loss to Western Carolina, pulled the Terriers into a tie for first place with the Bucs atop the Southern Conference standings. Wofford's 81-55 win snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Mocs in the series and also helped avenge a 76-67 homecourt loss in which the Mocs came from behind late to steal a win in Spartanburg a couple of weeks ago.

Keying the road win for the Terriers was an 18-0 run to close out the opening half of play, as Wofford pushed its lead to as much as 29. The Terriers led by as many as 20 on the road at McKenzie Arena last season before the Mocs rallied back in the second half to force overtime, eventually pulling out the 83-81 win a year ago, and was the genesis of the "Mocs Magic" over the remainder of the regular-season, and what played a big role in their confidence in games during the NIT last March and April.

There would be no comeback on this night, however, as first-year head coach Kevin Giltner continued to have the midas touch for Wofford this season, and his team never relented in getting the big road win. Five Terriers finished in double figures, with no player scoring more than 14, showing the complete, balance of the offensive production. Kahmare Holmes and Chace Watley led the way with 14 points apiece, while Nils Machowski added 13 and Cayden Vasko 11. Brendan Rigsbee again gave the Terriers a lift off the bench, contributing 10. 

The Terriers shot a solid 42.9% (30-of-70) from the field and 28.6% (8-of-28) from three-point range, while connecting at a 65.0% (13-of-20) clip from the charity stripe. The real key to the win for Wofford was it's dominant in the paint in all aspects, outscoring Chattanooga, 42-22, in the paint and 15-7 in second-chance points. Wofford blitzed the Mocs on the boards on their home floor, 49-36.

Defensively, Wofford did the job as well, holding the Mocs to just 33.9% (19-of-56) from the field and only 20.7% (6-of-29) from three-point range. Chattanooga was also an uncharacteristic 57.9% (11-of-19) from the charity stripe. 

Holmes, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, finished with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field, including 3-for-7 from three-point range. One thing of note is that Holmes left the game in the second half and did not return with an apparent lower body injury. It will be something to monitor heading into some big games for the Terriers on the immediate horizon.

Chattanooga and Wofford both return to action on Sunday, with the Mocs set to face Furman in a 1 p.m. EST contest slated for Timmons Arena, while the Terriers host East Tennessee State in a 7 p.m. EST contest slated for a CBS Sports Network broadcast and originally moved from Saturday due to the threat of inclement weather. 

The Mocs had only two players in double figures in the contest, with Jordan Frison leading the way with 12, while Brennan Watkins added 11. 

Western Carolina (8-13, 4-6 SoCon) headed to Johnson City for a second matchup with league-leading East Tennessee State (16-7, 8-2 SoCon), and while most expected a "revenge game" for the Bucs, what they saw instead was ETSU surrender its most points to a SoCon foe since Feb. 7, 2023 against UNCG, when the Bucs were defeated 91-65 at the hands of the Spartans  at the Greensboro Coliseum, and the most points at Freedom Hall to a foe since March 20, 2019 against Green Bay in the CIT, as the Phoenix posted a 102-90 win in a CIT postseason tournament game, as Western Carolina a 90-88 win over the Bucs to capture the regular-season sweep.

The win by the Catamounts marks their ninth in the last 10 against ETSU, and it was WCU that got out to a 16-4 lead in the contest and never looked back, shooting a blistering 51.8% (29-of-56) for the game, including 42.3% (11-of-26) from three-point range. 

Cord Stansberry and Julien Soumaoro paced WCU with 19 points apiece, as six Catamounts found their way into double figures in the game.  Marcus Kell chipped in with 14 points, while Samuel Dada had a double-double, with 12 points and 13 rebounds, with Tidjiane Dioumasse and Tahlan Pettway rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Catamounts, adding 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

The Bucs finished the game shooting a solid 49.1% (26-of-53) from the field and 36.4% (8-of-22) from three-point land, while connecting on 80% (28-of-35) from the line. 

Brian Taylor II led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 from three. He also connected on 6-of-7 shots from the charity stripe. He was one of five Bucs in double figures, with Cam Morris III adding another strong effort, finishing with 15 points and five boards, while Blake Barkley added 13 points and seven boards, doing most of his work from the charity stripe, where he finished 9-of-11.  Jaylen Smith added 12 off the bench, while Al Strothers finished with 11 to tie his career-high scoring performance.

The Catamounts took a 49-35 lead into the halftime locker room, and much like it had been earlier in the month in Greenville against Furman, teetered on the brink of losing composure, but never quite did, as maturity, shot-making, rebounding and excellence at the free throw stripe were all major factors in why Tim Craft's team successfully captured its fourth win over either the current league leader, defending conference champion or the preseason favorite to claim the title coming into the season. 

It's uncharacteristic to not only see a Brooks Savage team surrender 90 points, much less at home, but also to be outrebounded (34-28), outscored in the paint (36-30) and allow 11 offensive rebounds to be converted into 14 second-chance points.

A huge test is on the horizon for ETSU, as the Bucs travel to Wofford for a Sunday night, nationally-televised contest against Wofford, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST on CBS Sports Network.

The final two games of the night saw both Mercer (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) and The Citadel (8-15, 5-5 SoCon) hold serve at home. The Bears completed the season sweep of UNC Greensboro (8-15, 4-6 SoCon), while the Bulldogs were able to secure their first season sweep of VMI (6-17, 1-9 SoCon) since 2014.

The Bears improved to 10-0 at Hawkins Arena this season by securing a 95-77 home win over the Spartans, as all five of Mercer's starters reached double figures in the contest, as the Bears connected on 47.1% (32-of-68) for the game and connected on 40% (16-of-40) from three-point range in the win. 

UNCG struggled to its offensive rhythm for much of the night, as the Spartans connected on just 38.6% (27-of-70), and that included struggling from three-point range, connecting on just 29.4% (10-of-34) from three-point range. Baraka Okojie and Brady Shoulders both finished the contest with 16 points apiece, while the 16 threes made by Mercer in the game are a new school record. 

Armani Mighty charted his 13th double-double of the season, finishing the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Kyle Cuffe Jr. finished with 15 points and five rebounds, while Zaire Williams finished with 13 points and five rebounds. 

UNCG got a game-high 30 points from freshman standout KJ Younger, as he finished contest with 11-of-20 from the field, which included a 4-of-9 effort from three-point range and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. 

After a big loss at East Tennessee State on the road, The Citadel returned to McAlister Field House on Thursday evening, as the Bulldogs hosted the VMI Keydets, and The Citadel would end up posting their largest margin of victory in a Southern Conference game and NCAA Division I this season, with an 80-56 win over VMI, posting the first season sweep of the Keydets since 2014.

The key to the win for the Bulldogs easy, as they had their eyes well-trained from beyond the arc all night, connecting on 17 three-pointers in the contest en route to the win.

Christian Moore continued his strong play for the Bulldogs, posting 20 and leading five Bulldogs in double figures in the game. It was Moore's third 20-point effort of the season. Carter Kingsbury was back in the lineup after missing a couple of games with an illness, and he finished with 16 points and seven assists, recording career-highs in both made threes (4) and total assists (7). 

Valdosta State transfer Braxton Williams added 13 points, which included nine points on three threes. Williams has been hot as of late, charting his 11th double-figure scoring effort in the past 16 games. Finally, Sola Adebisi posted his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Eze Wali rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures, with 11 points and four assists. Mario Tatum Jr. led the Keydets with 12. 

The Bulldogs found their shooting stroke early in the contest, while continuing to improve with each game on the defensive end of the floor, as they would take a 34-25 lead into the halftime locker room. An 11-3 run out of the locker room would increase the Bulldogs lead to 17, at 45-28. Adebisi's energy was strong throughout, and his back-to-back conversions on second-chance opportunities gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night, at 27 (78-51) with 2:16 left.

The Bulldogs held the Keydets to just 37.0% shooting from the field and owned a 43-30 advantage on the glass. The Bulldogs posted 14 offensive rebounds and had 21 assists on 28 made field goals, while turning over only nine times, which was their lowest in SoCon play this season.

The Citadel wing Christian Moore (photo courtesy of The Citadel athletics)

With much of the SoCon's scheduled games being altered due to another winter storm, there were only two games on Saturday, and up first was the red-hot Bulldogs, and they kept the hot streak going by getting their third overtime win in league play out of four overtime games played in SoCon action this season.

The only loss in conference play came two weeks ago to UNC Greensboro, as the Spartans pulled out a 69-66 win over the Bulldogs at Bodford Arena. There are two common threads that have happened when The Citadel and UNCG have met this season. The first is that both games have ended up in overtime, while the second is the fact that the losing team each time has ended up with 66 points, and this time it was UNCG that was the team that ended the game with the 66 points, with the Bulldogs outscoring the Spartans, 11-6, in the extra session.

The Citadel went to the half leading the contest 32-30 lead after the Bulldogs ran out to an early 21-12 lead in the opening half. Braxton Williams, who ended up leading the Bulldogs offensively on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, which included a pair of three-pointers and added five assists to tie his career-high, picked up where he left off in the first half early in the second, as he helped stretch the Bulldogs' lead to nine points before the Spartans embarked on an 18-6 run midway through the second half and back-to-back threes would see the Spartans eventually take the 54-51 lead with 9:21 left in the game.

Logan Applegate made maybe the biggest shot of the afternoon with his three that tied the game, 58-58, with 1:37 remaining, and then Sola Adebisi scored in the paint with 50 seconds remaining, tying the game, 60-60. UNCG's three at the buzzer was off the front iron and no good, and the game went to overtime. 

