Wild ending to the month of January in SoCon Hoops

Furman redshirt junior forward Noah Gurley and VMI sophomore center Jake Stephens

The Particulars:

Furman’s 60th home win since the start of the 2015-16 season might have been its toughest to come by, however, when the final buzzer sounded following overtime Wednesday night, somehow it read FURMAN 74,VMI 72 in the centennial meeting between the two old Southern Conference rivals.

The Paladins are now 60-11 at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 campaign. The win also improved Furman to 9-0 at Timmons Arena this season. The Paladins improved to 66-34 in the all-time series. It was also Furman’s 10th-straight win in the series over VMI. 

The Paladins, which held the lead for just 3:58 of the game and overtime, improved to 18-5 overall and 8-2 in Southern Conference play, while VMI fell to 6-17 overall and 1-9 in league play. 

Furman’s win coupled with Mercer’s 71-55 win at East Tennessee State saw the Paladins finish the night a half-game ahead of both ETSU and UNC Greensboro in the loss column, who are tied at 7-2 in league play. The Bucs will host the Spartans in a 4 p.m contest Saturday at Freedom Hall in Johnson City. 

The Paladins had one of their more difficult night’s shooting the basketball, especially from three-point land, knocking down just 3-of-25 from three-point range (12.0%) and managed a 44.3% (27-of-61) shooting clip for the game, while turning it over 14 times, which led to 13 VMI points. Furman shot the ball particularly well at the charity stripe in the win, connecting on 17-of-23 attempts (73.9%) for the game, including going 14-for-17 (82.3%) in the second half and in overtime. 

The Keydets, which dropped their 10th game in their last 11 outings, also finished the game with a 44.3% (27-of-61) shooting clip, while connecting on 25.0% (7-of-28) from three-point land. The Keydets turned it over 17 times, which led to eight Furman points. 

VMI finished the night with advantages in points off turnovers (13-8), total rebounds (39-36), second chance points (14-7), and bench scoring (30-11). Furman boasted advantages in assists (13-12), free throw attempts (23-16), points at the charity stripe (17-11), and points in the paint (44-30). Both teams registered seven steals. 

Individually, Furman was led by Jordan Lyons, who was one of four Paladins in double figures,  scoring 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-for-8 shooting from the field. For the season, Lyons has totaled 66 points in two games against the Keydets this season on 19-of-30 shooting from the field and 12-of-20 shooting from three-point range. Additionally, Lyons added three steals, two blocks, two rebounds and two assists. Lyons also shot the ball well at the charity stripe, going 8-for-10 from the stripe.

Lyons was joined in double figures by Clay Mounce (14 pts), Noah Gurley (13 pts), and Mike Bothwell (10 pts). Jalen Slawson paced the Paladins on the boards and in assists, pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out three assists. Slawson also had a solid night offensively with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. 

VMI had a pair of players finish the night with double-figure scoring efforts, led by Greg Parham’s 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-for-8 shooting performance from beyond the arc. Parham also contributed two assists and a steal. The only other VMI player in double figures was Jake Stephens, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting from long range and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.

The Turning Point:

It looked like Furman was headed for its first loss of the season at Timmons Arena, and first loss since to VMI since Feb. 12, 2015, as guard Kamdyn Curfman headed to the line for two shots following a Tre Clark foul with 18 seconds left and VMI leading 61-59. 

Curfman, a freshman guard from North Bethesda, MD, entered the contest as a 78% free throw shooter, which included an 81% shooter from the stripe in Southern Conference play, could get the Keydets a step closer to a win over Furman for the first time in nearly five years. 

However, after stroking home the first foul shot with relative ease, he front-rimmed the second offering, leaving the Paladins a three-pointer away from tying the game, as Noah Gurley corralled the rebound and gave the ball to point guard Mike Bothwell who raced into the forecourt. 

Stout defending nearly saw the Paladins turn the ball over, however, the ball found its way into the hands of Alex Hunter and then Jordan Lyons, who muscled through a VMI double-team at the top of the key and proceeded to double-clutch a three-pointer from the top of the key and it hit nothing but with 7.4 seconds remaining on a night when the Paladins had hit only two of its previous 22 attempts in the contest.

