No. 1 East Tennessee State and Furman Advance to Monday Night's Championship Game

The 2026 Southern Conference title game is set, as No. 1 East Tennessee State (23-10) will battle No. 6 Furman (21-12) in the 106th edition of the tournament championship game.

Both ETSU and Furman reached the title game in a similar fashion, overcoming double-digit halftime deficits to get there. Both were able to do so in somewhat dramatic fashion. The Bucs had to overcome a psychological hurdle in their narrative, having lost nine of their previous 10 games in the series to the Catamounts. Furman had dropped five of its previous six meetings against UNCG but advanced to Monday night's championship game by scoring a whopping 54 second-half points, becoming the second team to do so.

For head coach Brooks Savage's Bucs, they had to overcome a Western Carolina team that had already defeated ETSU twice this season. Western Carolina appeared well on its way to a third win, leading 38-24 at the break. The Bucs' eventual 69-67 win improved their season record to 23-10, while Western Carolina's campaign ended with a 15-16 mark under second-year head coach Tim Craft. The win ended the Catamounts' seven-game winning streak.

Craft certainly has something brewing in the mountains of Western North Carolina, but this night belonged to Brooks Savage's ETSU Bucs. Early in the second half, the Bucs cut the Western Carolina lead to eight following a pair of Jaylen Smith free throws, making the score 48-40 in favor of the Catamounts with 15:47 remaining.

Western Carolina, buoyed by a boisterous following in last night's 77-73 win over Mercer, brought that same energy on Sunday evening hoping to see the Catamounts advance to the championship game. After Smith's two free throws, a quick response was in order: Marcus Kell connected on a pair of foul shots and then Julien Soumaoro hit a three, which quickly increased ETSU's deficit back to 13, at 53-40, with 15 minutes left.

The Bucs weren't going anywhere, however. With 9:09 left, Smith scored two more points on a jumper to get the Bucs back inside 10, at 56-49, as he converted a short jumper inside the paint to get the portion of the better than 5,200 fans in attendance actively involved in the game once again. Kell would convert a three-point play the old-fashioned way to push the lead back to 10, and then ETSU began its push.

Jordan McCullum started the Bucs run, connecting on a layup to get the Bucs to within eight. After a freshman guard Tahlan Pettway turned the ball over, the Bucs inched closer on a Blake Barkley free throw, cutting the Catamount lead to seven, at 59-52. Following a missed Kell three, the Bucs smelled blood in the water when Brian Taylor II found himself open in transition for a left-wing three that was nothing but net, whipping the crowd into a frenzy and bringing the Bucs to within four, at 59-55, with 6:46 left.

Much like had done at times in comeback wins for ETSU earlier this season, Barkley decided to take the comeback personally, putting together his own, personal 11-2 run that would ultimately prove to be a big reason as to why the Bucs would find themselves in Monday night's SoCon Championship game.

With the Catamounts leading 65-57 after a pair of Cord Stansberry free throws, Barkley made a hook shot in the lane to trim the Bucs margin to six (65-59) with 2:48 left. Tijdiane Dioumassi missed a short jumper on the other end, and the Bucs got within four again after Barkley was fouled on the rebound, sending him to the line for a pair of free throws with 2:16 remaining. He converted both, bringing the Bucs to within four again, at 65-61.

After Dioumassi was fouled on the other end, he connected on two free throws to push the Catamount lead to six (67-61) with 1:48 remaining. Little did anyone know that it would, in fact, be the final points of the night for the Catamounts.

Barkley made a driving layup to get the deficit to four. After two offensive rebounds by Maki Johnson and then Barkley kept an important late-game possession alive, Barkley eventually turned the opportunity into a golden one for ETSU, converting at the rim and bringing ETSU to within two with 66 seconds remaining.

Kell would be fouled by McCullum in the act of shooting on the other end, however, he missed both free throws. Barkley converted a layup in the paint and was fouled in the process by WCU's Samuel Dada, giving the Bucs a chance to take the lead. They would do so, as Barkley had ice in his veins on the free throw and his second free throw, which hit nothing but net, gave the Bucs a 68-67 lead with 38 seconds left. It was ETSU's first lead since leading 7-6 following a Brian Taylor II made layup with 15:23 remaining in the first half.

Trailing by one, the Catamounts' Dioumassi missed a three. Barkley got the rebound and quickly passed to Taylor, whom Dioumassi immediately fouled. He would head to the charity stripe with 19 seconds remaining for two free throws. Taylor missed the first shot but made the second, pushing the Bucs' lead to two, at 69-67.

WCU's ensuing possession would see McCullum block Stansberry's jump-hook attempt off the blind side with 12 seconds remaining. The ETSU defense converged on Stansberry before he could adjust, allowing Maki Johnson to secure the basketball and immediately draw a foul from Dioumassi. Johnson missed both free throws, leaving the door open for the Catamounts to tie the game or potentially win the game.

On WCU's next possession, the Catamounts got two chances at a game-winning three-pointer. Tahlan Pettway got a good look from the top of the key, but the shot caromed off to the side and long towards the far sideline. Just before the ball went out, Kell lunged, turned, and shot the ball as time expired. The ball rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded and WCU survived to advance to Monday night's championship game.

In the opening half, the Catamounts garnered a 38-24 halftime lead by shooting 50% (14-of-28) from the field, while limiting ETSU to just 33.3% (9-of-27) in the first 20 minutes of play. The Bucs outscored WCU 45-29 in the second half to complete a dramatic come-from-behind win. This victory mirrored No. 7 ETSU's 85-84 come-from-behind win over No. 3 Chattanooga in the semifinals. In that epic semifinal tilt a couple of years ago, the Bucs overcame a second-half deficit of as much as 19 points against the Mocs. The Bucs trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half against the Catamounts.

ETSU's defense was elite in the second half, holding Western Carolina to just six field goals and keeping them scoreless from the field for the final 8:50 of the game.

ETSU was led by Brian Taylor II's game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 4-for-9 effort from three-point range and a 2-for-3 performance from the free-throw line. This marked his eighth game this season with 20 or more points. Barkley scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Bucs, delivering another heroic performance similar to his showing earlier this season in a come-from-behind win over Furman in early February. SoCon Sixth Man of the Year Jaylen Smith posted 13 points and three assists off the bench.

Kell led the Catamounts with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field but was 0-for-6 from three-point land in the setback. He also added three rebounds, one steal and one assist.

Saturday night's result was a heartbreaking end for WCU and a moment of sheer joy and relief for the Bucs. ETSU will play for its first SoCon title since 2024, when the Bucs reached the title game in Brooks Savage's first season as the head coach, dropping a 76-69 contest as the No. 7 seed to top-seeded Samford. The Bucs last won the Southern Conference Tournament in 2020, winning 30 games under then head coach Steve Forbes. The Bucs won the title game, 72-58, against No. 7 seeded Wofford.

However, the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bucs have won the SoCon twice since returning to the SoCon in 2015. As the No. 3 seed in the 2017 SoCon Tournament, ETSU knocked off No. 1 UNC Greensboro, 79-74, in Asheville to claim the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bucs went on to play No. 4 seed Florida in the East Regional First Round, losing an 80-65 contest to the Gators.

The Bucs will play in the Southern Conference Tournament game for the 14th time in program's history, posting an 8-5 record all-time in tournament championship games.

The game weighed heavily on head coach Brooks Savage, who was a bit emotional thinking about the game afterwards, and also considering the "bigger picture" of all this and he made a special effort to convey that in the postgame press conference.

"Can I jump in here real quick...This has been on my heart for a while...I just wanted to say before but didn't get a chance...This team is a really faith-based team and I think that has really united us from a chemistry standpoint and I know it's made me a better person just being around these guys and how spiritual and...what believers we are in Christ and I think that's been really cool to see and it just kind of came out there at the end and I am proud of them but this has really been heavy on my heart and they've left such a great impression on me just as a person...I love coming to work everyday to coach these guy... But the way that God is working in these guys' lives is really fun to watch and it gets me choked up because I care so much about them and that's been really important to us this year...Earl our team chaplain has been with us at every practive and every game and without that I don't think we're able to come back," ETSU head coach Brooks Savage said after ETSU's dramatic semifinal win over WCU.

Meanwhile, Furman faced psychological struggles against the UNC Greensboro Spartans in recent history, having lost five of the previous six games between the two teams dating back to the 2023-24 season. This included the most recent meeting, where the Spartans claimed a 67-64 win over the Paladins in early February at Timmons Arena.

Like ETSU, the Paladins trailed 38-27 at the break, struggling to generate any offensive momentum. However, the Paladins found an offensive groove, similar to their performance earlier this season in an 89-66 win at UNCG, when the Paladins scored 54 points en route to one of their best offensive performances of the season.

In fact, the Paladins shot 72% (16-of-22) and scored 54 points in the second half, equaling that earlier performance in Furman's road win over the Spartans. The Paladins recorded an 81-75 win over UNCG in the most-recent clash between the two most successful SoCon programs over the last 11 seasons.

The semifinal win moved the Paladins into the SoCon title game for the fourth time in the past five seasons, including the second-straight season. The fifth-seeded Paladins lost 92-85 to No.6 seeded Wofford in the 2025 title game last season, but playing as the top seed in '23, claimed an 88-79 win over No. 7 seed Chattanooga to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 43 years.

Since making the 2015 title game as the No. 10 seed, the Paladins have now made five title game appearances in the past 11 years will be making their sixth championship game appearance this millenium, as the Paladins are just 1-4 in those championship game appearances, losing to the No. 1 seed on three of those occasions, and losing to the No. 6 seed last season, as Wofford became the first No. 6 seed to ever win the SoCon title in 2025, downing Furman, 92-85, at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

The Paladins got a record night from freshman guard Alex Wilkins, who scored a career-high 34 points, equaling the most ever scored by a Paladin freshman. This matches the 34 points scored by former two-time SoCon Player of the Year and 1976-77 SoCon Freshman of the Year Jonathan Moore against Georgia on Dec. 15, 1976. In the process of scoring those 34 points, the Mattapan, MA. The native also set a new Furman Freshman record for points scored in a season.