In that extra session, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 67-60 lead by scoring the first seven points of the extra session and eventually held on for the five-point, 71-66 win.

KJ Younger was once again strong in the loss for the Spartans, as he posted a game-high 24points coming off his 30-point outburst at Mercer in the previous outing. Justin Neely added his 12th double-double of the season, with 19 points and 13 boards.

Williams was joined in double figures for The Citadel by Christian Moore and Carter Kingsbury, who added 12 and 11 points, respectively. 

Mercer has quietly continued progress under second-year head coach Ryan Ridder, and that progress continued on Saturday afternoon against a tough, gritty bunch from VMI looking to spring the upset amid the winter weather that slammed the southeast over the weekend, and the fact that the Bears were 10-0 at Hawkins Arena this season didn't seem to phase the Keydets most of the afternoon, however, a late surge was too much for the exhausted Keydets, and Mercer ran out a 95-81 winner in a game that was closer than the 14-point final margin might indicate. 

The Bears posted a 21-7 run over the final five minutes to pull away and post the 14-point win, improving to 11-0 on the home floor this season. Mercer remains the lone SoCon team to sport an undefeated home mark in the 2025-26 season.  One of the milestone moments in the contest was that of Zaire Williams, who finished with 10 points to surpass the 1,000-point threshold for his career in the process. 

Mercer was again efficient offensively, connecting on 50% (32-for-64) from the field, garnering the season sweep of the Keydets. Mercer finished the contest 9-of-29 from three-point range (29%). VMI finished the game shooting 41.9% (29-for-62) from the field and shot a solid 38.1% (16-of-42) from three-point range. VMI was blitzed in the paint, getting out-rebounded 46-28 and out-scored in the paint, 40-18. 

Baraka Okojie led the Bears, posting 24 points and dished out a game-high seven assists, while Kyle Cuffe Jr. continued his strong play of late, as he added 17 point 7-for-14 shooting from the field. Brady Shoulders went for 11 points and 12 boards. 

TJ Johnson scored a game-high 26 points and was one of four Keydets in double figures. He finished the afternoon going 8-for-16 from the field and 7-of-15 from the field, while connecting on 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. In Mercer's first and only ever win at Mercer last season, Johnson also turned in a strong performance in Macon last season, with 19 points, which included a 5-for-9 effort in the 80-71 win over the Bears at Hawkins Arena last February. 

However, the Keydets remain without their leading scorer in that game from a year ago, in Rickey Bradley Jr., who posted 22 points in the win at Hawkins Arena last season, and has yet to log action in any game this season. Johnson was joined in double figures for the Keydets by Linus Holmstrom, who added 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-for-7 from three-point land, while Tan Yildizoglu added a double-double, with 13 points and 10 assists. Cal Liston rounded out the double-figure scorers for VMI with 12 points on a 4-for-9 effort from three-point range.

The game itself saw 14 lead changes and was tied on nine occasions. In the opening half, the two teams went back-and-forth, with Mercer jumping out to an early 21-13 lead before VMI responded with a 14-5 run to take a 27-26 lead following a pair of Holmstrom free throws with 8:37 remaining in the half. 

After Okojie put Mercer back up six with a jumper, at 34-28, Tristan Gross canned threes on consecutive trips down the floor to put Mercer ahead by double-digits late in the half, at 43-32. However, the Keydets scored the final five points of the frame to trim the margin to six at the half, at 43-37. 

After Mercer stretched its lead to 11 early in the second half, VMI got right back into the game with a 17-5 run to take a 59-57 lead following a Holmstrom three with 13:08 remaining. Over the next eight minutes, neither team held more than a one-possession lead. During that stretch, Connor Serven, who has been playing exceptionally well of late for the Bears, came up with an offensive rebound and put-back to give the Bears a 68-67 lead. 

Then, after a Keydets miss, Shoulders corralled one of his 12 rebounds in the contest and found a sprinting Mighty up the floor with an outlet pass, and his one-handed tomahawk dunk gave the Bears a 74-71 lead with just under six minutes remaining. 

With the game tied 74-74, the Bears' offensive efficiency hit at optimum level at just the right time, with Okojie's steal and layup highlighting the stretch, marking a quick 8-0 spurt to give the Bears an 82-74 lead with 3:15 remaining. A Cuffe Jr. alley-opp slam off a beautiful feed from Okojie highlighted a 19-4 stretch and gave the Bears a 93-78 lead with 22 seconds remaining. Mercer would eventually settle for the 95-81 win to remain in second in the league standings. 

First up on Sunday were both Furman and Western Carolina on their respective home floors facing off against a pair of teams looking to spring upsets, in Chattanooga and Samford, with both games tipping off at noon.

Furman played its game before a national television audience on ESPN2, and for the first half, dazzled in the return of big man Cooper Bowser after having missed a total of 11 games as a result of lower body injury. He helped Furman to one its two 24-point leads of the opening half following a thunderous dunk off a feed from Ben Vander Wal, giving the Paladins a 38-14 lead with 4:07 remaining in the opening half of play. 

From there, Furman managed to close out the opening half with 19-point lead, as freshman phenom Alex Wilkins posted 14 of his career-high 33 points in the opening half of play, as the Paladins went to the half with a 42-23 lead.

After most casual basketball fans had already changed the channel to something else, Dan Earl's team mounted a furious second-half rally, which included a 13-0 run early in the second half to get within six, at 49-43, when Brennan Watkins knocked down about a 15-foot jumper with 13:24 lead.

However, the Paladins, who have been prone to blowing big leads, found a way to push the advantage back to 10 following a three from Cole Bowser with eight minutes remaining, at 60-50

Later in the second half Cooper Bowser found Cole Bowser for a layup and he was fouled to garner an opportunity at a three-point play the old-fashioned way to give the Paladins a 65-55 lead with 4:52 remaining to keep the game at a reasonable cushion. 

The Paladins were able to maintain a six-to-10 point cushion until the final minute, as the Mocs threatened late. First, a Jordan Frison jumper with 50 seconds remaining cut the Paladin lead to just four, at 68-64. The Mocs weren't done, cutting it four following a Tate Darner triple to make it a 73-70 deficit for UTC with 17 seconds remaining.

However, Furman was solid at the line in the final minute of the game, connecting on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 42 seconds to help maintain its distance on the scoreboard from the Mocs and secure a 75-70 Southern Conference win. It was Ed Bronson's two free throws in a pressure situation that put the final two points on the board for a second-straight game to secure the home win for the Paladins. 

With the win, the Paladins improve 16-7 overall and 7-3 in SoCon action, while the Mocs fall to 9-14 overall and 3-7 in league play. The win gives Furman the season sweep of the Mocs, and the Paladins have now won three-straight against the Mocs and four of the last six over Chattanooga. The Paladins defeated Chattanooga, 78-67, back on Jan 7 at McKenzie Arena.

Wilkins was the only Paladin player in double figures and with his game-high 33-point effort, the native of Mattapan, MA., connected on 10-of-16 shots from the field, including a career-best 6-for-8 from three-point range. Wilkins was also 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Over the past three games, Wilkins is 26-of-43 (60.4%) from the field, including 13-of-19 (68.4%) from three-point range. He has also connected on 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line. All told, he's scored a combined 80 points in those three Paladin wins.

Wilkins' 33-point effort is the second-most points ever by a Paladin rookie, with only Jonathan Moore's 34 points and 14 rebounds against Georgia on Dec. 16, 1976. His 33-point marks the first 30-point effort by Furman freshman since Jason Stewart scored 30 points against Clemson on Dec. 16, 1995. Wilkins' 33-point effort now gives him 429 points in his freshman season. It ranks as the fourth-best freshman season in Furman basketball history, trailing only Jonathan Moore (561 pts), Karim Souchu (459 pts) and George Singleton (435 pts) for points in a rookie season. 

The career-high scoring output also marked Wilkins' 11th performance of 20 or more points in a game this season, which ties him for second in the league lead in that category alongside Wofford guard Kahmare Holmes (11) and just behind Samford's talented scoring guard Jadin Booth, who leads the league with twelve 20+point scoring performances this season. Wilkins leads the SoCon with 153 made field goals, with Samford's Dylan Faulkner a distance second with 136 through 23 games in the 2025-26 season. 

Cooper Bowser, who was playing his first game since Dec. 18 against Manhattan, finished with nine points and four rebounds in 23 minutes of action, while Eddrin Bronson also finished with nine points. Ben Vander Wal finished off another "glue guy" performance by posting seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in the 'Dins win. 

Chattanooga finished the afternoon with two players in double figures, with Brennan Watkins leading the way with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-for-8 from long-range and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Watkins also added five rebounds to the Mocs' cause. Teddy Washington Jr. came off the bench to add 16 points and three rebounds.

The other game going on simultaneous to Furman-Chattanooga was a clash between Western Carolina and Samford. The Catamounts were 3-0 against two of the top teams in the SoCon--ETSU and Furman--but had let a big lead slip away on the road in an early conference matchup at Samford back on Jan. 7, as the Bulldogs posted an 82-77 win in a thriller on that occasion.

On the road at the Ramsey Center this time around, Lennie Acuff's team was solid once again, and perhaps even better than the first meeting, garnering an 88-74 win at the Liston B. Ramsey Center. Like Wilkins for Furman did against the Mocs, it was Samford's Dylan Faulkner that helped lead the Bulldogs out to early success, scoring 14 of his game-high 23 points in the opening half of play. 

