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| Furman senior forward Matt Rafferty |
The top four teams in the SoCon...Furman, UNCG, Wofford and East Tennessee State are going at it against each other this season. Home court, so far, has been a fortress save UNCG’s hiccup to Wofford Thursday night, making Saturday’s game on the home floor against the Paladins somewhat of a must-win, or at least in the regular-season title chase.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Miller would make sure the Spartans didn’t fall too far behind in the standings, however, following a 29-point loss on the home floor last time out, which snapped UNCG’s 17-game winning streak inside the friendly confines.
Miller scored a career-high 25 points, as UNC Greensboro held off Furman, 89-79, in a Southern Conference battle Saturday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. That allowed the Spartans to win their fourth-straight game in the series against Furman.
With the win, UNCG 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference, while Furman dropped to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Miller, a sophomore guard from Covington, GA, was sensational throughout the game, finishing the contest going 10-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point land. In addition, Miller also added five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Miller was one of four Spartans in double figures in the contest, as Francis Alonso (16 pts), Eric Hamilton (15 pts), and Demetrius Troy (10 pts).
Furman, despite shooting the ball at a 52.9% clip (27-of-51) and, connected on 55.6% (10-of-18) from three-point land in the contest, however, Furman turned it over 21 times, which led to getting outscored to a 26-11 advantage for UNCG in points off turnovers.
The Paladins were led by another outstanding night from Southern Conference Player of the Year candidate Matt Rafferty, as the senior forward posted 22 points, 10 boards, dished out five assists and recorded two steals to lead the Paladins. He was one of three Paladins in double figures in the contest.
Rafferty finished 6-for-10 from the field and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Joining Rafferty in double figures Saturday night was Jordan Lyons with 16 points, while senior guard Andrew Brown added 14.
Tre Clark’s dunk off a run-out on a long pass from Brown with 9:13 remaining in the contest. The Spartans responded with a 12-2 run to take 73-61 lead following a Kaleb Hunter three-pointer with 5:19 remaining.
The Paladins cut to five on two occasions in the final two minutes, with the last time coming after an Alex Hunter layup driving layup, which cut UNCG’s lead to 81-76 with 1:13 remaining.
Six-straight made free throws on the heels of a turnover, two missed shots and a UNCG blocked shot spelled the end of an otherwise solid shooting night for Furman, with the Spartans assuming an 87-76 lead on the second shot of a two-shot foul from Hamilton with 25 seconds remaining. UNCG would maintain that double-digit lead to close out their 15th win overall and fourth win in league play.
The Paladins were red-hot in the opening half of play as well, connecting on 58.3% (14-for-24) from the field and 75.0% (6-for-8) from three-point land, however, 11 first-half turnovers, including five offensive fouls, led to a 15-4 UNCG advantage in points off turnovers, and a 41-37 halftime lead for the Spartans.
“They’re a tremendous offensive team and well they’re a tremendous team,“ said UNCG head coach Wes Miller. “On the offensive end they’re just a tremendous team and there’s a reason they were in the Top 25 just two weeks ago. If you aren’t active defensively with your hands and with your play, you can’t guard them even if you’re in the right position,” Miller added.
The truth of this basketball game is Miller could have even been talking about his own team, which shot the ball at a 51.6% clip (32-of-62) for the game, showing some of that championship form on both ends of the floor to gut out a tough Southern Conference victory.
The Spartans were able to affect the game with their defense, and for the first time since early in the season, James Dickey looked like he was back to his old form prior to his foot injury, and his four blocks were the most in a single game for the junior reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year since the season opener against North Carolina A&T, when he swatted away seven shots.
For head coach Bob Richey and Furman, it’s back to the drawing board for his young team, which will now have a week off to prepare for its big game at Wofford next Saturday.
With a season-high 21 turnovers, which is uncharacteristic for the normally composed Paladins, it will give something for head coach Bob Richey to prepare for and work on during the week ahead prior to squaring off with their I-85 rival.
It’s something that Richey admits UNCG was able to do with great effectiveness, which was put Furman in uncomfortable situations with forcing the tempo.
That’s the thing about the SoCon. Teams find unique ways to push other teams’ buttons. Mercer does it different than The Citadel and UNCG does it different than the previous two, with a 1-2-2 press reminiscent of some of those Murry Bartow ETSU clubs in the mid-2000s before the Bucs left the league for the Atlantic Sun.
“It’s there pressure and they tried to speed us up and when people pressure you they are trying to get you to play faster than you want to play.” Furman head coach Bob Richey said.
“Unfortunately today they had success doing that and so we’ve got to be better there and that’s one of our achilles heels and going back to some of these guys that haven’t been in these situations before and five underclassmen of our eight that are playing out there and that’s one of those deals where you’ve got to learn to just stay composed. The pressure is only pressure if you let it pressure you,” Richey added.
