Furman survives SoCon scare from Mercer in league opener

Furman 64, Mercer 62

MACON, GA.—Senior guard Jordan Lyons scored 25 points to lead Furman to its opening SoCon win on the road, with a 64-62 win over Mercer Friday night at Hawkins Arena.

With its ninth-straight win over the Bears, Furman improved to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play, while Mercer fell to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in Southern Conference play. It was Furman’s 10th win over Mercer in the last 11 meetings. 

With the game tied 62-62, Lyons layup off the left side of the glass gave Furman the two-point lead with 17 seconds remaining. On Mercer’s final possession of the night, Lyons tipped the inbounds pass away, allowing time to expire and Furman to collect its first Southern Conference win of the season.

Lyons has now scored 74 points against Mercer in the past three meetings with the Bears, and improved to 8-0 against Mercer as a player in his career. 

The Paladins trailed 55-51 with 5:30 remaining in the contest, however, used a 9-0 run to take a 60-55 lead with 2:45 remaining following a layup by redshirt junior forward Clay Mounce.

Leading 62-57 with 2:01 left, Mercer would score the next five points on a pair of free throws by Djordje Dimitrijevic and a three-pointer by Jeff Gary with 1:13 remaining to knot the score, 62-62. 

Furman took a timeout to set up its final play. Though the Paladins didn’t rebound the ball well all night, on its final possession of the night, Furman got two crucial offensive rebounds from Noah Gurley and Lyons off a missed jumper by Lyons and a missed three-pointer by Alex Hunter. 

Lyons rebounded Hunter’s missed three-point attempt with 32 seconds remaining, setting up what proved to be his game-winning layup with 17 seconds left, as he drove down the lane and layed the ball off the left side of the window to give the Paladins a two-point lead.

On Mercer’s ensuing possession following a Greg Gary timeout, it looked as though the Paladins had held on for the win, as Dimitrijevic’s layup attempt rolled off the front of the rim and was rebounded by Clay Mounce with 1.4 seconds left and Mounce was quickly fouled.

Mercer had not fouled enough to put the Paladins at the charity stripe, so Furman was forced to inbounds the ball under its own basket, however, the ball could not be corralled by Lyons on the inbounds pass, and the Paladins turned the ball over with 0.5 seconds remaining. On the Mercer inbounds pass, Lyons tipped the ball away and time expired, as Furman escaped with its fourth-straight win.

In the opening half of play, both teams led by as many as seven points, however, went to the halftime locker room with the score tied, 30-30, as Mercer out-shot Furman 46.4%-44.4% in the opening half. Both teams hit four triples in the opening half of play.

Furman held advantages in points in the paint (36-24), points off turnovers (21-4) and second chance points (11-0). Mercer posted advantages in bench points (14-10), assists (18-12) and rebounds (32-28). Furman forced 13 turnovers, while committing just nine.

The Paladins finished the night connecting on 43.3% (26-of-60) from the field for the game, including connecting on 32.0% (8-of-25) from three-point range. 

The Bears connected on 46.3% (25-of-54) from the field for the night, including shooting 36.4% (8-of-22) from three-point land.

Lyons finished the night connecting on 9-of-18 shots from the field, including going 3-for-8 from three-point land and was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. The Peachtree City, GA, native also added three rebounds, two steals and an assist to aid the Paladins in getting the road win.

The only other Paladin in double figures was Mounce, who posted his third double-double of the season, with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Mounce connected on 5-of-9 shots from the field, including going 2-for-3 from three-point land. He also added a block and an assist to his overall totals on the night. 

Mercer was led by a career-high 19 points from West Virginia transfer center Maciej Bender. He connected on 9-of-16 shots from the field and was 1-for-3 from the charity stripe. Bender added 10 boards to complete the double-double effort, and also added four blocks.

Rounding out the Bears in double figures were Gary and Ross Cummings, who added 13 and 12 points, respectively. 