VMI called timeout, while the referees headed to the monitor to check the position of Lyons’ feet when he let go of the shot that had apparently tied the game, 62-62, and sent the 1,512 fans on-hand on Military Appreciation night into a frenzy. Moments later, the refs confirmed it was indeed a three-pointer, and VMI would hold for the final shot.

However, Furman’s defense was excellent when it needed to seemingly every time in the mid-week SoCon clash, as Gurley’s quick hands forced a deflection into the backcourt, and as precious seconds ticked away, it was the Furman defense that ultimately forced overtime. 

In the extra session, VMI’s Jake Stephens made sure the Keydets got off to a fast start with a three-pointer from the right elbow. Furman was forced to respond to another big shot by the Keydets, as it seemed Bob Richey’s club was having to do the entire night. 

Once again, Furman’s mental toughness, maturity and sheer “want to” shined through in a key moment. After Jalen Slawson missed a three from the top of the key, Noah Gurley went up strong and pulled down the offensive rebound, creating an immediate mismatch against VMI point guard Garrett Gilkeson. 

The double team that VMI head coach Dan Earl had yelled for much of the night when Gurley got it deep in the post didn’t have time arrive, and the redshirt sophomore from Fayetteville, GA used one head-fake, went up strong, scored the layup and was fouled to bring the Paladins level once again after converting the three-point play the old-fashioned way with 3:24 left. 

Furman then finally got a little luck on its side, as Stephens missed seemingly first big shot of the night on a missed three from the right corner, and Clay Mounce grabbed the rebound. His floater in the lane moments later gave Furman just its third lead of the night at 67-65 with 2:45 remaining.

After the Slawson’s defense in the post forced Keydets senior forward Tyler Creammer into a travel, it set the stage for the biggest moment in the game. Following missed shots ob both ends, Furman got the ball under the VMI basket. Just before the ball was inbounded Mounce came in and took the ball from Gurley to throw the pass and Gurley in-turn quickly tapped the ball back to Mounce like a give-and-go pass and Mounce converted the easy lay-up to give Furman its largest lead of the night, at 69-65, with 1:21 remaining.

The inbounds pass by Mounce had been a designed play the Paladins had worked on in practice, and it was called by Furman assistant Jeremy Growe, who came to Furman from Xavier this past summer. 

“We're up two in overtime and (assistant) Coach (Jeremy) Growe looks at me and says, 'Do you trust me?,' and I said, 'Absolutely. Call whatever you want.' We've been working on that play with the little tip back. It can be a feast or famine play. If the tip doesn't go well, you can turn it over and they've got the ball in a two-point margin but Jeremy (Growe) was confident. I love the courageousness to make the call right there. It was a heck of a call and we executed it great. I get too much credit in this. We've got a big-time staff and they're a big reason why we're 18-5,” head coach Bob Richey said.

VMI kept fighting, however, and responded quickly on the other end with a layup by Greg Parham layup to trim Furman’s lead to, 69-67, with 50 seconds remaining.

Furman would trim nearly half that 50 seconds off the clock on the next possession before a Lyons jumper in the lane put the Paladins back up four with 27 seconds to play. 

It took only seven seconds for the Keydets to trim the Paladin lead back to a bucket, at 71-69, following another Parham floating tear-drop jumper in transition with 16 seconds remaining. Gurley was immediately fouled by VMI freshman guard Travis Evee on the ensuing inbounds pass. Gurley went to the line and calmly knocked down both free throws to make it a 73-69 game with 11 seconds left. 

Just a couple of seconds later Curfman knocked down a three as he was falling out of bounds to trim Furman’s lead to just a point, at 73-72, with nine seconds remaining. Four seconds later, Slawson was fouled by Curfman. He stepped to the line and missed the first and made the second to give the Paladins a 74-72 lead.