Faulkner would end up finishing out the contest connecting on 8-of-12 shots from the field, and was 7-for-12 from the charity stripe.  He also added 14 rebounds to Samford's cause to post his sixth double-double effort of the season, including having done so in his third-straight game. 

Three other Bulldogs would follow suit by also adding double-figure scoring performances, led by Jadin Booth, who finished with 18 points, while Isaiah Campbell-Finch and Zion Wilburn chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Cade Norris added 10. 

The Catamounts had three players finish the afternoon in double figures, with Cord Stansberry leading the way for WCU with 13 points, while Julien Soumaoro and Samuel Dada added 10 off the bench to lead the Catamounts.

Western Carolina ended the contest shooting just 38.5% (25-of-65) from the field, while connecting on only 24.0% (6-for-25) from three-point range. The Catamounts were a solid 75.0% (18-of-24) from the charity stripe in the contest. 

Samford, meanwhile, finished the game shooting a solid 50% (24-of-48) from the field, including 41.7% (10-of-24) from three-point range, and 73.2% (30-of-41) from the charity stripe. 

After Western Carolina scored five of the first seven points of the game and jumped out to an early lead, Samford bounced back and responded with a 10-2 spurt to take control of the game. WCU's Justin Johnson pulled the Catamounts back to within a point by scoring buckets on consecutive trips down the floor, getting WCU to within a point, at 12-11, with 13:19 remaining in the opening half.

The Catamounts eventually took a 24-23 lead following a pair of Marcus Kell free throws at the 9:07 mark, however, a 9-0 spurt gave the Bulldogs the lead back at 32-24, however, a 15-9 spurt to close the half got the Catamounts to within two, at 41-39, at the halftime break.

The second half, however, belonged to the Bulldogs, with an early Kell three keeping the Catamounts within striking distance, at 54-48. However, a 9-0 run by the Bulldogs would see them create some separation, and a 13-4 later in the second half saw Samford increase its lead to as much as 20, at 76-56, following a four-point play from Booth with 6:21 remaining. The Catamounts could never get the deficit inside double digits the rest of the way, as Samford left snowy Cullowhee with a huge, 88-74, road win. 

The final game of the day was the biggest, as first-place was one the line in the Southern Conference when East Tennessee State and Wofford met for the first time this season at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Sunday evening, with the game moved back over 24 hours to accommodate both travel and the winter weather moving through the Upstate South Carolina area.

Like the Furman-Chattanooga game, the game featured only students and Wofford employees as a result of the weather, and the game played before a national television audience on CBS Sports Network. The Terriers were playing without SoCon Player of the Year candidate Kahmare Holmes, who had been averaging 19.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG, as he injured his ankle in Wofford's 26-point win at Chattanooga the previous Thursday night.

Without him, the Terriers would stay in the game and fight valiantly most of the way, but in the end were overwhelmed by ETSU in the latter stages of the game, as the Bucs left Spartanburg with a win for the second year in a row, posting an 86-72 win over Wofford. 

It was a dominant performance from ETSU's frontcourt that allowed it to escape snowy Spartanburg with win No. 16 of the season, posting a 38-32 edge in points in the paint, while owning a 19-10 edge in second-chance points, which came on 11 offensive rebounds. All told, the Bucs were a +11 on the backboards (35-24), and saw its starting big men combine for 50 points, 17 rebounds, seven steals, four assists and three blocks. 

Cam Morris III led the way for ETSU, as he posted 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also finished the contest with seven rebounds, five steals, two assists and blocked a shot. 

Jordan McCullum added 17 points, four rebounds and two steals, while Blake Barkley rounded out the starters underneath by adding 11 points, six rebounds and a block. 

Helping key the backcourt was Allen Strothers, finishing off another solid offensive performance by finishing in double figures once again, adding 11 points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal. Jaylen Smith added 10 off the bench for ETSU.

Wofford finished the night with four finding their way into double figures, with Nils Machowski scoring a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. He also went 3-for-5 from the line and added three rebounds, two assists and a block to his overall stat line. 

Chace Watley continued his strong play, showing he is one of the top freshman guards in the SoCon once again, adding 19 points and four boards, while classmate and big man Brian Sumpter put forth another strong effort, which included a couple of thunderous dunks, as he finished the evening with 12 points, eight boards and a block. Brendan Rigsbee rounded out the Terriers in double figures with 11.

For the game, ETSU shot the ball well all night, scoring 41 points in the first half and 45 in the second, as the Bucs hit on 48.2% (27-of-56) from the field for the game, including 40.0% (6-of-15) from three-point range and blistered the nets at a scorching 92.9% (26-of-28) rate from the charity stripe.

Wofford, meanwhile, finished the night connecting on a solid 48.1% (26-of-54) from the field and 36.8% (7-of-19) from three-point range, while shooting a good 81.3% (13-of-16) from the line. 

ETSU got going early and threatened to blow the game wide open when Blake Barkley converted a layup to give the Bucs a 25-14 lead midway through the opening frame, and threatened again moments later when Cam Morris III thundered home a two-handed hammer dunk off a rebound carom off a Brian Taylor II missed layup, and then followed that up with a layup in transition off a Bucs steal to give ETSU its second 11-point lead, at 29-18, in quick succession with 8:17 left in the opening half. 

Wofford, however, fought hard, despite not having its best player on the floor, and it was back-to-back threes from Nils Machowski that got the Terriers right back in the game and the Terriers eventually pulled even, at 39-39, when Brendan Rigsbee hit a three from the top of the key with 46 seconds remaining in the half. ETSU would have the final say at the close of the half, however, as Blake Barkley's layup with 18 seconds remaining was enough to give the Bucs a slight 41-39 halftime edge.

After Cayden Vasko's three gave Wofford a 43-42 lead early in the second half, the student-only crowd got loud, as the Terriers looked to take control of the game from the outset of the second half. However, ETSU took a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the night when Brian Taylor II's two made free throws was followed by an Allen Strothers steal and feed to Jordan McCullum for the dunk in transition, giving the Bucs a 49-46 lead a little less than four minutes into the second half. 

Strothers then made two more free throws and then assisted on a Maki Johnson three, and then on another dunk for Morris off a perfectly executed pass and finally finished off the flurry with a three-pointer of his own, as he finished off a career-high 11-point performance for the third time in five games and gave ETSU a 59-50 lead with 12:05 remaining. 

A little less than three minutes later, Jaylen Smith converted a layup and then issued a technical foul for taunting, as he gave the Bucs a 63-53 lead with 9:16 remaining. The Bucs wouldn't need to score from the field for the night, but would be rewarded for their aggression on offense, as ETSU scored its final 23 points from the charity stripe as part of a 25-for-26 performance in the second half to run out 14-point winners and in sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference. 

ETSU finished an astoundingly efficient 21-of-22 from the line over the final eight minutes of the contest. The Bucs were just 1-for-2 in the opening 20 minutes of basketball, outscoring Wofford 26-13 from the charity stripe on 12 more attempts (28-16). 

With ETSU's win, it sets the Bucs up in a good position coming up this week, facing off against a hot Furman team that has won three-straight, but a Paladins team that will encounter their toughest road game of the season in league play to this point, as the they continue to get back to full strength. The tip-off for that contest will be at 7 p.m. EST at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, while Wofford will look to bounce back against VMI Wednesday night at Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA., with tip-off set for 6 p.m. EST. 

Check out the full schedule and power rankings below.

SoCon Schedule For Feb. 4

Western Carolina (8-13, 4-6 SoCon) at UNC Greensboro (8-15, 4-6 SoCon), 6 p.m. EST 

Wofford (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) at VMI (6-17, 1-9 SoCon), 6 p.m. EST 

Furman (16-7, 7-3 SoCon) at East Tennessee State (16-7, 8-2 SoCon), 7 p.m. EST

SoCon Schedule For Feb. 5

Mercer (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) at Chattanooga (9-14, 3-7 SoCon), 7 p.m. EST

The Citadel (8-15, 5-5 SoCon) at Samford (11-12, 4-6 SoCon), 8 p.m. EST

Power Rankings after 10 games:

1. East Tennessee State

2. Furman

T-2. Mercer

T-2. Wofford

5. Samford

6. The Citadel

7. Western Carolina

8. UNCG

9. Chattanooga 

10. VMI

Furman Holds off Chattanooga Before Student-Only Audience Due to Inclement Weather

Furman freshman guard Alex Wilkins

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Furman Freshman guard Alex Wilkins scored a career-high 33 points and dished out five assists, as the Paladins jumped out to as much to as much as a 24-point first half lead, including 19 at the half, only to see Chattanooga rally to trim it to three with 17 seconds remaining, but Furman found a way to maintain the advantage hitting its free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 75-70 SoCon win before a limited student-only crowd at Timmons Arena.

With the win, the Paladins improve 16-7 overall and 7-3 in SoCon action, while the Mocs fall to 9-14 overall and 3-7 in league play. The win gives Furman the season sweep of the Mocs, and the Paladins have now won three-straight against the Mocs and four of the last six over Chattanooga. The Paladins defeated Chattanooga, 78-67, back on Jan 7 at McKenzie Arena.

Wilkins was the only Paladin player in double figures and with his game-high 33-point effort, the native of Mattapan, MA., connected on 10-of-16 shots from the field, including a career-best 6-for-8 from three-point range. Wilkins was also 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Over the past three games, Wilkins is 26-of-43 (60.4%) from the field, including 13-of-19 (68.4%) from three-point range. He has also connected on 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line. All told, he's scored a combined 80 points in those three Paladin wins.