Furman returns to action on New Years Day, when it will travel to Cameron Hall for a Southern Conference battle against VMI, with tip-off for that contest slated for 1 p.m. Mercer returns to action on Sunday, hosting Florida Atlantic at Hawkins Arena, with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.

Furman opens SoCon play at Mercer Friday evening

 

Furman has won eight-straight over Mercer

                   

        Furman (10-3, 0-0 SoCon) at Mercer (5-6, 0-0 SoCon), 7:30 p.m.

Coaches: Furman-Bob Richey (58-22, 3rd yr)/Mercer-Greg Gary (5-6,1st yr)

When: Dec. 20, 2019/7:30 p.m.

Where: Macon, GA/Hawkins Arena (6,500)

Series: Furman leads 17-10

Players to watch for the Bears:

Mercer and Furman will play the fourth Southern Conference game of the 2019-20 season on Friday night at Hawkins Arena, and for Mercer’s Greg Gary, it will be his first Southern Conference game in charge of the Mercer Bears basketball program.

The Bears will enter the matchup with some momentum as well, having downed UNC Wilmington 72-63 on the road. The win for the Bears snapped what had been a four-game losing streak for the Bears. It was Mercer’s second road win of the season, hitting 11 three-pointers in the win over the Seahawks.

Furman comes in off a six-day break following an 80-73 win over Winthrop the last time out, which was the first of three of three meetings in the ‘Weekends at the Well’ series to be played in downtown Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Furman’s win over Winthrop at the Well marked the 100th win by the Paladin basketball program since the start of the 2015-16 season. The Paladins are 51-21 in SoCon play over that same span. 

The Paladins come into the meeting with the Bears having won eight-straight in the series, including all three meetings last season. Furman’s 85-74 win over the Bears in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament proved to be the final game for Bob Hoffman as head coach following an 11-year run in Macon, which saw the veteran head coach record at 202-153 record at the helm of the Bears basketball program, including a 2014 NCAA Tournament appearance and win over Duke. 

Former Purdue top assistant Greg Gary has taken the reins of the Mercer basketball program, and has experienced his fair share of ups and down in his first month-and-a-half of the 2019-20 season, with the most notable adversity being the injury to All-SoCon guard and leading scorer Ross Cummings (9.5 PPG). 

It is important to note the sharp-shooter from Dickson, Tenn., hadn’t played since Nov. 23 until his return on Monday night against UNC Wilmington, and he logged eight minutes of floor time and scored three points. It’s unclear how much time he will end up playing against Furman Friday night, but if he plays, he makes Mercer a much better basketball team. 

The Paladins did a pretty good job defensively against Cummings last season, limiting him to 12.0 PPG average in three meetings. That was 5.4 PPG under his 17.4 PPG he ended up averaging for the season. Cummings shot 40% (101-for-253) from three-point land last season and is shooting 41.2% (7-for-17) from three-point range this season. 

As a team, Mercer is shooting 35.6% (80-of-225) from three-point range through 11 games so far this season. Cummings’ return to health should see Mercer’s shooting percentage from deep improve some as the season progresses. 

The Bears top player so far this season has been guard Ethan Stair (18.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG). The 6-4 senior guard currently ranks second in the SoCon in scoring and leads the league in rebounding, and is making a case for SoCon Player of the Year plaudits so far through non-conference play at least. 

Stair is the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, and scored 16 points to go with 16 rebounds for the Bears to lead Mercer to its first road win of the season. Stair also leads the SoCon in double-doubles with six so far this season, which also ranks 11th in the nation.

Stair is shooting a blistering 41.1% from three-point land this season, and he has hit a team-high 30 triples, connecting on 30-of-73 from long range. Stair scored in double figures in all three clashes with the Paladins last season, with his best performance coming in Mercer’s 71-58 loss in Greenville, posting 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, including going 2-for-6 from three-point land. The senior guard followed up that performance with 10 and 13-point performances in the next two meetings with the Paladins in the 2018-19 season.