His latest scoring outburst brought him to 589 points in 33 games this season, shattering Moore's record of 561 points scored over five fewer games in 1976-77. Wilkins' 34 points also marked the most points scored in a SoCon Tournament game by a Furman player since 1972, when Roy Simpson posted 36 points in a championship game loss to East Carolina.

The native of Mattapan, MA, native finished the game connecting on 10-of-17 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. He also finished a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. His 34 points in a game also tied Jadin Booth's tournament high 34 points, which he scored for Samford in its loss to Furman in Saturday's quarterfinal. He now has 53 points in two tournament games. Wilkins also added five assists and one rebound to his overall stat line.

In addition to Wilkins' double-figure scoring performance, Cooper Bowser and Eddrin Bronson added double-digit scoring performances, finishing with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Senior forward Charles Johnston added another solid performance to follow up his 10-rebound performance in the tournament-opening win over No. 3 Samford, as he posted nine points, six rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Furman didn't look synched offensively for much of the opening 20 minutes of play, and UNCG took the game to the Paladins, as the Spartans, who had already knocked off VMI (W, 84-70) and Wofford (W, 75-72) in their first two games, looked like the better team and poised to make it three-in-a-row in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.

Furman stepped up its efficiency on the offensive end and locked down the Spartans on the other end over roughly the first eight minutes of the second half, as the Paladins their first lead at, 44-43, on an Asa Thomas top of the key three. Thomas' three was part of a 17-5 run to open the half and it would be the beginning of a game that would then settle into a back-and-forth affair, as the lead would change hands four times over the next five minutes. When Wilkins drove and double-clutched a layup off the glass, it gave the Paladins a 58-57 lead with 7:15 left.

Wilkins and the Paladin offensive efficiency was humming at optimum level at this point in the semifinal game, as the rookie guard's made layup was part of a string of eight-straight made shots by Furman, which helped Furman build a 66-60 lead following a Cole Bowser left wing three with just over five minutes remaining. Each time the Spartans found a way to cut the Paladin lead to one possession, both Wilkins and Bronson seemingly always had an answer, whether from the line or from the field, to push the Paladin lead back to two possessions.

Lillian Marville's third consecutive made three-pointer brought UNCG within two, at 77-75, with 14 seconds remaining. However, Bronson was fouled immediately after a Furman inbounds pass, making both ends of the one-and-one to stretch the lead back to four. After KJ Younger missed a three, Wilkins grabbed the rebound and made two more foul shots with 2.6 seconds remaining to seal Furman's 81-75 win.

Furman head coach Bob Richey spoke to the media after the game about his team's offensive struggles to start Sunday evening's game. He credited UNCG head coach Mike Jones for that but also noted that Furman had to change its approach in the second half in order to meet the challenge issued by the Spartans.

"I just think Coach [Mike] Jones does a heck of job. And they beat us up in the first half pretty good. That was pretty clear. They were the aggressive from the jump of the game. … We had to play with a better spirit. We had to be the aggressor. And we couldn't go out there and have any self pity. We can't go out there and play passive. The game's not going to change. And to our credit, we went from one of the worst offensive first halves of the year to one of the best offensive halves. In the second half, I think we scored 54. We were just able to change the tone of the game a little bit," head coach Bob Richey said after his team's win over UNCG.

Brief Championship Game Preview: No. 1 East Tennessee State (23-10) vs. No. 6 Furman (21-12)

--No. 1 East Tennessee State claimed both regular-season meetings against the Paladins, winning 75-71 in overtime in Johnson City and taking a 78-69 victory at Timmons Arena in Greenville. With these wins, the Bucs posted their first regular-season sweep of Furman since 1993-94 and their first win at Timmons Arena since the 2017-18 campaign, which was also Bob Richey's first season as Furman's head basketball coach. ETSU is 48-26 all-time in the SoCon Tournament, including 8-5 in tournament championship games. ETSU's regular-season sweeps of both Furman and Chattanooga mark the first time the Bucs have achieved regular-season sweeps of both teams in the same season.

Meanwhile, Furman holds a 62-65 all-time record in the SoCon Tournament. Like ETSU, Furman will also be playing in its 14th championship game, having posted a 7-6 record all-time in title games. The Paladins will seek their eighth SoCon Tournament crown, while ETSU will pursue its ninth in two different stints as a SoCon member. The Bucs are also 47-27 all-time in their two different stints as a league member in the SoCon Tournament.

Furman and ETSU have two of the most successful young coaches in mid-major basketball. Richey is in his ninth season leading the Furman basketball program, having posted a . He notched his 200th win as the head coach of Furman in the penultimate game of the regular season when the Paladins defeated The Citadel, 72-51, on Senior Night at Timmons Arena.

With two wins over Samford and UNCG, Furman has now reached 20 or more wins in nine of the past 11 seasons. Richey's 202 wins are the most among current SoCon head coaches coaching at a SoCon school. In nine seasons under Richey, only one SoCon team has defeated Furman three times in the same season: Chattanooga in 2022. Chattanooga knocked off the No. 2 seeded Paladins, 64-63, in overtime that year, thanks to David Jean-Baptiste's epic, buzzer-beating 36-footer.

Under Brooks Savage, ETSU has risen in three seasons, returning the Bucs to their accustomed status as a perennial contender atop the SoCon. Savage has helped rekindle the fire that was started under Steve Forbes, who led ETSU to 130 wins and two tournament titles in five seasons as the head coach before leaving to become the head coach of Wake Forest in the spring 2020.

After two seasons well below ETSU's lofty program standards under Jason Shay and Desmond Oliver, respectively, the program fell into disarray. After achieving 61 wins in three seasons, including making a title game appearance and winning the 2026 regular-season title in the process, Savage has ETSU's program well on its way to the NCAA Tournament and perennial SoCon success.

Players to Watch:

ETSU--Blake Barkley (14.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG); Brian Thompson II (14.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG); Cam Morris III (13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG)

Furman--Alex Wilkins (17.8 PPG, 4.8 APG, 2.0 RPG); Asa Thomas (12.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 77 threes); Cooper Bowser (13.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 77.2 FG%)


ETSU vs. Furman in the SoCon Tournament: (ETSU Leads 5-1)

1980 No. 1 Furman 93, No. 4 ETSU 81 (Semifinals)
1983 No. 3 ETSU 81, No. 7 Furman 68 (Semifinals)
2004 No. 1 (North Div) ETSU 94, No. 4 (South Div) Furman 84 (Quarterfinals)
2005 No. 5 (North Div) ETSU 87, No. 4 (South Div) Furman 84 (First Round)
2016 No. 2 ETSU 84, No. 3 Furman 76 (Semifinals)
2018 No. 2 ETSU 63, No. 3 Furman 52 (Semifinals)
2026 ??????????????????????????????????????????

SoCon Basketball Combined Overall Records Since the Start of the 2015-16 Season:

1. Furman 244-120

2. UNC Greensboro 233-131

3. East Tennessee State 231-131

SoCon Basketball Combined League Records Since the Start of the 2015-16 Season:

1. UNC Greensboro 137-61

2. Furman 134-61

3. East Tennessee State 127-68

SoCon Semifinals Recap: Identical Four Seeds Reach Semifinals for Second Straight Season

ASHEVILLE, N.C.--Four teams remain in the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament. Although the season was a little disappointing considering the league's drop in overall strength, the tournament has once again lived up to the hype in terms of excitement. Of the six games played thus far, five have been decided by 10 points or less, including three by five points or less.

Following Saturday's action, the two semifinal matchups will see No. 1 East Tennessee State take on No. 5 Western Carolina in the opening game of the Sunday's semifinal action, slated for 4 p.m. EST, while the second semifinal contest will feature No. 7 seed UNCG vs. No. 6 Furman, beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST.

It will mark the second-straight season that the No. 1, No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 seeds remain in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. Wofford's 75-72 loss to No. 7 UNCG also means that for an 11th-straight Southern Conference Tournament we will not have a repeat SoCon champion. The Terriers became the first No. 6 seed to ever win the SoCon Tournament last March, when the Terriers knocked off Furman, 92-85, in the championship game.

The magic of the No. 7 seed continued in the Southern Conference Tournament, as for the fifth time in the past six tournaments, the No. 7 knocked off the No. 2 seed in the tournament to reach at least the semifinals of the tournament.

The second day opened with top seeded East Tennessee State pulling away from No. 9 The Citadel in the second half. This was thanks to a solid day shooting the ball from the perimeter (10-of-26/38.5%) and strong individual performance from Blake Barkley, who connected on 10-of-11 shots from the field. Barkley led four ETSU players in double figures, with 24 points, as the Bucs moved on to the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals with an 83-76 win over the Bulldogs.

It was the Bucs’ ninth-straight win in the series, including their seventh under the direction of Brooks Savage. With the win, ETSU improves to 22-10 on the season, while the Bulldogs ended their 2025-26 season with an 11-22 mark.

The Citadel wasn’t deterred by the fact that that ETSU had won five of its last six over the Bulldogs by double digits, including two this season, but at the final media timeout of the opening half, the Bulldogs found themselves right in the contest, trailing just 27-25.

Points were hard to come by for both teams due to both defense and the physical nature of the game. The Bulldogs' 2-3 zone kept the Bucs out of rhythm. Braxton Williams hit a three to give The Citadel its first lead of the game, and then Sola Adebisi got an offensive rebound and putback to give the Bulldogs the 30-27 lead with 2:03 remaining in the first half.

Following the timeout, Maki Johnson’s three tied it and then Brian Taylor II steal and dunk with 90 seconds remaining gave ETSU the lead back, 32-30, which was quickly answered by a bucket from Adebisi to promptly tie the game once again.

Taylor II stepped up and made a jumper and another layup to give the Bucs a 36-32 lead, and the Bucs would end up having the final possession of the half with 13.2 seconds remaining. The Bucs had two chances at a three, but missed both, however, the Bucs used that 6-0 spurt late in the half to take a 36-32 lead to the break.