Wilkins' 33-point effort is the second-most points ever by a Paladin rookie, with only Jonathan Moore's 34 points and 14 rebounds against Georgia on Dec. 16, 1976. His 33-point marks the first 30-point effort by Furman freshman since Jason Stewart scored 30 points against Clemson on Dec. 16, 1995. Wilkins' 33-point effort now gives him 429 points in his freshman season. It ranks as the fourth-best freshman season in Furman basketball history, trailing only Jonathan Moore (561 pts), Karim Souchu (459 pts) and George Singleton (435 pts) for points in a rookie season. 

The career-high scoring output also marked Wilkins' 11th performance of 20 or more points in a game this season, which ties him for second in the league lead in that category alongside Wofford guard Kahmare Holmes (11) and just behind Samford's talented scoring guard Jadin Booth, who leads the league with twelve 20+point scoring performances this season. Wilkins leads the SoCon with 153 made field goals, with Samford's Dylan Faulkner a distance second with 136 through 23 games in the 2025-26 season. 

Cooper Bowser, who was playing his first game since Dec. 18 against Manhattan, finished with nine points and four rebounds in 23 minutes of action, while Eddrin Bronson also finished with nine points. Ben Vander Wal finished off another "glue guy" performance by posting seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in the 'Dins win. 

Chattanooga finished the afternoon with two players in double figures, with Brennan Watkins leading the way with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-for-8 from long-range and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Watkins also added five rebounds to the Mocs' cause. Teddy Washington Jr. came off the bench to add 16 points and three rebounds.

Furman finishes the contest connecting on 50% (25-of-50) of its shots from the field, including 45.0% (9-for-20) from three-point land. The Paladins also finished the afternoon connecting on 76.2% (16-of-21) from the charity stripe.

Chattanooga completed the 40 minutes of basketball connecting on 41.0% (25-of-61) from the field and 27.6% (8-of-29) from three-point range. The Mocs were 75.0% (12-of-16) from the free throw line. 

For the game, Furman held advantages in points in the paint (30-26), points off turnovers (13-10), fast-break points (12-4), and total assists (18-9). The Mocs finished the game holding advantages in total rebounds (33-30), second-chance points (15-11) and bench scoring (35-18). 

How It Happened

In the opening 20 minutes of basketball, there was a palpable buzz about Cooper Bowser's return to the lineup, and a pair of early dunks--one which came on a lob from Alex Wilkins--gave Furman two of its largest leads of the afternoon. 

The first one, the alley-oop from Wilkins, brought the student-only crowd to life and offered his official welcome back to the lineup, giving the Paladins a 27-7 lead with 9:03 remaining in the opening half. The second one came five minutes later, as his thunderous two-handed slam gave the Paladins a 24-point, 38-14, lead with 4:07 remaining in the half.  

All told, after the Mocs scored the first basket of the game, Furman used a 29-5 run to take control of the game and eventually settled on a 42-23 halftime lead.

The second half was a different story, as the Mocs mounted a furious rally to get back into the game,  but could never quite get over the hump. A 13-0 run early in the second half severely cut into Furman's lead, taking what was a 49-30 game at 17:33 mark of the second half to making it a 49-43 contest at the 13:24 mark. 

However, the Paladins, who have been prone to blowing big leads, found a way to push the advantage back to 10 following a three from Cole Bowser with eight minutes remaining, at 60-50

Later in the second half Cooper Bowser found Cole Bowser for a layup and he was fouled to garner an opportunity at a three-point play the old-fashioned way to give the Paladins a 65-55 lead with 4:52 remaining to keep the game at a reasonable cushion. 

The Paladins were able to maintain a six-to-10 point cushion until the final minute, as the Mocs threatened late. First, a Jordan Frison jumper with 50 seconds remaining cut the Paladin lead to just four, at 68-64. The Mocs weren't done, cutting it four following a Tate Darner triple to make it a 73-70 deficit for UTC with 17 seconds remaining.

However, Furman was solid at the line in the final minute of the game, connecting on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 42 seconds to help maintain its distance on the scoreboard from the Mocs and secure a 75-70 Southern Conference win. It was Ed Bronson's two free throws in a pressure situation that put the final two points on the board for a second-straight game to secure the home win for the Paladins. 

The win sets up another SoCon showdown for first-place on Wednesday night in Johnson City at East Tennessee State (16-7, 8-2 SoCon) after the Bucs went so Spartanburg and knocked off a Wofford team that was without the services of leading scorer Kahmare Holmes, posting an 86-72 win over the Terriers in Spartanburg for their second-straight win at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in as many seasons. 

The road win by the Bucs before a national television audience meant ETSU pulled into sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference, while dropping Wofford, which fell to 15-8 overall and 7-3 in league play, into a tie with both Furman (16-7, 7-3 SoCon) and Mercer (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) for second spot in the league standings.

Both ETSU and Furman split last season's meetings, with the Paladins posting a 73-70 win in Greenville on Jan. 15, 2025, while the Bucs avenged that earlier loss with a 72-69 win over the Paladins at Freedom Hall on Feb. 2, 2025. 

Postgame Press Conference:

Furman Holds Off Feisty Samford

Furman freshman guard Alex Wilkins

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Limited to just eight scholarship players for a second time against Samford this season, Furman nearly duplicated their point total and margin of victory as the Paladins had 15 days ago against the same foe, but settled for a point more on the margin, gutting out a 78-73 win over Samford Thursday night at Timmons Arena.

With the win, Furman improved to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in Southern Conference play, while Samford falls to 10-12 overall and 3-6 in league play. With its 77-73 win back on Jan.14 in Homewood, Furman has now five-straight against Samford and have now swept the Bulldogs in the regular-season in consecutive seasons.

The Paladins were led by the same dynamic duo that helped the Paladins to a convincing win last Friday at UNC Greensboro, only this time in reverse order of leading scorer, as Tom House poured in 21 points, while Alex Wilkins added 20, three assists and a block before fouling out after only 20 minutes of floor time, as the duo once again led three Paladins in double figures in the win. Ben Vander Wal rounded out the Paladins in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists before also fouling out late.

Senior Charles Johnston led Furman's efforts on the glass, posting 16 rebounds to go along with his eight points.

House finished the night connecting on 8-of-14 shots from the field, including a 2-for-7 effort from three-point range and was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Wilkins, meanwhile, connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field and was 3-for-4 from three-point range, while also going a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. The freshman from Mattapan, MA., scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half, including scoring 10 of Furman's first points of the second half en route to notching his 10th performance of 20 or more points in his freshman season. With his 20-point effort, Wilkins has nearly eclipsed the 400-point mark (currently 396 pts) as a freshman.

Samford was led by the usual suspects of Jadin Booth and Dylan Faulkner, who were two of three Bulldogs to finish the night in double figures. Booth, the league's leading scorer, posted 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and finished the contest connecting on 8-of-21 shots from the field, including 4-for-10 from three-point range. He was also 3-for-4 from the charity stripe and added a pair of assists.

Faulkner chipped in with his second double-double in as many appearances against the Paladins, finishing the evening with 19 points, 12 rebounds and added four assists. He finished the night going 8-for-9 from the field but was just 3-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Kam Martin rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures, adding 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-for-5 from three-point range. He also went 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.

The Paladins finished the night connecting on an impressive 58.3% (28-of-48) from the field, which included a 33.3% (7-for-21) effort from three-point range and shot 75% (15-of-20) from the charity stripe.

Samford finished the night connecting on 40.9% (27-of-66) from the field, which included a 28.0% (7-of-25) from three-point range, as well as a 54.5% (12-of-22) effort from the charity stripe.

Furman held slight advantages in total rebounds (35-33), total assists (14-12), and fast-break points (7-2). Samford held advantages in second-chance points (17-12), points from turnovers (13-0), and bench points (18-12). Both teams tied in the points in the paint category, 32-32.

How It Happened:

The game started out high-scoring, with Ben Vander Wal getting the game underway with a three-point play the old-fashioned way and a layup and three from Alex Wilkins would give the Paladins an early 10-4 lead, however, back-to-back threes from Jadin Booth and Keaton Norris got the Bulldogs back to within two, at 12-10, heading into the first media timeout. Then following the timeout, a pair of Booth foul shots tied the game at 12-12 with 14:09 left.

The score would remain tied, 14-14, heading into the first media timeout, as Charles Johnston fouled Dylan Faulkner on a layup attempt at the 11:57 mark heading into the second media. Faulkner, however, missed both free throws and the game remained tied.

A follow-up layup by Faulkner at the 10:04 mark gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the night at 19-17. The physicality of the game began to intensify. Vander Wal tied it with a follow-up layup of his own at the 8:10 mark. Cade Norris connected on a fade-a-way and Tom House answered with a driving layup off the glass, and the two teams headed to the third media timeout tied, 21-21, with 6:46 left in the half.

Eddrin Bronson’s three-pointer with the shot-clock winding down gave the Paladins a 26-23 lead, however, the one drawback was that Alex Wilkins picked up his third foul just prior to Bronson’s three. The Paladins carried the three-point advantage into the final media timeout with 3:57 left in the half.