Set to start along with Stair in the Mercer backcourt Friday night will by senior Djordje Dimitrijevic (15.8 PPG, 3.4 APG) and sophomore Daniel Love (5.6 PPG, 2.2 APG). Collectively, the Mercer starting trio in the backcourt is accounting for 40.1 of Mercer’s 72.5 PPG so far this season.

Dimitrijevic scored a season-high 24 points in the Bears 82-74 win over Columbia International back in November, and is shooting 36% (21-of-58) from downtown this season. His 3.4 assists-per-game ranks fifth in the SoCon, and also ranks sixth in the league in assist-turnover ratio (1:4).

Love enjoyed his best outing of the season in a win earlier this season over former conference rival Florida Gulf Coast, posting 16 points in the 84-68 win by the Bears. 

Rounding out the probable starting five for the Bears will be 6-11 West Virginia transfer Maciej Bender (5.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG) and 6-6 freshnman James Glisson III (8.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG).

Glisson III has been one of the most impressive freshmen in the SoCon so far this season, and like Love, also posted his best performance of the season against FGCU, posting 18 points. 

Projected Starting Five for Mercer:

G-Djordje Dimitrijevic

G-Daniel Love

G-Ethan Stair

F-James Glisson III

C-Maciej Bender

Players to watch for the Paladins:

Furman has been using an eight-to-nine man rotation throughout non-conference play. An ankle injury to freshman forward Ben Beeker a couple of weeks ago has limited Bob Richey’s club to eight more often than not as of late.

Furman comes into its SoCon opener being led by senior guard Jordan Lyons, who leads four Paladins averaging in double figures, posting 15.3 PPG, and is coming off a 26-point effort the last time out against Winthrop. 

The Peachtree City, GA product has connected on 238-career three pointers, needing just 36 more triples this season to surpass Eric Webb’s mark of 273-career triples, which he established from 2003-07.

In seven career games against Mercer, Lyons has 99 points against the Bears, with 49 of those coming in the last two clashes. Since scoring just three points in his first-ever game against the Bears, Lyons has scored in double figures in each of the past six. He is averaging 14.1 PPG against Mercer in his career. 

He will be joined in the Paladin backcourt by junior point guard Alex Hunter (9.6 PPG, 3.5 APG), who currently ranks fourth in the SoCon in assists-per-game (3.5 APG), and has been among the best in the nation in taking care of the basketball this season, ranking second in the nation (5.75).

One of the storylines for the Paladins this season has been the consistent production from Furman big men. Redshirt junior Clay Mounce (14.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG) and redshirt sophomore Noah Gurley (15.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG) are off to outstanding starts to the season for the Paladins. 

Mounce has scored in double figures in 11-of-13 games this season for the Paladins, while Gurley has hit double figures in 10-of-13 games this season, including each of the past six games, which includes a 22-point outing vs. No. 10 Auburn and a career-high 29-point effort vs USC Upstate. 

Mounce currently ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in five different offensive categories, and currently ranks second in the SoCon in steals (30 steals/2.3 SPG). Gurley ranks ninth in the SoCon in field goal percentage, connecting on 56.5% from the field so far this season.

Sophomore forward Jalen Slawson (5.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG) rounds out the starters for the Paladins, and he has seen both ups and downs offensively this season, but has been one of the Paladins’ best defenders when he can stay out of foul trouble. His athleticism gives Furman a true rim protector in the paint.

Furman’s top defender might be Tre Clark (3.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG), who has come off the bench and provided excellent energy throughout the season, while big shot Mike Bothwell might be the most-improved offensive performer on Furman’s entire roster. It was Bothwell’s three-point play the old fashioned way with time winding down that allowed Furman to come away with an impressive 58-57 win over UT-Arlington in a game played at Elon’s Schar Center.

Jaylon Pugh (4.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG) can score points in a hurry off the bench, and the sophomore guard currently leads the SoCon in three-point field goal percentage this season, hitting a scorching 61.9% (13-of-21) from long-range this season.