In the second half, the Bucs came out and flexed their proverbial muscle, using a 16-6 run in the first six minutes of the frame assume a 52-38 lead after Taylor II knocked down a three. Jaylen King, who won the SoCon’s Sixth Man of the Year last week, drove to the basket and was fouled, making both free throws to keep the margin at 14, but Keynan Davis answered with a pair of threes to get the Bulldogs back to within eight, at 54-46, with twelve-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Taylor II’s three put ETSU back up double-digits, at 57-46, and that’s where the score remain as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the second media timeout of the second half with 11:31 left.

Back-to-back Jaylen Smith made jumpers gave the Bucs a 63-50 lead with 7:36 remaining, prompting The Citadel’s Ed Conroy to take a timeout, hoping his Bulldogs could mount one final charge. ETSU’s defense against the Bulldogs differed from Chattanooga's in the opening round. The Bulldogs struggled to find open looks from the perimeter.

After connecting on 15 threes against the Mocs, the Bucs showed why they were the top defensive dog in the league, limiting The Citadel to just eight threes on 26 attempts (30.8%) for the game.

ETSU went to the final media timeout holding a comfortable 71-58 lead. The Bucs would eventually hold off the Bulldogs with a seven-point win. The Bucs shot a sizzling 67% (16-of-24) from the field in the second half!

The Bucs finished with four players in double figures. Blake Barkley led the team with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field, including a career-best three three-pointers; the Northwestern Wildcat transfer finished the day 3-for-3 from long range. He also added six rebounds and two steals. Jordan McCullum added a solid 13 points and four boards, while Brian Taylor II and Jaylen Smith finished with 11 points apiece to round out the double-figure scorers.

Sola Adebisi finished the tournament with 49 points for The Citadel, as he was one of three Bulldogs to score in double figures in the loss to the Bucs. He finished the game with 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists, shooting 10-of-15 from the field, including 1-for-4 from three-point range and 9-for-11 from two-point range.

Braxton Williams, who finished with 19 points, also reached double figures in the loss, joining Adebisi. Keynan Davis added 11 points off the bench, marking his second consecutive double-figure scoring performance.

The second matchup of the day would see UNCG head coach Mike Jones pick up his second tournament win in four seasons, as he continued to make up for lost time, leading the seventh-seeded Spartans to a 75-72 win over No. 2 Wofford. This marks the Spartans' tenth semifinal appearance since joining the SoCon before the 1997-98 season and their first appearance at the penultimate stage since the 2021 tournament. 

UNCG is 6-3 all-time in tournament semifinals, improving to 27-25 all-time in tournament play. The Spartans have now won seven of their past 10 games and are starting to play some of their best basketball at the right time.

Justin Neely was a man among boys once again, as he already completed a double-double performance by the half, as he scored 14 first-half points and added 12 rebounds, as the Spartans took a 36-32 lead to the break. He finished the night with 22 points and 24 rebounds—the third-most rebounds ever in a SoCon Tournament game—and the Spartans will move on to face No. 6 Furman in the second semifinal game on Sunday. It also marked Neely's 20th double-double of the season.

KJ Younger added 19 for UNCG, while freshman guard Noah Norgaard added 17 points, including several clutch threes, the young Danish guard finished the game 5-for-10 from long-range.

Wofford got 24 points, six rebounds, and one steal from first-team all-league performer Kahmare Holmes, while second-teamer Nils Machowski added 22 points, eight rebounds and two steals to lead Wofford's scoring efforts. Chace Watley rounded out Wofford's double-figure scorers with 12.

In the second half, the Spartans would extend their lead out to eight points before the first media timeout on a Neely jumper, at 40-32, but Chace Watley answered with a three to trim it back to five with 17:10 remaining. Neely was fouled on the other end and knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to seven. Then, Watley converted a layup, Machowski made a layup in transition and Watley connected on another three to tie the game. Five straight points by Kahmare Holmes then gave the Terriers a 46-42 lead.

All told, Wofford went on a 16-0 run in just over four and a half minutes. Holmes scored 11-straight points during the run, whipping the crowd of 5,140—which heavily favored the Terriers—into a frenzy, as the Terriers started to cook. After Holmes converted a layup at the 12:45 mark of the second half, he extended Wofford's lead to nine, at 51-42, with 12:45 remaining.

Behind Neely and Younger, however, the Spartans stalled and used a 13-4 run to tie the game, 55-55, when Neely made a free throw at the 9:37 mark. From there the Spartans remained in the game the rest of the way, as Wofford never led by more than six points.

When Chace Whatley converted a layup in transition, giving the Terriers a 66-60 lead with 5:07 left, it appeared they might have enough to blow the game open. But it would be a game-defining moment for Mike Jones' team, which reeled off seven-straight to take a 67-66 lead following a pair of KJ Younger made free throws with 3:32 remaining. 

After Wofford tied it on Holmes' lone made free throw (1-for-9 from the charity stripe), Noah Norgaard answered with a huge three. Wofford's Machowski then answered with a three of his own, tying the game, 70-70, with 55 seconds remaining.

The biggest play of the afternoon came from Valentino Pinedo, however, as he tipped in Donald Whitehead Jr.'s missed layup attempt, giving UNCG the 72-70 lead with 36 seconds left. After Younger fouled Holmes while he was shooting, sending the sophomore at the line for two more free throws with 25 seconds left, he missed both. This gave the Spartans new life, as Neely pulled down another rebound.

Whitehead Jr. would then be fouled on the other end and would go to the line for two shots with 18 seconds left. He made the first, but missed the second. However, Neely chased down the rebound and saved the ball to Wofford's Machowski, who went all the way in for a layup on the other end, cutting the UNCG lead to one (73-72) with 12 seconds left. 

Wofford's Brian Sumpter fouled Neely with eight seconds remaining. Neely sank both free throws. After a Terriers timeout to set up a final play, Machowski attempted an ill-advised halfcourt heave off a screen from Rex Stirling, hoping to draw a foul while shooting a three. The shot fell well short and the Spartans pulled off the first major upset of the 2026 SoCon Tournament.

No. 6 Furman became the third lower-seeded team to win in the tournament. For the second straight season, the Paladins knocked out a higher seeded Samford team’s in their opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament, winning this season’s clash 86-81, a much closer contest. Last season, the No. 5 seeded Paladins connected on 17 three-pointers en route to a 95-78 win over the Bulldogs in Asheville.

With the win, Furman advances to the semifinals on Sunday to face  No. 7 UNC Greensboro (15-18). It will mark only the second semifinal clash between the Paladins and Spartans, UNCG won the previous meeting, 66-62, in 2019.

The win also guaranteed that for the ninth time in 11 seasons, the Paladins have won 20 or more games, as Furman improved to 20-12 overall, while Samford concludes its season with a 18-14 mark.

Southern Conference Player of the Year Jadin Booth led the Bulldogs with 34 points, scoring 23 of those in the opening half. However, the two teams headed to the locker room tied at 46-46. The Paladins shot 66.7% from three-point range in the opening half (8-of-12), making eight of their first 10 shots from long range. However, Samford shot 60% (15-of-25) from the field in the opening 20 minutes to stay in the game. The Bulldogs withstood an early onslaught that saw the Paladins take as much as an 11-point lead (33-22) midway through the opening frame.

In the second half, the Bulldogs assumed a 52-50 lead on a Cade Norris three-pointer from the right corner with 16:25 left. However, Furman responded with an 11-2 run, starting with a Ben Vander Wal offensive rebound and layup and ending with an Alex Wilkins layup off a Samford turnover to give the Paladins a 61-54 lead with 10:28 remaining.

Three minutes later, the Bulldogs threatened to overtake the Paladins when Dylan Faulkner converted a layup off a Furman turnover, bringing the Bulldogs within one point, 66-65, with 7:21 remaining. However, a crucial 9-0 run by Furman, featuring five points from Tom House, allowed the Paladins to push the lead to double digits (75-65) after a House triple with 3:14 remaining.

Samford answered by scoring five of the next six points, closing the gap to 76-70 after a Keaton Norris 12-foot jumper with 1:45 remaining. On the next Furman possession, however, House used a perfectly timed pump-fake on a three-pointer and drew a foul on Samford's Faulkner, with 49 seconds left. He made all three free throws to extend Furman's lead back to nine, at 79-70. 

It was part of a 7-of-7 performance from the line for House, as the Paladins made 10-of-11 free throws down the stretch to finish off a sixth-straight win over Samford, including a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs for the second straight season.

The senior transfer from Florida State finished with a team-leading 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including going 3-for-4 from three-point range and the aforementioned 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Alex Wilkins, who scored Furman's first 10 points of the game, finished with 19 points and three assists, while Cooper Bowser and Cole Bowser combined for 24 of Furman's incredible 48 bench points. The Paladins held a 48-6 advantage in bench scoring. 

Cooper Bowser finished 6-of-12 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds. Cooper's brother, true freshman forward Cole Bowser, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Booth was once again sensational, finishing his evening with 34 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 8-of-15 from long-range. In the process of another jaw-dropping effort, he set the Samford single-season record for three-pointers. He also converted 6-of-7 charity shots.

Joining Booth in double figures for the Bulldogs were Dylan Faulkner, who added 12 points and nine boards, while Cade Norris and Keaton Norris both added 11.

The final game of the evening pitted No. 4 Mercer against No. 5 Western Carolina, and the game lived up to the hype many predicted when the bracket was finalized last week. The Catamounts notched a seventh-straight win in thrilling fashion, ending Mercer's outstanding 2025-26 season with a 77-73 win inside the Harrah's Cherokee Center in the quarterfinal finale.

The Catmounts improved to 15-15 with the win, while Mercer's season concluded with a 19-13 mark. The Catamounts will now face No. 1 East Tennessee State in the first of two semifinal clashes on Sunday, as tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. EST at the Harrah's Cherokee Center. The Catamounts won both regular-season meetings with ETSU and were the only team to sweep the Bucs in the regular-season.