VMI would have one final attempt to tie or win the basketball game, however, the Paladins trapped Evee near the VMI sideline, which costs the Keydets precious seconds and the opportunity to tie or when the game without even getting a shot up. Furman held on for the dramatic 74-72 Southern Conference win.

Up Next:

Furman will have a week off before returning to the Timmons Arena hardwood when it will host red-hot Mercer in a mid-week test next Wednesday with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. VMI returns to action Saturday when it hosts Wofford at Cameron Hall, with tip-off set for 1 p.m.

Link to Bob Richey/Jordan Lyons Post-game Press Conference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcC7odzQbgc

Wild Night of SoCon Hoops:

All 10 teams were in action in Wednesday night in the Southern Conference, with Furman being the only team to survive the final day of play in league play for the first month of 2020, which gives you an idea of how crazy the night actually was in the SoCon.

The events start in Johnson City and Cullowhee—two SoCon cities separated by about two hours—and both played hosts to wild basketball games on Jan. 29. In an absolutely huge game in Cullowhee, Western Carolina was looking to build off a big 81-72 win over Wofford last Saturday night when the Catamounts welcomed one of the league title favorites, in UNC Greensboro, to the Liston B. Ramsey Center for a mid-week test.

The Catamounts came out and played well in the opening half and dictated the pace of the game, taking a 40-39 lead on the strength of 53.8% shooting from the field. The up-tempo pace saw Western’s star big man Carlos Dotson score 12 of his 15 points in the opening half. Though Dotson picked up his league-leading 11th double-double of the season (15 pts, 10 rebs), the story was the adjustments the UNCG coaching staff, led by head coach Wes Miller, made at the half.

Spartan big man and all-conference center James Dickey led everyone on the glass, taking down 12 boards in the contest, as UNCG won the battle of the boards, 40-36. After getting out-rebounded 20-13 in the opening half of play, the Spartans owned the glass in the second half, forging a 27-16 advantage on the glass.

The Spartans played their game in the half, slowing the pace and getting the Catamounts into some uncomfortable situations with their defensive pressure. The Spartans forced 17 Catamount turnovers on 11 steals, and turned that into a 21-4 advantage in the points off turnovers category. Meanwhile, the Spartans turned the ball over just seven times in the contest, including just three times in the second half.

UNCG held the Catamounts to just 18 points in the second half, closing the game out on a 31-6 run over the final 13 minutes of the contest to close out the month in strong fashion with a fifth-straight win. 

The Spartans got a combined 48 points from junior guard Isaiah Miller (23 pts) and senior forward Kyrin Galloway (15 pts), as the Spartans improved to 17-5 overall and 7-2 in league play. All told, the Spartans held the Catamounts to just 26.9% shooting and only six field goals in the second half. For the game, it averaged out to a 40.9% shooting clip for the night for the Catamounts. 

Matt Halvorsen narrowly missed double figures in the contest, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and an assist, as the Catamounts fell to 13-7 overall and 5-4 in SoCon play. 

Both teams will return to action Saturday with a couple of big league clashes. The Spartans will continue on the road, as they will be in Johnson City to take on East Tennessee State, with a winner gaining a share of the league lead alongside Furman, who has the afternoon off. ETSU claimed the first meeting in Greensboro, posting a 64-57 win in the Gate City. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. at Freedom Hall.

Western Carolina will be on the road at Chattanooga for a key clash against Chattanooga between a pair of teams tied at fifth in the league standings, with identical 5-4 league records. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday night in the Scenic City. 

While the come-from-behind was quite impressive from Wes Miller’s UNCG Spartans, if you were to give a team-of-the-night award, it would probably most certainly have to give that award to Mercer for what they were able to pull off in Johnson City against league-leading East Tennessee State.

Since the start of the 2015-16 season, ETSU came into the clash with a 63-11 record at home, which included a 12-0 mark this season. Mercer had lost 10-straight to ETSU dating back to late February 2015, however, while Furman came back in overtime to top VMI, 74-72, Wednesday night, the Bucs weren’t so lucky, dropping a 71-55 contest. 