UNCG returns to action Thursday night with a trip to face Western Carolina at the Ramsey Center, with tip-off slated for 1 p.m. Furman will take on league unbeaten Wofford at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium next Saturday in Spartanburg. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Miller would make sure the Spartans didn’t fall too far behind in the standings, however, following a 29-point loss on the home floor last time out, which snapped UNCG’s 17-game winning streak inside the friendly confines.
Miller scored a career-high 25 points, as UNC Greensboro held off Furman, 89-79, in a Southern Conference battle Saturday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. That allowed the Spartans to win their fourth-straight game in the series against Furman.
With the win, UNCG 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference, while Furman dropped to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Miller, a sophomore guard from Covington, GA, was sensational throughout the game, finishing the contest going 10-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point land. In addition, Miller also added five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Miller was one of four Spartans in double figures in the contest, as Francis Alonso (16 pts), Eric Hamilton (15 pts), and Demetrius Troy (10 pts).
Furman, despite shooting the ball at a 52.9% clip (27-of-51) and, connected on 55.6% (10-of-18) from three-point land in the contest, however, Furman turned it over 21 times, which led to getting outscored to a 26-11 advantage for UNCG in points off turnovers.
The Paladins were led by another outstanding night from Southern Conference Player of the Year candidate Matt Rafferty, as the senior forward posted 22 points, 10 boards, dished out five assists and recorded two steals to lead the Paladins. He was one of three Paladins in double figures in the contest.
Rafferty finished 6-for-10 from the field and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Joining Rafferty in double figures Saturday night was Jordan Lyons with 16 points, while senior guard Andrew Brown added 14.
Tre Clark’s dunk off a run-out on a long pass from Brown with 9:13 remaining in the contest. The Spartans responded with a 12-2 run to take 73-61 lead following a Kaleb Hunter three-pointer with 5:19 remaining.
The Paladins cut to five on two occasions in the final two minutes, with the last time coming after an Alex Hunter layup driving layup, which cut UNCG’s lead to 81-76 with 1:13 remaining.
Six-straight made free throws on the heels of a turnover, two missed shots and a UNCG blocked shot spelled the end of an otherwise solid shooting night for Furman, with the Spartans assuming an 87-76 lead on the second shot of a two-shot foul from Hamilton with 25 seconds remaining. UNCG would maintain that double-digit lead to close out their 15th win overall and fourth win in league play.
The Paladins were red-hot in the opening half of play as well, connecting on 58.3% (14-for-24) from the field and 75.0% (6-for-8) from three-point land, however, 11 first-half turnovers, including five offensive fouls, led to a 15-4 UNCG advantage in points off turnovers, and a 41-37 halftime lead for the Spartans.
“They’re a tremendous offensive team and well they’re a tremendous team,“ said UNCG head coach Wes Miller. “On the offensive end they’re just a tremendous team and there’s a reason they were in the Top 25 just two weeks ago. If you aren’t active defensively with your hands and with your play, you can’t guard them even if you’re in the right position,” Miller added.
The truth of this basketball game is Miller could have even been talking about his own team, which shot the ball at a 51.6% clip (32-of-62) for the game, showing some of that championship form on both ends of the floor to gut out a tough Southern Conference victory.
The Spartans were able to affect the game with their defense, and for the first time since early in the season, James Dickey looked like he was back to his old form prior to his foot injury, and his four blocks were the most in a single game for the junior reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year since the season opener against North Carolina A&T, when he swatted away seven shots.
For head coach Bob Richey and Furman, it’s back to the drawing board for his young team, which will now have a week off to prepare for its big game at Wofford next Saturday.
With a season-high 21 turnovers, which is uncharacteristic for the normally composed Paladins, it will give something for head coach Bob Richey to prepare for and work on during the week ahead prior to squaring off with their I-85 rival.
It’s something that Richey admits UNCG was able to do with great effectiveness, which was put Furman in uncomfortable situations with forcing the tempo.
That’s the thing about the SoCon. Teams find unique ways to push other teams’ buttons. Mercer does it different than The Citadel and UNCG does it different than the previous two, with a 1-2-2 press reminiscent of some of those Murry Bartow ETSU clubs in the mid-2000s before the Bucs left the league for the Atlantic Sun.
“It’s there pressure and they tried to speed us up and when people pressure you they are trying to get you to play faster than you want to play.” Furman head coach Bob Richey said.
“Unfortunately today they had success doing that and so we’ve got to be better there and that’s one of our achilles heels and going back to some of these guys that haven’t been in these situations before and five underclassmen of our eight that are playing out there and that’s one of those deals where you’ve got to learn to just stay composed. The pressure is only pressure if you let it pressure you,” Richey added.
UNCG returns to action Thursday night with a trip to face Western Carolina at the Ramsey Center, with tip-off slated for 1 p.m. Furman will take on league unbeaten Wofford at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium next Saturday in Spartanburg. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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