It appeared the Bears would run away with the game, as they ran out to a 24-9 lead midway through the first half. The Catamounts fell behind by as much as 17 (28-11), with nine minutes left in the half. However, a 14-1 run over the next four minutes got WCU back into the game where they remained for the rest of the night, closing the gap to just four (29-25) following a Tahlan Pettway layup high off the window with 5:14 left in the opening half.

Less than two minutes later, a three-pointer by Tidjiane Dioumassi in transition gave the Catamounts a 33-32 lead with 3:32 remaining in the opening half. A Pettway jumper with 36 seconds remaining in the half ensured the Catamounts would take a 36-35 lead into the halftime locker room.

Mercer again started strong, using a 12-3 run to start the half to take a 47-39 lead after a Zaire Williams three-pointer with 15:16 remaining. WCU quickly bounced back with six straight points—a Marcus Kell three-pointer and three Pettway foul shots—pulling to within 47-45, with 14:31 left.

Mercer's Baraka Okojie and Quinton Perkins II then connected on back-to-back threes as part of a 9-0 run by the Bears, giving Mercer a 54-45 lead with 12:45 remaining. The lead remained nine, at 58-49, when Armani Mighty knocked down a short jumper with 10:19 left.

Western Carolina kept on keeping on, however, as the Catamounts used a 10-0 run to regain the lead, 59-58, following a Pettway patented fade-a-away jumper with 7:05 remaining. The final five minutes of the game featured three ties and two lead changes, with neither team leading by more than five points. 

However, after Mercer reclaimed a one-point, 72-71, lead on a Zaire Williams free throw, Kell made a pair of free throws on the other end with 31 seconds remaining, giving the Catamounts a 73-72 lead, which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

Dioumassi led WCU in the contest with 21 points, three assists and three rebounds, leading four Catamounts in double figures. The former Southern Jaguar connected on 8-of-16 shots from the field, including going 4-for-6 from three-point range in the win. 

Pettway, a true freshman point guard from Worcester, MA, finished his fifth-straight game in double figures, scoring 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Marcus Kell added 15 points and Cord Stansberry finished with 13 to round out the Catamounts in double figures.

A major key to the win for the Catamounts was an astounding 53-29 advantage on the glass, which led to a 27-8 disparity in second-chance points, as the Catamounts pulled down a whopping 25 offensive rebounds. Samuel Dada led the Catamounts with 14 rebounds, including grabbing nine offensive boards.

Mercer finished the game led by Baraka Okojie, who scored a game-high 26 points and added four assists. Zaire Williams and Brady Shoulders added 18 and 11 points, respectively, for the Bears.

2026 SoCon Tournament Central (Recaps, Scores and Superlatives)

Play-In Round Recap:

Both No. 9 seed The Citadel and No. 7 seed UNC Greensboro moved into Friday's quarterfinal action with a pair of victories to open the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. In the first matchup, there were 21 lead changes before No. 9 The Citadel advanced to the second day of the tournament for the first time since 2022 with an 88-85 win over No. 8 seed Chattanooga.

The Citadel was led by Sola Adebisi and Kenyan Davis, who posted 26 and 20 points, respectively. Ed Conroy garnered his first SoCon Tournament win since his first stint as the Bulldogs' head coach back in 2010, as the Bulldogs claiming an 88-85 win over the reigning NIT Champ Chattanooga Mocs.

The win sees The Citadel improve to 11-21 overall and they will move into Saturday's first quarterfinal matchup against No. 1 overall seed and SoCon Regular Season Champion East Tennessee State (21-10) at noon on Saturday. The No. 8 seed UTC, who was picked by the league's conclude their 2025-26 campaign with a disappointing 13-19 overall record.

In the second matchup, UNCG fourth-year head coach Mike Jones got his first win in the Harrah's Cherokee Center as the head coach of the Spartans, as UNCG posted an 84-70 win over No. 10 seed VMI, thanks to 29 points from freshman guard KJ Younger and a 19th double-double of the season from Justin Neely, who added 14 points and 10 rebounds, as the Spartans advanced in the Southern Conference Tournament with a win for the first time since cutting down the nets in 2021.

With the win, UNCG improves to 14-18 overall and will face off against No. 2 seed Wofford (19-12) in Saturday's second quarterfinal clash slated for 2:30 p.m. EST at Harrah's Cherokee Center. VMI sees a difficult season come to an end with a 17th-straight loss, as the Keydets conclude the 2025-26 season with a 6-26 overall record.

How The Citadel and UNCG Prevailed:

Chattanooga and The Citadel both came out and found the threes to be falling early. Sola Adebisi had a big first half for the Bulldogs, continuing where he left off in the regular-season finale, as he connected on back-to-back threes to give the Bulldogs a 22-21 lead. A steal and a dunk moments later put him the first time find double figures, scoring 11 of the first 26 points for the Bulldogs.

A 13-6 run by Chattanooga, highlighted by threes from Tate Darner and Jordan Frison put Chattanooga up 35-27 with 5:27 remaining in the opening half, prompting an Ed Conroy timeout. Eight-straight points from Christian Moore and Kenyan Davis tied the game, 35-35, with 3:57 left in the half.

The two teams combined for 17 threes in the first half, with both the two teams combining to go 17-of-32 from three-point range in the opening half, with the Bulldogs hitting 10 triples. The Citadel's average number of made threes per game coming into the contest was just only nine. The two teams went to the half tied, 49-49.

After the lead changed hands 12 times in the first half before going to the half tied, 49-49. the second half would see the lead change nine more times before a winner would be decided. Sola Adebisi and Kenyan Davis, who had accounted for 32 of the Bulldogs' 49 first-half points, didn't have quite the same impact in the second, however, both hit clutch shots down the stretch, which helped the Bulldogs capture their first win in the SoCon Tournament since 2022, when the Bulldogs beat the other team from the Volunteer State, 84-76, in overtime.

Adebisi would end up scoring on two of the most important possessions of the game. With the Mocs leading 78-75 following a Teddy Washington Jr. layup in the paint, the final media timeout followed a foul drawn by Braxton Williams. In the timeout, The Citadek's Conroy devised a beautifully designed play on a baseline out-of-bounds play, drawing the Mocs defense all past the free throw line on the pass inbounds to Kenyan Davis, and his quick diagonal snap pass from about 15-feet out found a cutting Adebisi for a wide-open, two-handed power dunk, getting the Bulldogs to within one, at 78-77 with 3:55 remaining. It was the most-beautiful of the 18 assists the Bulldogs had in the contest.

Chattanooga's Billie Smith answered with a three on the other end, giving the Mocs a four-point, 81-77, lead before Braxton Williams splashed home a triple from the top of the key to get the Bulldogs back to within a point, at 81-80, with 3:16 remaining. After the Bulldogs got a stop on the defensive end on a night when defensive stops were at a premium, the Bulldogs seized the opportunity by taking a 82-81 lead when Carter Kingsbury drove down the lane and floated a one-handed jumper off the glass, at 82-81 lead with 2:49 remaining.

The elite shot-making would continue on the other end, and after the Bulldogs played good defense for 29 seconds, Jordan Frison, who had a team-high tying 16 points to go with nine assists, scored on a beautiful fade-a-way jumper as time expired on the shot-clock to put the Mocs back in front, 83-82, with 2:16 remaining.

On the Bulldogs' next possession, The Citadel had another answer, as Christian Moore converted a nice baby hook in the lane, which barely fell over the front part of the rim, giving the Bulldogs back the lead, 84-83, with 2:02 left. Mullholland missed a wide-open three-pointer on the other end and Smith rebounded the miss giving the Mocs another scoring opportunity, as UTC head coach Dan Earl used a 30 second timeout to draw up a play to get points with 1:32 remaining. Frison eventually finished the offensive possession with a driving layup after the timeout, giving the Mocs an 85-84 lead with 1:23 remaining.

Williams got the ball for the Bulldogs and drove hard to the bucket before being fouled by UTC's Brennan Watkins to put the Valdosta State transfer at the line for a one-and-one with 55 seconds remaining. He made the first shot to tie the game, 85-85, however would miss the second and the ball was rebounded by UTC's freshman guard Tate Darner.

On the other end, Frison's pull-up 15 footer hit the front of the rim, however, Mullholland came up with a big offensive rebound, but as he attempted to go back up with the ball, Bulldogs point guard Eze Wali came up with the biggest defensive play of the night for the Bulldogs, stripping the ball from Mulholland and forcing a turnover, as The Citadel's defense held and the game remained tied.

Coming into the night, Adebisi was just a 30.8% three-point shooter and had made only 12-of-39 shots from long-range all season, but he was the perfect man for the moment. Adebisi found himslef wide open on the left wing on the Bulldogs' ensuing possession when Williams found him, and he delivered what turned out to be the dagger to Chattanooga's season, as his unguarded three-pointer from the left wing was nothing but net and the Bulldogs now held an 88-85 lead with just nine seconds remaining.

Chattanooga then had some issues getting the ball across halfcourt and was about to rush into an ill-advised three-point attempt before Earl called a 60-second timeout with 3.2 seconds remaining. The Mocs then burned another timeout after seeing the Bulldogs' defensive alignment, and finally after what seemed like an eternity, the ball was inbounded just in front of UTC's bench, and Mulholland was wide open for a three, but unlike the magical run to the NIT a year ago, this had no storybook ending, and the ball clanged off the front iron and Kingsbury corralled the ball for the Bulldogs to secure the win, as The Citadel's bench and small smattering of fans erupted in excitement.

Adebisi's night will be added to catalog of big shot moments and winning performances in the Harrah's Cherokee annals. He finished the night 9-of-15 from the field, including going 3-for-5 from three-point land. The former Florida State walk-on finished 5-for-6 from the line and added seven rebounds and three blocks, two assists and one steal. It was just one point off Adebisi's performance last time out at Wofford, where he scored a career-high 27 points against Wofford.