It was the fifth-straight win for the Bears, who improved to 11-11 overall and 5-4 in league play under first-year head coach Greg Gary. ETSU saw its five-game winning streak snapped to fall to 18-4 overall and 7-2 in league action.

The Bears turned the tables on the Bucs, using a stout defensive performance to hold its second-lowest point total of the season and easily its worst shooting performance from long range, as the Bucs knocked down just three of 22 shots from three-point range (13.6%) and finished converting on just 36.7% (22-of-60) from the field. 

While he didn’t record at least 22 points for a sixth-straight game, Djordje Dimitrijevic did once again lead the Bears in scoring, posting 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and was 2-for-3 shooting from long range. Dimitrijevic was one of four players in double figures for the Bears.

Mercer, meanwhile, connected on 64.3% (27-of-42) from the field and 36.4% (4-of-11) from three-point land. 

It ended up being a historically bad shooting night from long around the SoCon. Only Chattanooga, which hit 14 three-pointers in its 92-84 road win at Samford. The date Jan. 29, 2020 will be remembered for four of five road teams getting wins, and it showed the overall improvement of the SoCon as Furman head coach Bob Richey mentioned in his post-game press conference following the win over VMI. All told, teams shot 25.3% (65-of-257) from three-point range in Wednesday night's league action.

Team(s) of the Month: Furman (7-2), UNCG (6-2) and ETSU (6-2)

Player(s) of the Month: Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer) and Isaiah Miller (UNCG)

Performance of the Month: Jordan Lyons' 40 pts on 11-of-15 shooting from the field vs. VMI (Jan. 1, 2020)

Records in the Month of January:

1. Furman 7-2 (Losses vs UNCG and at Wofford)

2. UNCG 6-2 (Losses vs. ETSU and at Wofford)

3. ETSU 6-2 (Losses at Furman and vs. Mercer)

4. Wofford 6-3 (Losses at ETSU, at Western Carolina and at Chattanooga)

5. Chattanooga 5-3 (Losses vs. Furman, at ETSU, at UNCG)

T-5. Mercer 5-3 (Losses at UNCG, at Western Carolina and at Chattanooga)

7. Western Carolina 4-4 (Losses vs. UNCG, at Furman, vs UNCG and at Mercer)

8. Samford 2-7 (Losses at Chattanooga, vs Chattanooga, at Furman, vs. UNCG, at ETSU, vs. Mercer, vs. Wofford)

9. VMI 1-8 (Losses vs. Furman, at Furman, vs. Samford, at Mercer, vs. Mercer, at Wofford, at ETSU, vs Western Carolina)

10. The Citadel 0-8 (Losses at Samford, vs Western Carolina, vs. Furman, at Wofford, vs UNCG, at VMI, at Chattanooga, vs. Wofford)

Home Records in 2019-20:

1. East Tennessee State 12-1

2. Furman 10-1/9-0 at Timmons Arena and 1-1 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena

3. Wofford 9-1

4. Chattanooga 8-1

5. Western Carolina 8-2

6. UNCG 10-3

7. Mercer 6-4

8. Samford 6-5

9. VMI 5-6

10. The Citadel 3-7

Home Record For SoCon Elite Since Start of 2015-16 Season:

1. UNCG 66-14

2. ETSU 63-12

2. Furman 61-12 in Greenville and 60-11 at Timmons Arena

3. Wofford 58-11

The SoCon Power Rankings for January:

1. UNCG

2. Furman

T-2. ETSU

4. Wofford

5. Western Carolina

T-5. Chattanooga

T-5. Mercer

8. VMI

9. Samford

10. The Citadel

Furman uses strong defense to slow down The Citadel

Furman sophomore forward Jalen Slawson returns to his old stomping grounds as Furman takes down arch-rival Bulldogs

Furman 78, The Citadel 54

The Particulars:

Furman held The Citadel to a season-low 54 points, getting a 78-54 win over the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon before 1,254 fans at McAlister Field House.