Projected Starting five for Furman:

G-Alex Hunter

G-Jordan Lyons

F-Clay Mounce

F-Noah Gurley

F-Jalen Slawson

Projected Outcome: Furman 77, Mercer 70

Downtown ‘Dins Soar Past Winthrop at The Well

Furman redshirt sophomore Noah Gurley

Furman 80, Winthrop 73

When Bob Richey took over as the head coach in 2017-18, he had a big dream...Dreaming of bringing the enthusiasm back to Furman basketball that once saw the Paladins down the likes of Villanova, and nationally-ranked foes East Tennessee State and Davidson in hoops in its downtown home during a 38-year run of playing in the heart of Greenville. 

The Paladins went to battle with a good Winthrop basketball team Saturday night in the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and came away with an impressive 80-73 win over Winthrop in front of its largest home crowd of the season—a crowd of 2,752, with an impressive student turnout for a campus located about seven miles away. The motto being—if you have a good product, they will show. Richey believes Furman does and he’s not wrong.

It was Furman’s first appearance in the artist formerly known as the BI-LO Center in 13 seasons and 12 years, with the last being on Feb. 19, 2007, when the Paladins dropped an 80-77 decision to College of Charleston. Tonight’s win snapped a four-game losing skid for the Paladins inside the facility, with the last win for Furman inside the BI-LO Center coming in a 68-54 victory over Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference.

Though the opponent was on the level of a Villanova or a ranked ETSU or Davidson yet Saturday night, Winthrop is a well-known mid-major program, and all Pat Kelsey’s team had done was beat No. 18 Saint Mary’s on the road early in the season, and went toe-to-toe with then No.1 Duke earlier this season, dropping an 83-70 decision in Durham back on Nov. 29. 

The Furman vision is eventually having teams like Villanova or North Carolina to come play the Paladins in front of big crowds at The Well—a big dream and an attainable one. 

Winthrop came into the matchup with Furman winners of five-straight in the series, including handing the Paladins a 93-74 setback in the previous meeting between the two back in Dec. of 2017. That was Furman’s last regular-season home loss, as the Paladins have now won 16-straight non-conference home games since that defeat. 

Furman’s high-wire act from the outset, with several highlight-reel dunks and thrilling blocked shots, and it was good basketball on both sides for most of the night. It was a big night for Furman’s Jordan Lyons, who has flourished as more of a complete basketball player this season. 

Even when the perimeter shots haven’t fallen this season, Lyons, a senior from Peachtree City, GA, has found other ways to affect the basketball game.

On Saturday night, his shot was falling, especially in the opening half of scoring 21 of his game-high 26 points in the opening half of play alone. Lyons did an excellent job of being aggressive and getting to the free throw line. He finished the night going 10-for-13 from the field in the charity stripe. 

All told, Lyons finished the night going 6-of-14 from the field, including going 4-for-8 from three-point range. In addition to what Lyons was able to do as a scorer Saturday night, he also added two assists, two rebounds and a steal. 

In the opening half, Furman came out playing loose, focused and connected basketball. The Paladins ran out to an early 13-8 lead heading into the first media timeout of the contest. 

Threes by Clay Mounce, Noah Gurley and Lyons, and an emphatic slam by Jalen Slawson and a block off the glass on what seemed to be a sure layup by Hunter Hale on the other end, helped set the tone of the contest from the outset, energizing a pro-Furman crowd that would stay engaged and loud for most of the night.

Winthrop stayed within striking distance early, with the largest margin of deficit being six points (22-16) following a Lyons three-pointer and free throw on a four-point play play at the 11:29 mark of the opening half of play.

That would be followed by an 8-0 flurry to give Winthrop its first lead of the contest on a two-handed flush by Josh Ferguson on a play which saw Gurley’s finger get caught between Ferguson’s hand and the rim, dislocating it. Gurley calmly showed the ref his finger and an injury timeout was called so Gurley could receive treatment. At the end of it, Winthrop held a 24-22 lead with 8:47 left in the opening half. 