A William Shaver half-hook in the lane gave the Bulldogs a 32-30 lead with 1:05 remaining in the half, prompting a Bob Richey timeout. A Johnston strong take and layup tied it once again, however, Booth was fouled on the other end with 36.4 seconds remaining and he cashed in on 1-of-2 foul shots on the other end, giving the Bulldogs the lead once again, at 33-32.

A Ben Vander Wal three-point play the old-fashioned way helped Furman end of the half helped the Paladins end the half the way they started the game, and Furman went to the half with a 35-33 lead. The Bulldogs held advantages in total rebounds (18-17), points from turnovers (6-0) and second-chance points (10-5), with Faulkner leading the way with 15 first-half points for the Bulldogs on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from the charity stripe.

House led the Paladins with nine points in the opening frame, while Vander Wal added eight points and four boards, while Alex Wilkins chipped in with seven points, two assists, and blocked a shot before being whistled for his third foul with 4:59 remaining in opening half.

In the second half, Furman came out cooking, with seven quick points from Wilkins and a bucket in traffic from House, as the Paladins briefly assumed their biggest lead of the night at eight, 44-36, but Cade Norris matched with three at the 16:22 which was followed by a quick Samford timeout.

Following the timeout, Furman’s Johnston hit a half-hook in the paint and then off a second-chance opportunity for Samford, blocked Isaiah Campbell-Finch’s shot and the ball last hit Finch on the way out, giving the Paladins the ball back after the media timeout leading 46-39 at the 15:28 mark of the second half. Alex Wilkins then was fouled on a short jumper, knocking down the shot and then converting the three-point play the old-fashioned way, however, picked up his fourth foul shortly thereafter and had to exit the game.

Furman would eventually grow its lead to 14, at 57-43, following a Ben Vander Wal layup off a backdown Barkley in the paint. That’s how the score would remain as the two teams headed to the under 11 media timeout with 10:39 left. All told, the Paladins had put together a 22-10 spurt out of the locker room, with Wilkins scoring 10 of the first 14 before picking up his fourth personal foul.

Six quick points by Will Shaver of a second-chance opportunity, two free throws by Kam Martin after a foul drawn on Owen Ritger and a Booth baseline jumper from about 12 feet out quickly cut the Paladin lead to eight, at 57-49, with 9:05 remaining, prompting a Furman timeout.

Wilkins would hit a three to put Furman up 10, 62-52, however, the Bulldogs hit back with a 10-3 spurt and Wilkins picked up his fifth foul with just under four minutes remaining, as he was whistled for his third offensive foul of the night, exiting with his 10th twenty-plus performance of the season.

Samford’s Booth connected on a jumper to slice Furman’s lead to two, at 66-64, with 2:58 remaining. However, the Paladins got four-straight off a drive from a Charles Johnston layup in the paint and a Eddrin Bronson driving layup off the left side, shielding the Samford defender off with his body while laying the ball off the left side of the glass for a 70-64 Furman lead with 1:47 remaining.

Following a third-straight Samford miss, House found himself open in transition for a left wing three, splashing home the triple to extend Furman's lead back out to nine, at 73-64, with 1:11 remaining. Booth finally ended the scoring drought on the other end for the Bulldogs on a contested three, pulling the Bulldogs back to within six, at 73-67, with 48 seconds remaining.

Cole Bowser would be immediately fouled by Kam Martin to put the freshman at the line for a one-and-one bonus opportunity, and he knocked down both ends of the one-and-one to extend Furman's lead back to eight, at 75-67, with 46 seconds remaining.

On the next trip down, Martin missed a three, but the long rebound was corralled by Keaton Norris, who found Booth for another contested three at the top of the key, which he drained, to cut the Furman lead to five, at 75-70, with 34 seconds remaining.

Eddrin Bronson was then whistled for a five-second violation, giving the ball back to Samford with no time having expired off the clock. On the ensuing inbounds play, Vander Wal fouled Martin shooting a three, sending him to the line for three shots with 33 seconds remaining, and he would make 1-of-3 from the line to cut Furman's lead to four, at 75-71.

After Collin O'Neal was fouled, he missed the front end of the one-and-one this time around, giving the Bulldogs a chance to draw even closer, which they did after Johnston fouled Martin trying to corral a loose back, but in the melee, Martin came up with the ball and drew the foul. He knocked down both foul shots with 24 seconds left to get the Bulldogs to within two, at 75-73.

While Furman had blown double-digit leads in recent outings at home against Wofford (led by 13 in second half) and on the road at The Citadel (led by 19 in second half), this time around the pressure didn't get to the short-handed 'Dins, as Bronson (2-of-2) and O'Neal (1-of-2) went a combined 3-for-4 from the line, which was sandwiched by a Keaton Norris missed jumper, as the Paladins closed out the first half of Southern Conference play in victorious fashion, moving to 6-3 in league play with a 78-73 win over Samford at the turn of the schedule.

With another winter storm bearing down on the Southeast, Furman's 1 p.m. EST Sunday matinee' against Chattanooga (9-13, 3-6 SoCon) slated for ESPN2 remains up in the air, but tentatively still a go, while Samford will be on the road for a Saturday noon contest at Western Carolina (8-12, 4-5 SoCon).

Postgame Press Conference:

Furman head coach Bob Richey

Furman players Ed Bronson (left) and Tom House (right)

SoCon Test No. 9: Furman Hosts Samford in Key Nationally Televised League Tilt

Furman freshman forward Cole Bowser

The Game: Samford (10-11, 3-5 SoCon) at Furman (14-7, 5-3 SoCon)
THE VENUE AND PLACE:  Timmons Arena (2,750)/GREENVILLE, SC

HOW TO WATCH: CBS SPORTS NETWORK/5 p.m. EST

SERIES:  43rd Meeting/Furman leads 30-12

With an extra day to get healthy from illness and injury following its 89-66 win at UNC Greensboro last Friday, Furman returns to the hardwood Thursday evening for a nationally televised tilt against Samford, as CBS Sports Network is slated to carry the key league tilt slated to tip-off a little past 5 p.m. EST.

Furman was able to put together maybe its most efficient offensive game of the season en route to improving to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play, as the Paladins posted 23 assists and only five turnovers, while connecting on a season-high 14 three-pointers, and shooting 55.2% from the field (32-of-58) and 51.9% (14-of-27) from three-point range. 

While the 55.2% was second to only Furman's 57.1% shooting clip against Harvard earlier this season. The 51.9% three-point shooting percentage easily shattered the previous season high of 40% (10-of-25) in a home win over Charleston Southern earlier this season.

Add to that the fact that the Paladins connected on 12 of their final 14 field goal attempts, out-scoring the Spartans 30-11 over the final 7:57 of the game, and you have a game in which Furman looked like the old Furman on the offensive end for maybe the first time all season. The Paladins also shot a season-best 91.7% (11-of-12) from the charity stripe and did all this damage with only seven scholarship players available. 

The game was actually moved up to Friday afternoon as a result of impending winter storm Fern, which meant less rest time after the tough 77-75 overtime road loss at The Citadel and the game against UNCG, but an added bonus was the fact that it gave the Paladins an extra day of rest heading towards to key home tilts before heading to Johnson City to take on league-leading East Tennessee State next week. 

At the genesis of the win last time out was once again freshman sensation guard, in Alex Wilkins, who led the Paladins with 27 points, six assists, two rebounds, two steals and no turnovers. It was the first time all season in which Wilkins has completed a game without turning the ball over. Tom House had his breakout performance of the season, as he posted 25 points, which was just one off his career-high for the Paladins, as he scored 26 points in a mid-February win over Mercer last season. 

Furman will again be tested when it returns home to face Samford on Thursday evening, as the Bulldogs come to town fresh off an impressive 75-64 home triumph over Chattanooga last Saturday at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Paladins and Bulldogs have already met once this season, and that meeting came back on Jan. 14, as Furman, which played that game with only eight scholarship players, ended up seeing the Paladins come away with a 77-73 win on an evening that wouldn't be the prettiest of performances from the Paladins, yet they found a way to get an important SoCon win on the road. Furman has actually played its better games in league play on the road this season.

Samford will be looking to continue its momentum at this crucial point in the season, and when you talk about continued momentum for the Bulldogs, it all centers around talented guard Jadin Booth. The senior grad transfer from Florida Southern is leading the SoCon in scoring and continues to shoot above 40% from three-point range this season, as he is connecting on a ridiculous 41.7% from three-point range this season (78-of-187). 

Booth's 78 triples made this season ranks him second overall in threes made this season, trailing only Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic, who has connected on 80 threes this season.  Booth's 41.7% shooting clip from three-point land ranks him 36th nationally in three-point percentage shooting.

Booth was held in check for the most part in the first meeting between the two this season, as the Paladins were able to limit him to just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range, as they never let him get into any kind of rhythm throughout the game. Being cognizant of where Booth is at all times must be a priority once again if the Paladins hope to pull off the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs. 

He continues to lead the Southern Conference in scoring, averaging 20.6 PPG and also is averaging 3.6 RPG. He is coming off a strong performance against Chattanooga last time out, as he finished the contest with 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range. It was his 11th game with 20 or more points this season, which is tied for the lead in the SoCon along with Wofford's Kahmare Holmes. 

In selling out to guard Booth with only eight scholarship players available for the game, and foul trouble for Charles Johnston, Cole Bowser and Ben Vander Wal, it meant the Paladins would give up a little inside. 

As a result, Samford's other talented scorer--forward Dylan Faulkner--ended up having a strong outing for the Bulldogs, as he posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while North Carolina transfer Will Shaver came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and added four rebounds to Samford's cause.