Equally as important was Kenyan Davis. The junior played just three minutes against the Terriers in The Citadel's 93-90 overtime road win, and he scored 17 of his 20 points on five first-half threes. He connected on a total of six for the game, going 6-of-8 from long range and finished 6-of-10 from the field. Braxton Williams added 17 points and four assists, while Christian Moore rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14.

Following the win, Ed Conroy nearly got emotional when describing what this meant to this team and to the program he had helped build. Last year, the Bulldogs went 0-18 in SoCon play. Up until January of this season, they had a streak of 37-straight losses to NCAA Division I foes before finally beating Western Carolina 79-77 in overtime on Jan. 10. He described the program's significance in the postgame press conference.

"I’m really, really proud of our guys. Just some grit and resolve, especially from your older guys to help you get through games like that so you can survive and advance on to the next round. I can't help but think back to last year. We had an extremely tough year, as you all know, and Sola (Adebisi), Keynan (Davis), Christian Moore, and Dante (Kearse), I can remember being in the Renaissance (Hotel) lobby. I don't think I slept and I was with them probably till one or two in the morning. And just their decision to come back, even after the year we had, when it's so easy these days to leave. I think that decision and their investment in the program (is what) helped us find a little bit extra there down the stretch in the second half," The Citadel's Conroy said following his team's tournament win.

In the second game, the Spartans took initative from the outset, leading wire-to-wire before coasting to the 14-point win. UNCG would get out to an early 13-5 lead following a Domas Kauzonas giving the Spartans the early 13-5 lead following a jumper in the paint with 13:11 remaining in the opening half.

The Keydets closed the gap to 26-23 after Tan Yildizoglu made a pair of free throws with 4:43 remaining in the half. But the Spartans finished the half strong, using a 13-4 run. This run began with a Clyde Bailey II layup and ended with a Justin Neely 12-foot jumper with 12 seconds remaining in the half, giving the Spartans a 39-27 lead as the two teams entered the halftime locker room.

In the second half, the Keydets cut the deficit to nine when Linus Holmstrom made a three-pointer 22 seconds into the frame, making the score 39-30 with 19:38 remaining. However, after his Scandanavian counterpart, Danish-born Noah Norgaard answered with a triple on the other end to put the Spartans' lead back to 12, it sent an almost defiant and demoralizing message to VMI, as the Spartans were a team on a mission after four-straight tournament exits after playing only one game.

The Spartans took as much as a 19-point lead when Neely converted a layup to make it 67-49 with 7:21 remaining, but would eventually end up settling on a 14-point win.


Younger's 29 points came on a 10-for-16 shooting night, which included a 3-for-7 effort from three-point land, as well as a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. Neely added his 19th double-double, posting 14 points and 13 boards, while Donald Whitehead Jr. finished with 13 off the bench to round out the Spartans in double figures.

UNCG shot 50% (34-of-68) for the game, despite making only 26.1% (6-of-23) of their three-point attempts.

The Keydets put four players in double figures; Linus Holmstrom led the way with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including a 6-for-11 effort from three-point range. TJ Johnson added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Tan Yildizoglu and Kaden Stuckey rounded out the Keydets in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Stuckey finished with a double-double for VMI, adding 10 rebounds.

VMI shot just 41.7% (25-of-60) for the game and 33.3% (10-of-30) from three-point range.

Quarterfinal Recaps Saturday, March 7 Recaps


The Citadel wasn’t deterred by the fact that that ETSU had won five of its last six over the Bulldogs by double digits, including two this season, but at the final media timeout of the opening half, the Bulldogs found themselves right in the contest, trailing just 27-25. 

Points were hard to come by for both teams due to both defense and the physical nature of the game. The Bulldogs 2-3 zone kept the Bucs out of rhythm. Braxton Williams hit a three to give The Citadel its first lead of the game, and then Sola Adebisi got an offensive rebound and putback to give the Bulldogs the 30-27 lead with 2:03 remaining in the first half.

Following the timeout, Maki Johnson’s three tied it and then Brian Taylor steal and dunk with 90 seconds remaining gave ETSU the lead back, 32-30, which was quickly answered by a bucket from Adebisi to promptly tie the game once again.

Taylor II stepped up and made a jumper and another layup to give the Bucs a 36-32 lead, and the Bucs would end up having the final possession of the half with 13.2 seconds remaining. The Bucs had two chances at a three, but missed both, however, the Bucs used that 6-0 spurt late in the half to take a 36-32 lead to the break.

In the second half, the Bucs came out and flexed their proverbial muscle, using a 16-6 run in the first six minutes of the frame assume a 52-38 lead after Taylor II knocked down a three. Jaylen King, who won the SoCon’s Sixth Man of the Year last week, drove to the basket and was fouled, making both free throws to keep the margin at 14, but Keynan Davis answered with a pair of threes to get the Bulldogs back to within eight, at 54-46, with twelve-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Taylor II’s three put ETSU back up double-digits, at 57-46, and that’s where the score remain as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the second media timeout of the second half with 11:31 left.

Western Carolina Wins Sixth-Straight in Rout of Furman

Furman junior center Cooper Bowser

CULLOWHEE, N.C.—Western Carolina freshman guard Tahlan Pettway scored 23 points to lead five Catamounts in double figures, and WCU made Senior Day a memorable one by winning its sixth-straight and capturing the No. 5 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament, with an 86-67 win over Furman before a crowd of 3,486 fans on-hand at the Liston B. Ramsey Center.

With the win, the Catamounts improved to 14-15 overall and 10-8 in Southern Conference play, while the Paladins finish the regular-season with a 19-12 overall record and an identical 10-8 record in SoCon play, as the Paladins will be the No. 6 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament next weekend in Asheville. 

Furman's 10-8 conference mark matches their lowest league wins total of 10 over the past 11 seasons. The only other Furman team to finish with only 10 conference wins was the 2023-24 Furman team, which also went 10-8 in league play.

The win by the Catamounts also gave Western Carolina the regular-season sweep of Furman for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign in a season when the two teams faced each other twice in the regular-season. The Catamounts won the first matchup between the two, 80-77, in overtime in Greenville. 

Western Carolina will open the tournament late Saturday night, as the Catamounts will face off against No. 4 seed Mercer (19-12, 11-7 SoCon) for the second-straight SoCon Tournament and it will mark the first time as the No. 4-5 matchup since the 2020 tourney. 

Furman will head into the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will take on the No. 3 seed Samford (18-13, 11-7 SoCon) in first game of the night session of the Southern Conference, which is slated to tip-off at 6 p.m. EST. 

The Paladins, who faced the hottest team in the SoCon this past Saturday, will now take on the second-hottest team in the league next Saturday, as the Bulldogs have won eight of their past nine games coming into the SoCon Tournament.

Pettway finished just one point off his career-high of 24 points, which he established earlier this month in a win over UNCG. Against the Paladins, the freshman guard from Worcester, MA., finished the contest connecting on 8-of-12 shots from the field and was 4-for-7 from three-point range, while also going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. He also added three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

The rookie guard was joined in double figures by Cord Stansberry, who added 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 1-for-6 from three-point range, while also finishing 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Stansberry added a team-high four assists, four rebounds and added one steal.

Tijdiane Dioumassi added 13 points and six boards, while Samuel Dada added a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Marcus Kell rounded out the WCU players to find their way into double figures, adding 10.

Furman placed three players in double figures in the contest, with Cooper Bowser leading the way with 17 points and four blocks. Joining Bowser in double figures in the contest were Eddrin Bronson, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Rounding out the Paladins in double figures was Alex Wilkins, who finished with 14 points and a pair of assists.

Western Carolina finished the contest connecting on 50.8% (32-of-63) from the field, which included a 39.1% (9-of-23) effort from three-point range. WCU shot the ball at a 58.1% (18-of-31) clip in the second half. The Catamounts finished with a 59.1% (13-of-22) effort from the free throw line. All told, the Catamounts took 10 more shots (63-53) and made three more field goals (32-29) than the Paladins.

The Paladins finished the game shooting 54.7% (29-of-53), which included connecting on 35.3% (6-of-17) from three-point range. The Paladins also shot just 25% (3-for-12) from the charity stripe for the game.

WCU held advantages in the following categories: points from turnovers (11-2), second-chance points (24-4), bench points (23-12), total rebounds (40-26), total assists (11-10), free throw attempts (22-12) and free throws made (13-3). Furman finished with advantages in points in the paint (46-40) and fast-break points (6-0).

How It Happened:

Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the tense early moments of the contest, but it would be Furman that went to the first media timeout with the 5-2 lead courtesy of a baseline layup by Ben Vander Wal and a three by Alex Wilkins.

The game settled in nicely by the time the second media timeout, with Cooper Bowser give Furman an early 12-5 lead, but the Catamounts hit back by scoring six of the next eight points, capped by a Tidjianne Dioumassi three-pointer by the second media timeout to make it a 14-11 contest with 11:18 remaining.

After the second media timeout, Samuel Dada tied the game briefly with a rebound and putback, but a second three from the Wilkins that rattled in and a block by Cooper Bowser and a caught alley-oop from Wilkins on the other extended Furman’s lead back to five, at 21-16. That would remain the score as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the third media timeout of the half, with the Paladins ahead by five.

Late in the half, the Paladins took a 26-20 lead following an Eddrin Bronson three but WCU used a 9-2 run to assume a 29-28 lead on a Marcus Kell free throw. Bowser converted a jump hook on the other end and then a pair of Cord Stansdberry free throws and a three Tahlan Pettway put WCU up four, at 34-30. After Cole Bowser missed a dunk going down the lane, Dioumassi connected on a three to give the Catamounts a 37-30 halftime lead.

Furman used a 9-5 run to start the second half, cutting the Catamount lead to three when Bronson converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 15:57 left. Western Carolina was able to keep just enough distance on the scoreboard, however, but the Paladins would hang around for awhile before the Catamounts broke the game open late. Another Bronson three-pointer with 14:15 left kept Furman to within five, at 47-42. 