The two teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes, with freshman forward Chase Claxton’s jumper tying the game 28-28 with 6:02 remaining in the opening frame.

Furman would control the remainder of the opening half, out-scoring the Eagles 18-5 for the remainder of the frame, using a staunch defense and a hot-shooting Lyons to take complete control of the basketball game. Twelve of those 18 points in that flurry to end the opening half by Furman came from Lyons. 

In the second half, the Paladins continued to roll, playing off the energy of the crowd for much of the half. Like it had done to open the game, Furman brought those in attendance at Bon Secours Wellness Arena to their collective feet with early with more high-flying dunks, with Tre Clark’s jam giving Furman its largest lead of the night, at 55-37, heading into the first media timeout of the second half.

Furman’s largest lead of the game would be established by Gurley, whose jumper with 7:52 to play gave the Paladins a 19-point edge, at 72-53. However, the Paladins would score only one more field goal the rest of the way, as the Eagles closed the game on a 21-7 run to lose by a much more respectable score, dropping a seven-point decision, 80-73.

In addition to Lyons’ double-digit effort for the Paladins, Mounce continued his strong play to open the season and he put up Matt Rafferty-like numbers, posting 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, a block and a steal in one of the most complete performances of his career. The redshirt junior from Elkin, N.C., finished the contest connecting on 5-of-12 shots from the field and was 6-for-9 from the charity stripe.

Gurley rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Paladins by posting 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, including going 1-of-3 from three-point land. Gurley narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards, while also contributing a block and and assist, however, accounted for seven of Furman’s 11 turnovers. Gurley also went 2-for-2 from the line. Gurley played a large majority of the game with two fingers taped together, yet still maintained his offensive efficiency.

Winthrop placed five in double figures, led by Hale’s 17 points. Hale had to work for his points, going 6-for-19 from the field and just 3-for-13 from three. Chase Claxton chipped in with 14 points, while leading scorer Josh Ferguson and Charles Faulden added 11 points apiece. Chandler Vauldrin rounded out the Eagles in double figures with 10 points.

Furman held advantages in points off turnovers (18-16) and assists (19-13), while Winthrop claimed advantages in bench scoring (41-8), points in the paint (34-32), rebounds (42-35) and points off turnovers (14-8). The Paladins finished an impressive 20-of-28 (71.4%) from the line.

Winthrop finished the game shooting 43.8% (28-of-64) from the field, while Furman finished shooting at a 43.3% (26-of-60) clip for the game. From the three-point arc, Furman finished the night connecting on 36.4% (8-of-22), while holding Winthrop to 28.6% (8-of-28). Winthrop came in leading the Big South and ranked 49th nationally in made three-pointers made per game, averaging 9.1 per outing.

Furman will have a nine-day break before opening up Southern Conference play on the road next Friday night. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7:30 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.

Saturday night’s win for the Paladins and the Weekends at the Well initiative by Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly was a major hit—at least so far. Furman offered an exciting brand of high-quality basketball to downtown Greenville. The next Weekend at the Well comes up on Saturday, Dec. 11, as the Paladins host SoCon power UNC Greensboro, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Plan accordingly.

Takeaways and notes from Non-Conference Play:

—Furman finished non-conference play with a 10-3 mark and is now 22-4 over the past two seasons in non-conference games and 44-21 since the start of the 2015-16 season.

—Though it will be listed as a neutral site, Furman was the home team and improved to 58-11 in Greenville since the start of the 2015-16 season. The Paladins finished non-conference play 6-0 in home games and have now won 16-straight regular-season non-conference home games.

—Furman’s losses in the non-conference came against SEC members Alabama (73-81) and No. 14 Auburn (78-81), as well as on the road at South Florida (55-65). That’s losses to an NIT team, a Final Four team and a team that won the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) with four starters returning.

—Furman took down the reigning Big South champions (Gardner-Webb), a team projected to finish second in the Sun Belt (UT-Arlington) and the reigning Missouri Valley champions (Loyola-Chicago) in the non-conference.