Faulkner is a player that joined his head coach, Lennie Acuff, in coming over from Lipscomb and he's turned into one of the top big men in the SoCon, much like Acuff thought he would at the start of the season. 

Through the first 21 games, Faulkner is averaging 17.2 PPG and 7.2 RPG this season, and the 6-9 big man has four double-doubles this season, with that first meeting against Furman included among the four, as well as his last outing in the win over Chattanooga included in that quartet, as he posted 18 points and 13 rebounds and has a streak of 12-straight games in which he has finished in double figures. 

Faulkner's 61.9% field goal percentage continues to rank among the league's best. Through 21 games this season, Faulkner is averaging 17.2 PPG and 7.2 RPG coming into Thursday evening's contest. The junior forward also continues to be a force on the defensive end of the floor, as his 32 blocks and 1.9 BPG rank second in the SoCon this season.

The one thing that Samford has lacked this season is a third scorer to help supplement both Booth and Faulkner and handle some of the scoring load. Lately, both Keaton Norris and Isaiah Campbell-Finch have both stepped up and showed the willingness to get into the act scoring-wise. 

Keaton Norris has started all 17 games he has played in this season, and is averaging 10.2 PPG and leads the team with 82 assists in those 17 games this season. Norris has found his way into double figures in eight games so far this season, including a season-high 22-point effort in an early non-conference road win at Texas Southern. In addition to averaging in double figures this season, Norris is averaging 4.0 RPG and his 4.8 assists-per-game ranks him third in the league. 

Finch-Campbell gives the Bulldogs quickness and athleticism at the guard, which is reminiscent of previous Samford teams, with guys like Josh Sharkey and Ques Glover coming to mind as like comparisons. 

The former three-star recruit came to Samford out of Tampa Catholic--the same program that produced Furman sophomore guard Eddrin Bronson--and Campbell-Finch has been a big part of coach Lennie Acuff's plans of late, as he has started 13 of the past 14 games for the Bulldogs, including each of the past six games and played 32 minutes in the first meeting with the Paladins, posting 10 points. 

Campbell-Finch is averaging 7.6 PPG and 1.3 RPG through the first 21 games this season. He's found his way into double figures seven times, including a career-best 21 points in the road overtime win over Texas Southern early in non-conference play.

Sophomore guard Cade Norris, who transferred in from Illinois State to Samford prior to the season, will be the fourth guard in the starting five, and the younger brother of Keaton Norris posted a solid performance the last time out against Chattanooga, finishing with eight points, six rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes of court time in the win over the Mocs this past Saturday. The younger Norris has started 20 out of 21 games so far in his Samford career, averaging 8.1 PPG and 4.7 RPG, and is a solid perimeter threat, as he is connecting on 36.2% (25-of-69) from three-point range this season.

Along with Shaver, the Bulldogs only play two other guys significantly off the bench, with one of those players, Zion Wilburn, having not played the last time these two met, as he missed the game due to a death in his family. Wilburn continues to be one of my favorite energy guys in the league, and he has proven to be a valuable asset off the bench at times this season, with his athleticism and his energy on both ends having provided a lift to Samford in games when they needed one on more than one occasion this season. 

One of those standout performances that comes to mind was the effort he gave in maybe Samford's most-impressive all-around performance of the season in what was a 79-75 loss at No.12 Arkansas, as he scored 15 points in 17 minutes off the bench. 

In that game, Wilburn was 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point land. In the last time out against Chattanooga, Wilburn tied his season high established in two other games for minutes played, as he logged 25 minutes, scoring six points, grabbing five rebounds and posted a couple of steals in the 11-point home win. All six of Wilburn's points last time out came from the free throw line. In 19 games he has seen action in this season, Wilburn has posted five starts and is averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.7 RPG.

Rounding out the potential players to log action off the bench on Thursday night include sophomore guard Kam Martin (5.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG), sophomore forward Judson Bjornstad (2.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG), redshirt sophomore big man Will Shaver (2.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG) and Queens grad transfer Jaxson Pollard (4.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG).

As a team, Samford enters its second matchup with the Paladins averaging 77.4 PPG while surrendering 76.3 PPG, as well as shooting 43.6% as a team, while foes are shooting 44.7% this season. As far as shooting the three ball, the Bulldogs continue to hover right around 34%, which is decent but not great. However, teams are shooting 37.3% from three against Samford this season.

Furman comes in still injured, but not quite as injured as it was in the first meeting with the Bulldogs a couple of weeks ago. The Paladins enter the tonight's contest likely without Cooper Bowser once again, but his return is imminent with the target date now looking like early February, which could mean he's in the lineup for Furman's huge league tilt at East Tennessee State coming up on Feb. 4.

Already playing without Cooper Bowser (13.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 81.2% FG%), Asa Thomas (13.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 53 3PT FGs), Davis Molnar (hasn't played yet this season), and Mason Smith (3.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG) due to injury, the Paladins would also be without Eddrin Bronson (5.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG) and Abijah Franklin (5.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) for the game against the Spartans due to illness and both are expected back for Thursday evening's contest. 

Both Bronson and Franklin are expected back for the Paladins, and Colin O'Neal (4.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG) is expected to have less of a minute's restriction as he moves forward and gets more comfortable playing with his knee brace, and as his knee continues to strengthen.

Prior to his brief illness which kept him out at UNCG, Franklin has been playing some of his best basketball as a Paladin, stringing together back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts off 14 and 11 points, respectively, while four of his last seven three-point field goals, including a half-courter vs Wofford.

The Paladins haven't lost at home to Samford since a 75-73 setback to the Bulldogs back in 2019, and it was a game that one of the most costly of Bob Richey's career, as Furman had been among the "Last Four In" of Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology going into that game, and it was a stellar 21-point, 12-assist performance from Josh Sharkey that handed Furman its worst loss of the season. It was a loss from which they never recovered from in terms of getting an at-large invitation to the Big Dance in that particular season. 

That was the season the Paladins knocked off both reigning national champion and No. 8 Villanova (W, 76-68 OT) as well as reigning Final Four participant Loyola Chicago (W,60-58) to garner both national attention for the league and the program, as the Paladins were ranked early in the season for the first time in program history.

With that said, the Paladins will have Tom House (7.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG)--a player that Furman did not have the last time these two played due to House being in concussion protocol. The senior guard is coming off a 25-point effort last time out against UNCG, and the last time he saw action against the Bulldogs was in the 2025 Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, which saw him finish with 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range. 

Ben Vander Wal (8.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG) the type of leadership that you would expect from a senior "glue guy" that will be making his 121st appearance in a Furman uniform on Thursday evening against the Bulldogs and is slated to make his 68th start for the Paladins against the Bulldogs. Vander Wal is the lone remaining piece that played from the 2022-23 Furman team that cut down the nets in Asheville. Davis Molnar was also a part of that team but redshirted his freshman season. 

In Furman's 77-73 win over the Bulldogs in Homewood, Vander Wal finished with eight points, four rebounds, two blocks, one assist and had just one turnover in the hard-fought road win. Vander Wal is a unique player, and is arguably Furman's most important player, as one of the many things he can do and give head coach Bob Richey is an extra point guard, which is definitely a luxury for the Paladin coaching staff.

Teaming with Vander Wal in the paint will be both Cole Bowser (7.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG) and 6-11 Charles Johnston (10.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG), who has been an absolute rebounding machine for the Paladins this season. Johnston was as key to the first win over Samford in Homewood as any one player on the Furman roster, as he posted nine points and 14 rebounds before fouling out of the game late.

Johnston has gotten great help from Cole Bowser on the boards as of late, and taking the redshirt off of Bowser has proven to be a stroke of genius by the Paladin staff given the injury situation, which continued to mount even after the decision was made by the Furman staff to play Bowser. True freshman Owen Ritger (1.7 PPG, 1.2 RPG) has continued to give the Paladins quality minutes in the paint this season. 

Finally, Alex Wilkins has been as good as advertised the season for the Paladins, and it was his career-high 28-point effort that helped driving Furman's winning cause in the earlier meeting with Samford this season. Wilkins was recently named a candidate for the prestigious Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year honor. He ranks eighth in country in scoring (17.9 PPG) among freshmen and is fifth in overall assists (5.2 APG) among first-year players. 

He has scored 376 points in his freshman season, which currently ranks fourth in program history for single-season points by a freshman. Only Jonathan Moore (1976-77/561 pts), Karim Souchu (1999-2000/459 pts), and George Singleton (1980-81/435 pts) have scored more in their rookie seasons, and in all likelihood, by the end of the the 2025-26 season, Wilkins will likely rank second on the list. 

Wilkins' 136 field goals leads the Southern Conference, and his 17.9 PPG scoring average would rank second to only Jonathan Moore--a four-time All-SoCon honoree and twice SoCon Player of the Year--if the season were to end today. Moore ended his career as one of the greatest players in SoCon history, averaging 20.0 PPG at the end of his freshman season in 1976-77. 

Finally, Wilkins ranks second in the league in 20+-point games this season, with nine, including four coming in SoCon games, while he has found his way into double figures in 17 out of his first 21 games as a Paladins player.

The Paladins are 8-3 at home this season, which is a bit uncharacteristic. Furman hasn't lost four home games at Timmons Arena in a single season since the 2014-15 campaign, which saw the Paladins finish 7-7 in the facility. 