Stansberry answered with a three to push the Catamount lead back to eight, and with 12:01 remaining, Justin Johnson's layup for WCU threatened to push the lead to double digits, as the Catamounts went ahead by nine, at 55-46. Furman kept fighting to stay in it, however, Charles Johnston finished with a strong dunk in traffic off a feed from Asa Thomas to make it a 56-50 Paladin deficit with 10:15 remaining. 

When Samuel Dada collected on of WCU's 14 offensive rebounds and converted a putback a little over two minutes later, he extended the Catamount lead to double digits for the first time all afternoon, at 62-51, with 8:01 remaining. That's where the margin would stay over the remainder of the game, as Furman couldn't get any closer than 10 the rest of the way, and the Catamounts closed out the win out-scoring the Paladins 21-14 over the final 7:18 to garner their sixth-straight win and garner the No. 5 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament.

Furman Celebrates Senior Night with Rout of The Citadel

Furman's Four Seniors Honored Prior To Tip-Off

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Furman had much cause for celebration in its final home game of the 2025-26 season in the newly renovated Timmons Arena. Among the many reasons to be happy included four seniors (Thomas Tillman, Ben Vander Wal, Charles Johnston and Tom House) that have given their all to the program, as well as a beautiful newly renovated arena packed to its 2,500 capacity, and ultimately, the 21-point win meant the Paladins would avoid the opening day chaos by having to play on the first day in Asheville at the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

The Paladins even one went one further with their reasons for a postgame party, as head coach Bob Richey collected his 200th win, and Furman avenged a system-shocking loss from a month ago, downing The Citadel, 72-51, to close out the 2025-26 home slate. 

With the win, Furman improves to 19-11 overall and 10-7 in Southern Conference play, while The Citadel dropped its fifth-straight game to fall to 9-21 overall and 6-11 in league action. 

The Paladins can now rest assured that no matter what happens in Saturday's regular-season finale at red hot Western Carolina (13-15, 9-8 SoCon) team Saturday afternoon at the Liston B. Ramsey Center, they can finish no worse than sixth in the SoCon standings.  Tip-off for that game is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening. 

The Citadel, who is now assured of a Friday evening game in Asheville, N.C., will be at Wofford (19-11, 11-6 SoCon) to close out the regular-season, with tip-off for that contest 2 p.m. EST at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. In combination with Western Carolina's 78-74 win over Mercer Wednesday night, the Wofford Terriers clinched the No. 2 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament by getting a 72-69 win over regular-season champion East Tennessee State.  

With its win over The Citadel, the lowest the Paladins can now possibly finish in the standings is sixth no matter Saturday evening's result in Cullowhee, as the tiebreaker process would favor Furman in any such scenario that would place it below sixth in the standings, thanks in large part to a sweep of Samford. 

The Paladins would be led by Cooper Bowser's 14 points and four rebounds, while Charles Johnston contributed his 11th double-double of the season, with 13 points and 13 rebounds in leading the Paladins to the win. The third Paladin in double figures in the contest was Tom House, who finished with 11 points on Senior Night at Timmons Arena.

Bowser finished the game going 4-for-6 from the field and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe to account for his 14 points for the game, and it was the sixth time in his past seven appearances since returning from a lower body injury that the junior from Woodbridge, VA., has found his way into double figures. 

Charles Johnston was one of four seniors to play his final game in front of the home crowd, and he certainly didn't disappoint, as he finished the night by scoring his 13 points on a 5-for-10 shooting performance and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. His 13-rebound effort led the Paladins on the glass, which ended up blitzing the Bulldogs 50-20 in the game, ending the night on the glass with a +30 on the glass, which is unheard of against a conference foe. 

All told, the Paladin trio of scholarship seniors combined to score 30 of Furman's 72 points in the win. Veteran point-forward Ben Vander Wal suited up for the 129th time for the Paladins and notched his 89th win over four seasons in a Furman uniform. 

For Vander Wal, that includes being a part of that magical 2022-23 season that saw the Paladins win a school-record 28 games, which extended into the NCAA Tournament with that memorable 68-67 opening-round win over Virginia in Orlando. He finished his final home appearance at the newly renovated Timmons Arena with six points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 32:41 of floor time.

Both freshman point guard Alex Wilkins and redshirt sophomore wing guard Asa Thomas finished just outside of double figures in scoring with eight points apiece, with Wilkins contributing a team-high five assists.

The Citadel got a game-high 25 points from Braxton Williams, with 17 of those coming in the first half and all 25 coming within the first 24 minutes of the game. He was held scoreless over the final 15, thanks to a stellar defensive performance from Furman's Eddrin Bronson. Williams finished the night connecting on 9-of-21 shots from the field, which included a 6-of-15 effort from three-point range. He also finished 1-of-1 from the charity stripe. 

Sola Adebisi was solid on both ends for the Bulldogs once again against the Paladins, finishing with eight points, three spectacular blocks, three assists, two rebounds and one steal.

The Paladins finished the night connecting on 42.9% (24-of-56) from the field, which included a 21.7% (5-for-23) effort from three-point range, while finishing a solid 76% (19-of-25) from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs finished the evening connecting at a 38.9% (21-of-54) clip from the field and connecting a 25.0% (7-of-28) rate from the three-point range. The Bulldogs shot just 25.0% (2-of-8) from the free throw line.

The Paladins held advantages in total rebounds (50-20), free throw attempts (25-8), free throw scoring (19-2), points in the paint (36-26), second-chance points (19-6), and bench scoring (34-9). The Bulldogs finished with advantages in points from turnovers (10-8) and fast-break points (9-4). Both teams ended the contest with 13 assists.

How It Happened:

Furman and The Citadel got off to an especially hot start inside a packed Timmons Arena on Senior Night, as both teams had the three-ball working early and everything was working for The Citadel's Braxton Williams scored 11 of The Citadel's first 17 points, and the game would be tied, 17-17, at the second media timeout of the half.

The game would take a turn for the worse in shooting after the first media timeout, however, as the two teams would start out connecting on six of their first 10 long-range efforts, but after that hot start, the two teams would close the half over the final 12 minutes going a combined 1-of-20 from long-range.

Neither team could gain a foothold until late in the half, Furman put together a 7-2 run to take a five-point lead, 29-24, following a turnaround fade-a-way jumper by Ben Vander Wal with the shot-clock winding down. The mini-spurt started with a turnover by the Bulldogs and a steal by Asa Thomas, which would eventually be finished off by Vander Wal following a beautiful alley-oop feed from Alex Wilkins from just inside mid-court.

The Paladins maintained that five-point advantage until the two-minute mark of the opening half until Williams connected on a three and Sola Adebisi slammed it home with one hand with 1:10 left to tie it, 31-31. Tom House scored the final two points of the opening half on a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left, as the Paladins went to the locker room with a 33-31 lead.

The way the Bulldogs played in the first half of the game, it wouldn't be readily apparent that it was a team that had lost their previous four games by an average of 19.5 PPG.

The Bulldogs would be led in the opening half by Williams, who scored 17 of the Bulldogs' 31 points in the opening half, connecting on 6-of-13 shots from the field, including going 4-for-9 from three-point range.

Furman's three seniors that are on scholarship accounted for a combined 17 of the Paladins' 33 points in the opening half on a combined 7-of-16 shooting from the field. House's seven points paced the Paladins, while Charles Johnston added six and Vander Wal added four.

The Paladins started where the left off in the opening half and after scoring the final four points of the opening half, Furman then scored the first six of the second to take their largest lead of the game, at 39-31, following a putback layup from Johnston. 

That would prompt an Ed Conroy 30-second timeout at the 17:35 mark. Williams continued his scoring spree in the second half, scoring the Bulldogs’ first eight points of the second half to push his total to 25 with 16 minutes remaining. 

Then Furman put Eddrin Bronson on him and everything came to a screeching halt for Williams' Bulldogs legacy game, as Bronson put the clamps down on him defensively. After starting the half going 3-for-5 from the field (9-of-18 for the game at this point/6-for-12 from three-point range), including 2-of-2 from three-point range to post eight points and get the Bulldogs to within a single point, at 40-39, with 16 minutes remaining, Williams finished the game only able to get off three more shots, with Bronson in his pocket for the remainder of the game, as he was 0-for-3 from long-range over the final 15 minutes and went scoreless. 

Following a Cole Bowser three, Dante Kearse drove baseline for a layup and was fouled by Vander Wal, giving the Bulldogs a chance to slice Furman’s lead even more having already cut it to just two, at 43-41, heading into the first media timeout of the half with 15:07 remaining. 

Kearse missed the charity shot keeping the Furman lead at two. Vander Wal’s half-hook in the lane with the shot-clock winding down extended Furman's lead back to two possessions and then after Furman got a stop, the Paladins went up six following a Tom House offensive rebound and layup.

Marcos Gonzalez’s contested three with the shot-clock winding down got the Bulldogs to within five, at 49-44, by the second media timeout of the half, with 11:17 left. A Cooper Bowser dunk in traffic and two free throws the next trip down the floor extended the Paladins lead to 11, at 55-44, with 8:09 left and Furman would never allow The Citadel to get within single digits again the rest of the way.

If there was a defining moment in the contest for the trio of scholarship seniors, it came with just over five minutes remaining, as Ben Vander Wal blocked a Christian Moore shot and Tom House saved it into the Vander Wal, and the ball eventually found its way to House in the forecourt where he then drove off the right side and dished underhanded behind The Citadel's Logan Applegate to Charles Johnston who laid it in and was fouled to extend Furman’s lead to 13, at 60-47.  It would be a play that would end up putting a fitting early bow on a special night for four seniors, as well as for head coach Bob Richey, who won his 200th game in his ninth season at the helm.

The following trip down the floor saw the Paladins force a Bulldogs turnover on a backcourt violation, leading to a layup by Wilkins and extended Furman’s lead to 15, at 62-47, with 4:34 remaining. The Paladins then widened the lead to 21 by outscoring the Bulldogs 10-4 over the final four-and-a-half minutes.

All told, Furman would end up out-scoring the Bulldogs 31-12 over the final 15 minutes of the game en route to the 21-point, 72-51 win. 