Link to postgame press conference:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BtrDcQUcUQ8

Around the Southern Conference:

It’s a good week of opportunities for the SoCon to get some marquee wins. UNCG and Wofford take on a pair of ACC foes Sunday, as Wofford travels to take on No. 17 North Carolina at Carmichael Gym with a 4 p.m. tip-off slated for the ACC Network. The Spartans will be at the Greensboro Coliseum for a 3 p.m. contest with NC State.

Just two years ago, the Spartans and Wofford knocked off that duo in a four-day span, with Wofford claiming a 79-75 win in Chapel Hill, while the Spartans were 81-76 victors in Raleigh. 

ETSU will have a chance to claim an SEC scalp on Wednesday night, when the Bucs travel to LSU to face the Tigers at the Pete Maravich Center. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. EST and will be televised by the SEC Network. 

In fact, Dec. 18 might be the best night of games in terms of matchups for the SoCon in the entire non-conference schedule. Western Carolina will take on No. 23 Xavier at 6:30 p.m. on FS1, while Alabama will be at Samford at Legacy Arena in downtown Birmingham in a 7:30 p.m. EST tip-off. That game will be available on ESPN+. 

In a battle of two great mid-major programs, UNCG will be at Vermont for a 7 p.m. contest on Wed night. That game is also available on ESPN+.

Wofford closes out the week next Thursday night at No. 13 Duke, with tip-off for that game scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Recapping Furman’s win over North Greenville and a brief preview of ‘Weekends at the Well’

Furman redshirt sophomore forward Noah Gurley and redshirt junior forward Clay Mounce 

Sophomore point guard Mike Bothwell scored a career-high 25 points, and Furman won its final of three non-Division I games going away, downing North Greenville, 90-65, Wednesday night at Timmons Arena. 

With the win, Furman improved to 9-3 overall and will play its final non-conference game of the season when it plays its first of three in the “Weekends at the Well” series when the Paladins host Winthrop Saturday evening in a 6 p.m. tip-off at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 

The Paladins improved to 5-0 on their home court this season, including notching their 15th-straight regular-season non-conference win on the home hardwood. 

Bothwell posted his career-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including going 6-for-8 from three-point range and was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Additionally, Bothwell also contributed four rebounds, an assist and a steal. 

Bothwell was one of four Paladins in double figures and was joined by Jordan Lyons (14 pts), Alex Hunter (11 pts) and Noah Gurley (11 pts) to round out the double-figures for the Paladins. 

Lyons connected on 5-of-8 shots from the field, including going 2-for-5 from three and knocked down both of his foul shot opportunities. He also had two assists, two rebounds and a steal. Clay Mounce, who finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, finished by leading the Paladins in assists with four, while Jalan Slawson narrowly missed a double-double, with nine points and a team-leading and career-high 10 rebounds.

Furman took control of the game from the outset, especially from the outside, connecting on 10 of its 15 three-pointers in the opening half to head to the halftime locker room with a comfortable 52-30 lead. 

Leading 14-10 following a North Greenville layup by Spencer Kirkpatrick, the Paladins closed the half on a 38-10 run, which was bookended by three-pointers, starting the run with a triple from a triple from Hunter and ending with one from Jaylon Pugh to stake the Paladins to the huge halftime lead. Bothwell’s 25 points helped Furman’s bench out-score North Greenville’s 40-14 in the contest. 

In the second half, and with the game having long been decided, Furman’s Rett Lister, who is the son of North Greenville head coach Chad Lister, played the final 3:57 of the contest. The freshman walk-on guard from Easley, S.C., maneuvered  through a couple of Crusader defenders and layed the ball in off the glass to bring the loudest roar from the modest crowd on-hand with 20 seconds remaining, giving the Paladins a 90-63 lead. 