The Paladins are 117-22 in the facility over the past 10 years, including a 65-12 record against SoCon foes and are 52-10 against non-conference opposition. The Paladins have already dropped home contests to both Western Carolina (L, 77-80 OT) and Wofford (L, 70-74) on their home floor this season. All-time, the Paladins have an overall record of 265-111 at Timmons Arena, which includes a 145-83 mark against SoCon foes, dating back to its first season of competition in 1997-98. Thursday's game against Samford will mark the 377th game played over 28 seasons of operation.

SoCon Race Enters Crucial Stretch With Full Slate of Games Thursday

We've hit a crucial part of the Southern Conference slate, as Thursday's slate of games will mark the midway point of the conference slate, and East Tennessee State (15-6, 7-1 SoCon) continues to show that they are the team to beat, but that's not to say they haven't been tested because they certainly have.

The first game of the night will be a nationally-televised affair between Furman (14-7, 5-3 SoCon) and Samford (10-11, 3-5 SoCon), with both teams coming off impressive wins the last time they took the floor, with Samford snapping a four-game skid by getting a 75-64 win over Chattanooga (9-12, 3-5 SoCon), while the Paladins were able to go to UNC Greensboro (8-13, 4-4 SoCon) and put together their most efficient offensive performance of the season with an 89-66 win at Bodford Arena.

The Paladins hit a season-high 14 threes and connected on 12 of their final 14 shots from the field, which equated to a 30-11 run over the final eight minutes en route to posting one of their most dominant performances of the season, despite having only eight scholarship players available to play.

It would be a big afternoon for both Alex Wilkins (17.9 PPG, 5.2 APG) and Tom House (7.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG), as the two combined to score 52 of the team's 89 points, which included knocking down 11 of the team's 14 three-pointers, with House shooting a blistering 70% (7-of-10) from three-point land in the contest, while Wilkins connected on 4-of-7 long-range efforts. 

Not to be overlooked was the performance by Cole Bowser, who recorded his first double-double in a Furman uniform, with 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Paladins had 23 assists against the Spartans and only turned it over five times. Wilkins recorded six assists and had no turnovers.

Already playing without Cooper Bowser (13.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 81.2% FG%), Asa Thomas (13.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 53 3PT FGs), Davis Molnar (hasn't played yet this season), and Mason Smith (3.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG) due to injury, the Paladins would also be without Eddrin Bronson (5.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG) and Abijah Franklin (5.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) for the game against the Spartans due to illness and both are expected back for Thursday evening's contest. 

Both Bronson and Franklin are expected back for the Paladins, and Colin O'Neal (4.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG) is expected to have less of a minute's restriction as he moves forward and gets more comfortable playing with his knee brace, and as his knee continues to strengthen.

Prior to his brief illness which kept him out at UNCG, Franklin has been playing some of his best basketball as a Paladin, stringing together back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts off 14 and 11 points, respectively, while four of his last seven three-point field goals, including a half-courter vs Wofford.

The Paladins haven't lost at home to Samford since a 75-73 setback to the Bulldogs back in 2019, and it was a game that one of the most costly of Bob Richey's career, as Furman had been among the "Last Four In" of Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology going into that game, and it was a stellar 21-point, 12-assist performance from Josh Sharkey that handed Furman its worst loss of the season. It was a loss from which they never recovered from in terms of getting an at-large invitation to the Big Dance in that particular season. 

That was the season the Paladins knocked off both reigning national champion and No. 8 Villanova (W, 76-68 OT) as well as reigning Final Four participant Loyola Chicago (W,60-58) to garner both national attention for the league and the program, as the Paladins were ranked early in the season for the first time in program history.

Samford will be looking to continue its momentum at this crucial point in the season, and when you talk about continued momentum for the Bulldogs, it all centers around talented guard Jadin Booth. The senior grad transfer from Florida Southern is leading the SoCon in scoring and continues to shoot above 40% from three-point range this season, as he is connecting on a ridiculous 41.7% from three-point range this season (78-of-187). 

Booth's 78 triples made this season ranks him second overall in threes made this season, trailing only Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic, who has connected on 80 threes this season.  Booth's 41.7% shooting clip from three-point land ranks him 36th nationally in three-point percentage shooting.

Booth was held in check for the most part in the first meeting between the two this season, as the Paladins were able to limit him to just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range, as they never let him get into any kind of rhythm throughout the game. Being cognizant of where Booth is at all times must be a priority once again if the Paladins hope to pull off the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs. 

He continues to lead the Southern Conference in scoring, averaging 20.6 PPG and also is averaging 3.6 RPG. He is coming off a strong performance against Chattanooga last time out, as he finished the contest with 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range. It was his 11th game with 20 or more points this season, which is tied for the lead in the SoCon along with Wofford's Kahmare Holmes. 

It will mark the second meeting of the season, as the Paladins were able to get what was a 77-73 win back on Jan. 14, with just eight scholarship players. Alex Wilkins would be the lone Paladin in double figures in that contest, as he posted a career-high 28 points in leading the Paladins to the memorable road win. It will also mark the 43rd all-time meeting between the two programs, with Furman holding the 30-12 all-time series edge, including having four-straight over the Bulldogs and eight of the past 11. 

The Paladins continue to be led by Wilkins, who is averaging 17.9 PPG and 5.2 APG, which includes nine games of 20 or more points this season, with five of those coming in eight league games thus far.

It's unclear whether or not Cooper Bowser will be back for this game, but he is expected to return sometime soon. The original target date was right around the end of January, and since this is the final game of the month of January for Furman, one would logically assume that Friday evening would be the game in which he would be back in the lineup.

So why is that important? When Bowser was injured in a pre-Christmas game at Manhattan, he'd been averaging 13.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG, along with leading the nation in field goal percentage, shooting a blistering 81.2% and leading the nation in dunks. He had also blocked 13 shots on the season when he last saw action for the Paladins. 

With Cooper Bowser in the lineup for the Paladins this season, the Paladins had posted an unbeaten mark in December (4-0), however, since he has left the lineup, the Paladins are 6-3, including winning their final two games of the month of December against Charleston Southern and Mercer. 

If Bowser does return Thursday evening, it would make for a neat dynamic, in that it would see him play on the court for the first time with his brother in college, Cole Bowser (7.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG). Cole Bowser had his redshirt removed before Furman's road game at Chattanooga and has been one of the Paladin leaders on the glass and defensively in the absence of Cooper. 

In Furman's last game, Cole Bowser posted his best performance yet as a Paladin player, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds against UNCG.  With Keaton Norris (10.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG) and Cade Norris (8.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG) both on the floor for Samford, it would give each team a tandem of brothers. That's a rare thing to see in college basketball. It would also mark the first tandem of brothers to play at the same time for the Paladins since both Charlie and Colin Reddick back during the 2012-13 season.

Furman and Samford will tip off at 5 p.m. EST from the refurbished Timmons Arena, as the Paladins are an uncharacteristic 2-2 this season in SoCon tilts on the home hardwood, having beaten both Mercer (W, 74-72) and VMI (W, 69-48), while suffering setbacks against both Western Carolina (L, 77-80) and Wofford (L, 70-74).

ETSU will tangle with the lone team to beat them so far in the Southern Conference slate, as Western Carolina (7-12, 3-5 SoCon) pays a visit to Freedom Hall for a 7 p.m. EST contest, with a big-crowd expected for the border rivalry clash. The Catamounts were able to get a 72-68 win in the first meeting between the two earlier this season at the Ramsey Center.

A late Marcus Kell (13.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG) bucket would allow the Catamounts to take the lead late, as his second-chance layup untied the 68-68 game with 12 seconds remaining, whipping the Ramsey Center faithful into a frenzy in the process.

The Bucs are coming off quite the performance in their last outing, dispatching of The Citadel to garner the season sweep of the Bulldogs, with an 84-55 win over the Bulldogs. The Bucs and Catamounts will be meeting for the 92nd time in series history, with the Bucs maintaining a 59-32 all-time series edge. 

Blake Barkley (14.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG) and Cam Morris III (14.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG) continue to be among the most productive frontcourts in the SoCon this season, but in the first matchup against the Bucs this season, WCU did a nice job of neutralizing those guys with the Catamounts size under the basket, with guys like Samuel Dada and Abdulai Fanta Kabba (5.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG) causing some issues. 

In the first meeting between these two earlier this season, it was Western Carolina that owned the backboards, with a 39-30 edge in that department and a slight 10-5 advantage in second-chance points, and in games decided by the slimmest of margins, that proved to be a major statistic in the grand scheme of things. 

Previously under Steve Forbes and even more recent under Brooks Savage his first two seasons in Johnson City, the Bucs have been one of the bigger teams in the league. That's not the case this season, with no big man on the roster exceeding 6-8. 

That has allowed the Bucs to be a little more athletic in the low-post, and while maybe there hasn't been a Jayden Parker or a Lucas N'Guessan underneath to block or alter shots around the rim, the Bucs have been just as effective defensively in the low-post this season and in fact lead the league in blocks (3.7 BPG). I would argue that the Bucs have had the best defensive low-post players, despite the fact they don't have an out and out rim protector. 

When I say the Bucs are doing it on both ends, you need look no further than ETSU leading the league in overall team field goal percentage (49.1%), while also leading the league in blocks (3.7 BPG) and Steals (9.4 SPG). 