Press Conference:

Seniors: Charles Johnston, Thomas Tillman, Tom House and Ben Vander Wal

Furman head coach Bob Richey

SoCon Test No. 17: Furman Closes Out Home Slate Against The Citadel

 

Furman and The Citadel will be meeting for the 225th time Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena

The Game: The Citadel (9-20, 6-10) at Furman (18-11, 9-7 SoCon)           
THE VENUE AND PLACE:   TIMMONS ARENA (2,500)/GREENVILLE, S.C. (SENIOR NIGHT)

HOW TO WATCH: WMYA LOCAL NEXSTAR AFFILLIATE/ESPN+/6 p.m. EST

SERIES: 225th meeting/Furman leads the all-time series 135-89

Setting The Scene:

Furman closes out the home regular-season slate on Wednesday evening by welcoming The Citadel into Timmons Arena for a game with plenty of importance attached to it. With a win in the regular-season home finale, Furman would more than likely lock up a Top 6 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament.

The Paladins and Bulldogs represent the oldest Southern Conference hardwood rivalry, with the clash between the two Wednesday night marking the 225th all-time clash between the two programs, with Furman holding the commanding 135-89 series edge against The Citadel. 

A win by the Paladins would also mark the 200th-career win for head coach Bob Richey, which is yet another milestone for the program and personally for Richey himself, as his ninth year as the head coach draws to a close. Richey picked up win No. 100 as the Paladins head coach came on Jan. 8, 2022, as the Paladins knocked off Mercer, 81-66, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 

Win No. 150 came during the 2023-24 campaign, as the Paladins slid past eventual SoCon title winner Samford, scoring a 78-68 win over the Bucky McMillan-led Bulldogs.

The Paladins are coming off a big 76-67 win at Wofford this past Saturday night, however, the Paladins return to Timmons Arena with a bit of a peculiar dilemma, as the Paladins will look to put an end to what has become a two-game winning streak on its home floor.

In fact, Furman hasn't lost back-to-back league games at Timmons Arena since the 2014-15 season, as the Paladins suffered back-to-back setbacks to both vs. Mercer (L,68-74) and vs. The Citadel (L, 56-62), which coincidentally enough, also marks the last time a Bulldogs basketball team left Greenville with a win. 

The Bulldogs come to Greenville having gone from being a team that looked like it might be in the mix to avoid Friday's play-in round two weeks ago to one being almost assured of it, as the Bulldogs will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when they take the floor on Wednesday evening to do battle with the 'Dins. 

The Bulldogs' most recent loss came Saturday afternoon at home against Chattanooga, as the Mocs posted a relatively easy 92-73 win over the Bulldogs at McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs handed Furman one of its most demoralizing losses of the season back just a little over a month ago, as the Bulldogs overcame a 19-point second half deficit to post a 77-75 overtime win over the Paladins.

The key to that last month was The Citadel's effort and desire to win the game, while Furman's effort was maybe questionable down the stretch of that game for the first time since the season-opening 26-point loss to High Point. 

Anatomy of The Citadel's Comeback in the Previous Meeting:

Four-straight points on a layup and alley-oop catch for a slam would extend Furman's lead to 19 with just under 13 minutes left, at 53-34.

With 9:58 remaining, Christian Moore connected on a three, which was the second in succession for the Bulldogs, cutting Furman's once 19-point lead to 13, at 55-42, prompting a Paladin timeout. Furman maintained a 12-point lead heading into the under eight media timeout, with the Bulldogs briefly cutting it to 11 on an alley-oop from Gonzales-to-Adebisi to make it a 55-44 game, however, Wilkins answered with a top of the key three on the next trip down to extend the lead back to 14 before Braxton Williams finished a layup on the other end to slice the lead back to 12. 

After Franklin connected on a pair of free throws to get the Furman lead to 14, the Bulldogs hit back with five-straight to get within double digits, as Williams connected on a triple to make it a 60-51 game with 6:21 remaining. Following a bail out foul on Johnston against Gonzales going to the basket, the Paladin lead dwindled to seven with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, at 60-53, with the true freshman guard out of Chicago knocking down both charity shots. 

Johnston then turned it over and then picked up his fourth foul with 5:16 left. With just under five minutes left, the Bulldogs continued to chip away, and a three-point play the old-fashioned way, following a rebound and putback by Williams with 4:50 remaining got the Bulldogs to within two possessions, at 60-56, which was as close as the Bulldogs had been on the scoreboard since the 8:03 mark of the opening half, trailing just 25-22 at that particular point in the contest. Williams' three-point play completed what had been a 10-0 spurt for the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs were able to trim Furman's lead to one over three times over the next 7:53 of the game before eventually pulling even. The points that allowed the Bulldogs to finally pull even and force overtime came, fittingly, on an effort play, which saw the Bulldogs out-work the Paladins by coming up with an offensive rebound and then converting it into points and were rewarded for their hard work by a Furman foul, which allowed for the completion of a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 10 seconds remaining. 

It appeared Furman might survive when Cole Bowser converted a layup in the paint to give the Paladins a 67-64 lead with 1:14 remaining. However, a costly offensive rebound allowed by the Paladins would lead to a three-point play from The Citadel's Sola Adebisi with 10 seconds remaining, which tied the game 67-67, with Wilkins missing a jumper at the buzzer as the two teams headed for an extra five minutes of basketball for a third-straight season in Charleston.

In overtime, a foul by Cole Bowser as Williams drove to the basket put the Valdosta State grad transfer at the line for a pair of free throws. He would connect on a pair of charity shots 30 seconds into the extra five minutes of basketball to give The Citadel a 69-67 lead, which was its first lead since a 20-19 advantage at the 9:51 mark of the opening half. 

After a Charles Johnston dunk tied it off a hook-pass alley-oop from Wilkins, the Bulldogs answered with a Moore triple to take a 72-69 lead with 3:11 remaining. Furman got within one when Wilkins was fouled and then proceeded to knock down both one-and-one free throws to trim The Citadel's lead to one, at 72-71.

Williams and Vander Wal traded layups to leave the margin at one, and after Gonzales missed a three for the Bulldogs, Wilkins would be fouled going to the basket once again, and this time the freshman from Mattapan, MA., knocked down both of the two-shot bonus free throws to give Furman a 75-74 lead with 1:21 left. 

Furman couldn't defend without fouling the rest of the way, and the Bulldogs were able to convert 3-of-4 foul shots over the final minute, with Adebisi and Williams combining for the final three points of the game from the line, giving the Bulldogs a 77-75 lead and ultimately the win. Furman had one last chance with 3.3 seconds remaining, but Wilkins' desperation mid-court heave at the buzzer was too strong and off the backboard, as the Bulldogs held on for a thrilling win in overtime. 

The Citadel senior forward Sola Adebisi 

Previewing the Bulldogs:

The Citadel comes to Greenville looking to put an end to a four-game losing skid when it takes the floor for Wednesday night's Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week. 

The Bulldogs have three core scoring leaders that will have fueled their resurgence this season. Those three performers have been Florida State transfer Sola Adebisi (8.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG), Valdosta State transfer Braxton Williams (13.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG) and veteran guard Christian Moore (11.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG), and as that three-pronged scoring attack goes, so goes The Citadel.

In the first game against Furman, it was Adebisi's 22 points and eight rebounds that gave the Paladins the most issues. In fact, he's been a problem for the Paladins dating back to last season, as he posted a double-double in last season's overtime loss by the Bulldogs in Charleston, posting 16 points and 11 rebounds in the overtime loss to the Paladins. 

He comes in shooting 58.1% (86-of-148) from the field so far through the first 29 games this season, and his athleticism is some of why the Bulldogs have been decent on the backboards throughout the season. That athleticism has also helped him overwhelmingly lead the team in blocks this season, having posted 27 swats so far this season.

He connected on 9-of-10 shots from the field in the first meeting between Furman and The Citadel this season, and three of his eight offensive rebounds were offensive, which helped lead to the Bulldogs' 15-7 advantage in second-chance points. 

Williams has been the alpha leader of this Bulldogs team this season, and he's been a prized get from the transfer portal by head coach Ed Conroy. In the first meeting against Furman this season last month, Williams was the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer, posting 18 points, however, had to do so on 18 shots, as he finished 5-of-18 shots from the field. He was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in that game, which was part of a 23-of-30 effort from the charity stripe for the Bulldogs in that 77-75 overtime win. 

In 12 games this season, Williams has finished the game as the Bulldogs' leading scorer, including each of the past three, which includes posting 20 or more points in each of the past two games. Williams posted a career-high 26 points in the loss to Chattanooga this past Saturday. He finished 8-of-23 from the field, including going 5-for-14 from three-point range in that contest, as well as going an uncharacteristic 5-of-11 from the charity stripe. 

Williams has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and has found his way into double figures 18 times this season to lead the team. He is shooting just 39.1% (137-of-350) from the field this season, while connecting at a 33.9% (65-of-192) from three-point range. Williams has been solid from the charity stripe this season, connecting at a 78.0% (64-of-82) from the line, and up until last game against Chattanooga, which saw him go a shaky 5-for-11 from the stripe. 

Moore rounds out the real scoring threats for the Bulldogs, and he posted 14 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs in that 77-75 overtime win back in January. The 6-6 junior wing is shooting a solid 39.1% () from three-point range this season for the Bulldogs, and he's a player that the Paladins will have to wary of from beyond the arc, as he went 4-for-7 from downtown in the previous clash with the Paladins this season. Moore has totaled 14 games in which he has scored in double figures this season and has three games of 20 or more points. 

The Bulldogs were without shooting guard Carter Kingsbury (8.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG) the last time these two met, as he missed the game with an illness, and he was supplemented by Logan Applegate (6.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG), who was effective in Kingsbury's absence. 

Kingsbury is a graduate transfer from the University of Iowa and he's started 26 of the 27 games he's played in so far for the Bulldogs. His best game of the season for the Bulldogs came in the 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina at McAlister Fieldhouse last month, as he posted a career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from three-point range. Kingsbury has totaled 10 double-figure scoring performances this season.