Joe Conley’s layup on the other end would set the final score line, as Furman improved to 56-11 at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 season. The Paladins have now won 25 of its last 30 non-conference games and claimed their 21st win in their last 23 games on the home hardwood. 

The Crusaders were led in the scoring by Jalon Cokley, who paced three three North Greenville players in double figures by posting 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-9 performance from three-point land, while connecting on both of his foul shot opportunities.Cokley also added three rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Rounding out the Crusaders in double figures were DJ Brooks (12 pts) and Joe Conley (11 pts). Conley’s seven rebounds led the Crusaders on the backboards. 

Furman finished the night connecting on 50.0% (34-of-68) of its shots from the field, including going 42.9% (15-of-35) from downtown, while shooting 58.3% (7-of-12) from the charity stripe.

The Paladins held the Crusaders to just 39.1% (25-of-64) from the field, including a meager 19.0% (4-of-21) shooting clip from the charity stripe. The Crusaders connected on 78.6% (11-of-14) shots from the line.

Additionally, Furman held advantages in assists (20-11), points in the paint (38-36), second chance points (13-11), points off turnovers (15-11), fast-break points (24-8) and bench scoring (40-14). Furman also blocked five shots and forced North Greenville into 13 turnovers, while committing only eight.

Quotable

Mike Bothwell on being more confident

“Just getting a lot of shots up...coach Richey just stressed getting more shots up every day during the off-season and to be in the gym and challenged us to see how much we wanted it and in basketball you got to be able to defend obviously, but it’s also about making shots too, and to make them when they count and that’s exactly what we like to do...We like to shoot threes and lets us shoot them when we have room, rhythm and range so that’s just what we do...We shoot a lot of threes and we have a lot of great shooters.”

Bob Richey on Noah Gurley’s improvement and patience

“The fun thing about Noah is it’s always fun as a coach when you can see people get better during the season. It’s very common to see players get better in the off-season and that’s something that we take a lot of pride in around here and to see people improve during the season is always fun.

“You think about earlier in the year when Loyola [Chicago] and a couple of other people started doubling him and just how confused he looked and you know what there was a text that went out after the Upstate game that coach [Tim] Johnson put in our staff chat and it was Noah Gurley saying when can we watch film right after he scored 29 points and that’s just how he is...He is obsessed with being the best.”

Bob Richey on Rett Lister’s Special Moment playing against his father for the first time:

"That whole thing was neat. I played for Chad and now Rett's playing for us. I played at North Greenville and Chad went to school here. There was a lot of commonalities out there tonight. That wasn't by the book to let him go [ drive to the basket] with the shot clock off, but I thought Chad would be alright with that as long as it was Rett.”

"Those guys [the walk-ons] don't get a lot of credit and their job is hard. ... There's no glory in it. ... Rett and Rob [Rett Lister and Robert Swanson] both played four minutes tonight and both scored. As a coach, that's pretty rewarding."

Bob Richey on Clay Mounce’s all-around to this point in the regular-season and him being ranked highly statistically in the SoCon’s overall individual stats:

“Clay right now and you look at the analytics right now and he’s producing in a lot of different ways and Clay, as I talked about many times during the off-season, really made an increased commitment to trying to complete his game and as a coach there’s a fine line right now as in terms of yes we all see progress...but for me sometimes I look out and I see what could he be...I still think there’s more and I know I can be a little crazy with that sometimes, but he’s 6-7 and he shoots it as well as anybody...He can put the ball in the net...He can post...He’s got a great ability to cut and to make decisions.” 

“I think that he can continue to be a dominant player in this league and I think there’s still strides for him to improve and I don’t want that to take away from what he’s done and I don’t want him to feel my push in terms of hey this guy’s always going to expect more, but he wants it and for him right now offensively...I mean yeah he’s scoring the ball and he’s doing what he’s got to do on the glass and we’re playing him at the three and that puts him positions to where he’s got to guard the bounce and he’s got to be able to guard penetration and once he decides that hey I am going to be a deflections guy and I am going to get my length out and use my athleticism a guy defensively...I mean you’re going to be talking about a player. He’s a great player now don’t get me wrong...He’s going to be an all-conference guy and he’s somebody I think...There’s no ceiling of where he can take his game.”