The Bucs have a solid collection of talent in the backcourt as well, and while Al Strothers (3.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG) provides the ball-handling and on-ball defense, its Brian Taylor II (14.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG) that provides the scoring, while Maki Johnson (5.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 34 3PT FGs, 38.6% 3PT FG%) and Jaylen Smith (9.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 37 3PT FGs) that are the three-point marksmen. Gabe Sisk (3.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG) continues to be a presence as a lockdown defender for ETSU this season.

The matchup between the Catamounts and Bucs is slated for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off time at Freedom Hall. 

The Southern Conference Game of the Week presented by Nexstar will see Wofford (14-7, 6-2 SoCon) be on the road to take on Chattanooga in the Scenic City on Thursday night. The Mocs have had a lot of recent success against the Terriers, having won seven-straight games in the series between the two, and that includes earlier this season when the Mocs went into Spartanburg and were able to claim what was a 76-67 win over Wofford, using a barrage of threes late in the game, as the Mocs pulled the minor upset in Spartanburg. 

Chattanooga will be looking to put an end to a two-game skid which has included a one-point loss at home to league-leading East Tennessee State (L, 66-67) and a road loss at Samford (L, 64-75) this past Saturday.

Wofford, meanwhile, has established itself as a real title contender this season and has its eyes firmly trained on its first top three finish in the league standings for the first time since finishing second in the regular-season in the 2020-21 season. 

The matchup pits the reigning regular-season champion against the reigning SoCon Tournament champions for a second time this season even though this matchup looks nothing like it did a year ago, with both teams losing their entire starting fives to either the transfer portal or to graduation. 

Chattanooga has oftentimes been the team that Terriers' season, as in three of the past four tournaments, the Mocs have knocked out the Terriers in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament. The fact that Furman knocked off the Mocs in the semifinals of the tournament last March, 80-77, in overtime, in hindsight, was a pretty good thing.

The Mocs have to find a way to slow reigning SoCon Player of the Week Kahmare Holmes, who is likely the most-improved player in the SoCon and on most folks' short list for SoCon Player of the Year. Holmes has started all 20 games he has played in this season, averaging 19.3 PPG and 5.8 RPG.

In two wins last week against Samford and Mercer at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, Holmes posted 36 points in the win over Samford and then turned around and poured in 27 in the win over Mercer on Saturday. The sophomore guard is tied for the league lead in games with 20 or more points this season, having posted 11 games with 20 or more points. 

In wins in conference play, Chattanooga has been getting solid production from Collin Mulholland (8.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG) of late, and that has seen the Mocs have more post-production, which they had been severely lacking since Sean Cusano went down with a season-ending injury back in December. 

Mulholland had his best performance in a road game this season against Western Carolina, which was another impressive road win for the Mocs, as Big Maple went for 16 points, which included a 4-of-8 performance from three-point range. 

Another guy that needs to come up big for the Mocs in the paint is Josh Bowman (4.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG) and he's shown flashes this season for the Mocs and he had eight points in the road win over Western Carolina and also contributed eight against in UTC's first SoCon win of the season. 

The Terriers and Mocs will be meeting for the 59th time in series history, with the Mocs holding a commanding 36-22 series lead.  Tip-off for that contest is set for 6 p.m. EST at the McKenzie Arena with the game slated to play locally on the Nexstar Affiliate in SoCon cities. 

Mercer (13-8, 5-3 SoCon) will try to get back on the winning track Thursday evening when it hosts UNC Greensboro at Hawkins Arena, where the Bears have yet to lose a game this season. In my opinion, the Bears are the most versatile offensive team in the league, with maybe the league's top player, in point guard Baraka Okojie (18.6 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.1 RPG), and in combination with Armani Mighty (13.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG) underneath, it gives Bears quite the inside-outside combo.

With Wofford posting an 80-77 win over the Bears last Saturday at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium to garner the season split, it snapped a five-game winning streak for the Bears. The good news is the Bears return to the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena, where they are a perfect 9-0 this season and have won 10 in a row dating back to the final regular-season game of last season. 

The last team to take down the Bears at Hawkins Arena was UNCG, which avenged an earlier loss in the season to Mercer with a 78-61 win in Macon. The Bears have been lighting it up offensively all season, but particularly in conference play, as the Bears have already posted 100 or more points three times in league play this season, with one of those coming against the Spartans in what was a 102-92 win. 

According to KenPom, Thursday night's clash between the Bears and Spartans matches up the SoCon's top offense, in Mercer with a 125.4 offensive efficiency rating, against the SoCon's worst defensive team, in UNCG, which sports a 132.2 defensive efficiency rating. Which is why you get an outcome like the first time these teams played. The Spartans allow 81.0 PPG, which ranks the Spartans 331 out of 361 teams ranked in NCAA Division I in scoring defense. Mercer's 85.0 PPG, meanwhile, ranks the Bears 36th in the nation in scoring offense. 

UNCG has continued to get strong play out of freshman guard KJ Younger (13.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG) and Albany grad transfer Justin Neely (16.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG). Neely continues to be a literal walking double-double, posting 22 points and 22 rebounds to start last week in a win at VMI before finishing the week up by posting 20 points and nine rebounds in an 89-66 loss to Furman. Neely leads the SoCon and is tied for fifth nationally in double-doubles this season, with 12 in 21 games. 

The battle between Neely and Mighty underneath is a matchup between two of the best big men in mid-major hoops, who just also happen to play their basketball in the Southern Conference. Mighty is right behind Neely with 11 double-doubles this season and ranks eighth in the country, while his 69.7% field goal percentage is second in the nation behind Navy's Aidan Kehoe. Neely's 11.8 RPG ranks him second nationally in rebounding average behind only Kent State's Delrecco Gillespie, who is averaging 12.4 RPG. 

The game will mark the 28th all-time clash between the two programs, and by virtue of that 10-point win earlier this season, the Bears have closed to within a game of UNCG in the all-time series, at 13-14. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. EST at Hawkins Arena and can be streamed live on ESPN+. 

Rounding out the jampacked night of Thursday basketball, which officially signals the mid-way point of league play is the rivalry clash between The Citadel (6-15, 3-5 SoCon) and VMI (6-15, 1-7 SoCon) at McAlister Field House. The game offers the opportunity to continue their momentum heading into the turn, while it's VMI that seems like more and more they are heading into a tailspin that is going to be hard to dig out of this season.

What a difference a year has made for both programs, and this time last year, it was VMI right in the thick of it starting a climb and battling for a top six finish, as they were even as high as fifth at one point in the standings last season following a home win over a Furman and a road win at Wofford. But the season seemingly has never gotten started for Andrew Wilson's club, and most had the Keydets capturing that momentum of last year, and with the most veteran leadership returning and production returning of any team in the league, had the Keydets to build on that momentum and be a middle of the pack finisher in the league, and firmly playing in one of four quarterfinal games on Saturday. 

But with no Rickey Bradley Jr.--the SoCon's Preseason Player of the Year--and other more recent injuries, the Keydets find themselves at 1-6 in the league, and it's not a matter of if coach Wilson's team will be playing on Friday night in Asheville at the Harrah's Cherokee Center, but which time slot...The 5 p.m. or the 7:30 p.m. game.

The Keydets one win in league play came against a team that Wilson had yet to beat in his VMI tenure as head coach, and that was Chattanooga, as VMI beat its former head coach with its current one by a score of 79-71 at Cameron Hall. Nothing much has gone right since, as the Keydets have lost five in a row since that win over the Mocs. Included among those losses was an 82-68 loss to The Citadel, which notched its first road win in league play since February of 2023, when it took down Western Carolina.

The win against the Keydets came exactly a week after a 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina, which ended a 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I competition for the Bulldogs, but it transformed the team's morale as well as its confidence. 

What followed is Ed Conroy doing some of his best coaching to date, as well as the team growing with confidence after that breakthrough win over the Catamounts. Then last week, the Bulldogs did the unthinkable, rebounding from a 19-point deficit at home, and in the final 10 minutes of regulation, found a way to force overtime. Then in overtime, the Bulldogs found a way to knock off their bitterest rival and perennial SoCon title contender Furman, 77-75. 

The Bulldogs did lose a lopsided game on the road against league leader ETSU last time out, but the Bulldogs have done enough to put them in a good spot to finish in the top six and avoid the opening Friday night of games in much the same fashion as VMI had itself positioned heading into February just last season.

A big part of the success has been the performances of guys like Valdosta State transfer forward Braxton Williams (13.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG), who has been outstanding lately and that has equated to the team finding its overall success. 

Though he was held to just eight points in the last outing in the 84-55 road loss to ETSU, Williams has posted performances of 21, 25, 22, and 18 prior to having that impressive string of double-figure scoring games snapped in Johnson City last Friday night.  Williams has made his last 22 free throws and posted 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from long-range and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line the last time these teams met.

The Bulldogs got a career-best performance from Sola Adebisi (8.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG) in the win over Furman last week, as he posted a career-best 22 points in a career-high 42 minutes against the Paladins, as he finished 9-for-10 from the field. Christian Moore (10.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG) has been the league's top sixth man by far this season. 

Success for VMI in this game will come only if they can get a big night scoring-wise from both TJ Johnson (18.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and either Tan Yildizoglu (9.3 PPG, 4.0 APG) or Mario Tatum Jr. (9.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG) and will depend on largely to what effect AJ Clark (6.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG) has in getting in passing lanes and being able to create scoring opportunities off live ball turnovers.

Thursday night's rivalry clash will mark the 127th all-time meeting between the two, with the series tied, 63-63. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Keydets is set for 7 p.m. at McAlister Field House.