Applegate has been a key performer off the bench for the Bulldogs this season, and the graduate senior transfer from Drury posted one of his eight double-figure scoring this season against the Paladins, finishing with 10 points, doing half of his damage from the charity stripe in the game, as he finished 5-for-5 in that contest.

Point guard Eze Wali (6.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG) rounds out the projected starting five for the Bulldogs. Wali has been efficient running the Bulldogs' offense, and the sophomore from Providence, RI is now a veteran leading the Bulldogs as the floor general, having started 26 games at the point last season for The Citadel. His 66 assists ranks him 15th in the SoCon this season and he's taken pretty good care of the basketball with only 33 turnovers for a ratio of 2.0. Wali has started 28 of 29 games for the Bulldogs this season, and his best scoring performance in a game this season came against Southern Wesleyan, as he posted 17 points in a 98-73 win back on Dec. 9.

Off the bench, the Bulldogs will need to get some quality minutes out of USA Aiken transfer from 6-10 senior Simeon German (), who has at times provided good rim protection and rebounding for the Bulldogs, and against the much bigger Paladins, that could come in handy Wednesday evening. German isn't going to provide much in the way of scoring, however.

Rounding out the players that could provide minutes off the bench for the Bulldogs Wednesday night could be 6-5 wing guard Keynan Davis (4.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG) 6-4 forward Dante Kearse (3.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG), with both seeing action against the Paladins in the meeting back in January, combining for two points in a combined 10-and-a-half minutes off the bench. Aside from Moore, the Bulldogs' best player off the bench in that previous meeting was freshman guard Marcos Gonzalez (4.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG), who posted nine points on a season-high 29 minutes off the bench.

As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 69.4 PPG, while allowing 76.8 PPG. In its last four losses, the Bulldogs are losing by an average of 19.5 PPG, including a 38-point road loss at Western Carolina (L, 87-49) and a 21-point loss vs. Chattanooga (L, 93-72) on Senior Day.

Furman 2025 Senior center Garrett Hien

Noting the Paladin Seniors: 

Furman will recognize the accomplishments of four seniors prior to Wednesday night's contest against The Citadel, as forward Ben Vander Wal (7.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG), forward Charles Johnston (10.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG), guard Tom House (7.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 41 3pt FGs) and walk-on forward Thomas Tillman will also make their final appearances before the Paladin fanbase in a regular-season game. 

Over the past two seasons, the quartet has been a part of 43 wins, combined to score 731 points, grab 509 rebounds and dish out 168 assists. They quartet has also provided plenty of other intangibles that don't show up on a stats sheet.

If you think back to just last season and remember how special it was to see Garrett Hien score his 1,000th point in his final regular-season home game, it was an emotional night and a cause for celebration for what Hien was able to provide the program with over a four-year span, including being part of arguably the biggest sequence of events in program history in Furman's stunning win over Virginia in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Orlando. 

Furman senior forward Ben Vander Wal (left) and 2025 senior guard Nick Anderson (right)

Making the moment even more special when you really pause to think about it is the fact that players like Garrett Hien and Ben Vander Wal are a bit of a dying breed in today's college basketball landscape, which is dominated by the relationship between how much money you can make and what school will offer you the most for your playing services, which is also known as the NIL-transfer portal era of college basketball.

Hien and Vander Wal are very much throwback types. While Hien got his special moment by scoring his 1,000th point for the Paladins against the Bulldogs last season, Vander Wal will have a chance to be recognized Wednesday night and there will be a point in the game against the Bulldogs when Vander Wal no doubt provide a moment of inspiration or providing energy in some way, whether it be by taking a charge, getting a key rebound, making a key pass, or simply going to the basket for a thunderous dunk.

In fact, when I think back about Vander Wal's impact and career at Furman, his favorite highlight of mine is his baseline dunk against Winthrop during his freshman season back in 2022-23. He's provided winning plays like that over the Eagles four years ago. In fact, Vander Wal has been of a total of 88 wins, including a school-record 28, in that magical 2022-23 season. The Elmhurst, Illinois is slated to make his 129th appearance in a Furman uniform this evening, which will include making his 76th start.

Vander Wal is one of the two remaining pieces off that 2022-23 team, with injured forward Davis Molnar, who redshirted that season, being the other. Vander Wal was a key piece to that championship winning team, which broke through and won the SoCon Tournament for the first time in 43 years just three years ago. 

In his four seasons as a Paladin starting forward, Vander Wal has established himself as a glue guy...aka doing the little things that don't show up on a stats sheet to help the team win. As coach Bob Richey has often said in his postgame pressers, "Vandy just has winning DNA".

His 129 games played are most among active players at the same school in the SoCon. The only other player that even comes close to that kind of loyalty is ETSU's Allen Strothers, who will be suiting up for the 110th time tonight for the Bucs against Wofford at Freedom Hall. 

For his career as a Paladin, Vander Wal has scored 762 points, grabbed 602 rebounds, dished out 171 assists, record 78 steals and blocked 49 shots in his Furman career. He is averaging 6.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG,  and 1.3 APG over the course of his Furman career. 

Both Johnston and House joined the Furman basketball program just prior to the 2024-25 season and both have had big impacts on what the Paladins have been able to achieve over the past couple of seasons. Both have joined Vander Wal in being key on-the-floor leaders during the 2025-26 campaign for the Paladins. 

Furman senior forward Charles Johnston (right) and Furman redshirt sophomore guard Asa Thomas (ground)

Johnston has come up big on the boards for the Paladins this season, and from the outset of his career, you knew the 6-11 native of Sydney, Australia was going to provide something unique for Furman basketball. His 25-point effort in Furman's win over Jacksonville in the SoCon-Atlantic Sun Challenge. But he had to play limited minutes during his initial season with the Paladins due to both back and knee issues.

Fully healthy this season, Johnston has been a transformative player for the Paladins, especially when Cooper Bowser was out of the lineup due to a lower body injury, which forced the junior to miss the first 10 games of SoCon play. A couple of memories come to mind on how Johnston came up for big during that stretch come to mind, which include the defensive performance and job he did overall on the glass in Furman's first matchup with Mercer this season in what was a 74-72 win at Timmons Arena.

In that contest, Johnston posted nine points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the two-point win. More important to the cause was Johnston's performance on the defensive end of the floor, holding Mighty in-check for much of the afternoon, as the Bears big man had been averaging a double-double per game coming into the clash with the Paladins. However, Johnston matched Mighty's physicality, holding the Mercer big man to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting for the game.

The other memory that comes to mind for Johnston was what he provided offensively in Furman's 76-67 road win at Chattanooga in early January. In that contest, Johnston went 10-of-14 from the field for 21 points, while also grabbing eight rebounds, while also posting an assist and a steal. He enters his final home game in a Furman uniform with 10 double-doubles this season and 15 double-digit rebound performances this season and in combination with his two seasons spent at Cal State Bernadino prior to coming to Furman in 2024-25, he has 24-career double-doubles. 

It's almost hard to believe that Johnston has only played basketball for five years and was an avid cricket player and fan before being convinced to pick up a basketball and give hoops a try by his childhood friend, former Duke star and current Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor. 

In two seasons with the Paladins, Johnston has scored 461 points, grabbed 364 rebounds, dished out 74 assists, recorded 35 steals and blocked 29 shots. He has connected on 68 threes and has shot 46.5% in two seasons for the 'Dins. But I think more than anything, the picture above of the big 6-11 forward from a land down under speaks to the type of person I will always think of when I think of Johnston in that he is a tremendous teammate. 

He's always happy and it has been a blessing to have gotten to know him the past couple of seasons. Charles Johnston has good, positive energy in him and that's something that this team has needed and will surely need again as the season winds down and the Paladins chase their goal of winning the Southern Conference Tournament. The world needs more Charles Johnstons in it. 

Furman senior guard Tom House

Tom House was originally sought after hard by Furman's coaching staff, but he opted to sign with Florida State out of Centerville High School in Dayton, OH. Over the past couple of seasons, he has come up big in several key games for the Paladins, including the Paladins most recent one--a 76-67 road win at Wofford--as he played some of his best defense of the season.

More often though, it's been House's offense and elite shooting over the course of his two seasons as a Paladin that has been more of a source for dinnertime conversations. Since his arrival at Furman prior to the 2024-25 season, House has caught fire in the month of February. His 26-point performance on an 8-for-13 shooting effort, which included a 6-for-9 effort from three-point range was evidence of that in what was a 96-72 win over Mercer.

House's strong shooting would continue in the Southern Conference Tournament against Samford, as he finished Furman lopsided, 95-78, win over Samford by going for 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, which included a 6-for-7 effort from three-point range. 

His hot shooting started a week earlier this season, and his breakout performance would come in Furman's 89-66 win on the road at UNCG, as House lit the house named Bodford Arena on fire with his shooting, finishing the game with 25 points and that included a 7-for-10 shooting performance from three-point range in the game. 

House, who was a preseason All-SoCon selection, has totaled 454 points, 95 made threes, 165 rebounds, 90 assists, 26 steals and six blocks in his two seasons with the Paladins. He has shot 35.2% from three-point range in his two seasons as a Paladin, including 40.6% from long range last season. 

The final senior to be recognized on Wednesday evening is Thomas Tillman, who has been a key member of Furman's scout team over the past three seasons and is as important for what he has provided off the floor in terms of game preparation as any of what the three aforementioned players have provided on it this season and prior to the current campaign. He has seen action in four games this season, having gone 2-of-4 from the field. The 6-6 Tillman is native to the Palmetto State, hailing from Charleston, S.C.,  so it's most fitting in his last home game, the Paladins will be taking on The Citadel.

Furman's Probable Starting Five

G-Alex Wilkins

G-Tom House

F-Thomas Tillman

F-Ben Vander Wal

C-Charles Johnston

The Citadel's Probable Starting Five

G-Eze Wali

G-Carter Kingsbury

F-Sola Adebisi

F-Christian Moore

F-Braxton Williams