Next Up

Dec. 14, 2019–Winthrop (Bon Secours Wellness Arena/6 p.m.)

—Winthrop (4-6) is the last non-conference team to defeat Furman on its home floor/in Greenville during the regular-season, pulling off a 93-74 win on Nov. 29, 2017. Winthrop raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this season when it knocked off No. 18 St. Mary’s (61-59/Nov. 11, 2019) in Moraga, CA.

—Furman and Winthrop will be meeting for the 11th time, with the series all tied at five apiece. The Paladins have not claimed a win over the Eagles since the Butch Estes era, claiming a 74-68 overtime win at the Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 20, 1988.

Furman’s History at the Well (Artist formerly known as the BI-LO Center)

—Furman has lost its last four games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and are 5-6 all-time in the facility. Furman hasn’t won a regular-season game in the facility in two decades, and the last win came against Georgia Southern in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament in 2000, as a part of Furman’s magical run to the semifinals that season.

—Furman will be playing its first game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena since it was known by its previous distinction—the BI-LO Center in of January of 2007, as the Paladins dropped a pair of games to College of Charleston (L,77-80/Feb. 28, 2007) and Davidson (L, 63-71) in former Furman head coach Jeff Jackson’s first season at the helm. Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to the 2001 Southern Conference Tournament. In the ‘01 SoCon Tournament, the Paladins lost on a Donald Payne layup at the buzzer, as the Houston Fancher-led Appalachian State Mountaineers claimed a 58-56 win over the Paladins in an opening round clash.

Furman's last regular season non-conference game at the downtown arena, was a 68-55 victory over Old Dominion took place on November 28, 1999, in the Southern Conference-Holiday Hoops Tournament. It was the last of three games in that tournament.

—In 2000, led by the likes of forward Karim Souchu and and star guards Anthony Thomas and Guillherme Da Luz, the Paladins made an unlikely run in the postseason tournament semifinals
before losing to eventual tournament champions Appalachian State. As the No. 6 seed (last place) in the SoCon’s South Division, Furman took down a Fran McCaffery-led No.  3 seed UNC Greensboro from SoCon’s North Division, 77-61, and then pulled off a shocking 68-64 victory the following day over the No. 2 seed out of the South Division—Georgia Southern. Furman’s luck would run out in the semifinals, however, against jet-quick point guard Tyson Patterson and North Division champion Appalachian State. Patterson helped the Mountaineers overcome a six-point deficit in the closing minutes to lift ASU to a 60-56 victory over the Paladins in the SoCon semifinals. The 5’7 point guard scored 12 of the final 14 Mountaineer points, and finished with a total of 28 to complete one of the most amazing individual performances in Southern Conference Tournament history. Appalachian State went on to a 68-56 win a day later against the College of Charleston in the SoCon Tournament title clash.

Furman all-time at Bon Secours Wellness Arena/BI-LO Center (5-6)

Dec. 12, 1998        vs. Duquesne                W, 83-78 (OT)

Dec. 26, 1998        vs. Clemson                L, 54-67

Nov. 26. 1999        vs. Ole Miss                L, 75-61*

Nov. 27, 1999        vs. South Carolina St            W, 77-58*

Nov. 28, 1999        vs. Old Dominion            W, 68-55*

Mar. 2, 2000        vs. UNC Greensboro            W, 77-61

Mar. 3, 2000        vs. Georgia Southern            W, 68-54

Mar. 4, 2000        vs. Appalachian State            L, 56-60

Mar. 1, 2001        vs. Appalachian State            L, 56-58

Jan. 7, 2007        vs. Davidson                L, 63-71

Feb. 28, 2007        vs. College of Charleston        L, 77-80

Italicized denotes Southern Conference Tournament games.

*-denotes Southern Conference Holiday Hoops Tournament