With the win, Furman improved its overall record to 17-5 and 7-2 in Southern Conference play, while the Bulldogs fell to 6-13 overall and 0-8 in SoCon play. It was The Citadel’s eighth-straight loss to open Southern Conference play. The win also tied Furman for second in the nation in true road wins with seven. It was Furman’s seventh win in its last eight meetings with The Citadel. 

The 54 points allowed were indicative of Furman’s improvement defensively over the past couple of outings, as the point total for the Paladins’ opponent was its lowest point total since a 67-51 loss to East Tennessee State four years ago (Feb. 18, 2016). The Citadel’s previous season low for total points in a game came in an 85-57 loss to Illinois back on Nov. 20.

Furman held The Citadel’s talented freshman guard Fletcher Abee scoreless in the second half after he torched the Paladins for 15 in the opening half, and held The Citadel’s leading scorer Kaiden Rice to just one point after he came in averaging 14.3. 

As a team, Furman had a season-high 13 steals and forced 21 Citadel turnovers, while holding the Bulldogs well below the 10.5 three-pointers they were averaging coming into Saturday’s rivalry showdown, as The Citadel was held to just 4-of-25 shooting from long range. 

As a team, Furman held the Bulldogs to just 36.2% (17-of-47) shooting from the field, which was well below the 44.2% clip the Bulldogs had been shooting coming into the contest. 

Meanwhile, Furman shot it at a 42.9% clip (27-of-63) for the game, which included a 35.7% (10-of-28) shooting performance from long range. The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (13-12), points in the paint (30-22), second-chance points (4-3) and fast break points (15-8). The Citadel held advantages in assists (12-10), total rebounds (34-33) and bench scoring (16-12). Furman finished the game with 13 turnovers. 

Clay Mounce led three Paladin players in double figures with 22 points, six rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists, while senior guard Jordan Lyons chipped in with 17 points and Alex Hunter chipped in with 10 rounding out the trio in double figures. 

Mounce posted his 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including going 4-of-8 from three-point range. He also finished connecting on 4-of-8 from the charity stripe. 

Lyons finished the afternoon connecting on 5-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Lyons continues to get closer to the program’s all-time three-point field goals after Saturday’s performance against The Citadel, and now has 269 career triples. 

Eric Webb holds the Furman record with 273-career triples from 2003-07. With five more three-pointers, Lyons will be the school’s all-time record holder and would rank in the top 10 in the Southern Conference for three-pointers made dating back to 1986. In addition to his scoring total, Lyons also posted a 4-for-5 performance at the foul stripe, and added six rebounds, three steals and an assist. 

The Citadel had two players finish the day in double figures, with freshman guard Fletcher Abee leading the way with 15 points, while senior guard Kaelon Harris rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures. Abee finished connecting on 6-of-16 shots from the field, including 3-of-12 from three-point range. Abee also added a steal and a rebound to his total worksheet on the day. 

Turning Point: 

The opening half of play featured 11 lead changes, however, Furman took its largest lead of the game to the half, powered by a flurry from Jordan Lyons, whose two three pointers, and a pair of free throws by Mounce on a three-shot foul helped the Paladins to a seven-point halftime lead, 37-30. 

In the opening moments of the second half, the Paladins scored the first six points of the half to take its lead to double digits on a pair of buckets by Noah Gurley and a layup by Alex Hunter, prompting a Citadel timeout just 93 seconds into the second frame, as Furman had a 43-30 lead. 

All told, the run, which spanned two halves, was 22-1 after the game had been tied, 29-29, with 2:15 remaining in the opening half. However, when it was all said and done, Furman’s lead had ballooned 21 points, at 51-30, following a Jordan Lyons three-pointer with 16:27 left in the contest. Furman would lead by as many as 28 points in the second half before settling for the 24-point win. 

The key to the run was the play of Lyons in the waning moments of the opening half, however, as he only took three shots in the first half, but sparked the run that would ultimately prove to be the pivotal point in the entire game. His three-pointer with 2:01 remaining in the half gave Furman a 32-29, which it would never relinquish the rest of the way. His defensive rebound on one end and subsequent three-pointer on the other end 41 seconds later might as well have been a dagger to The Citadel’s upset hopes. 

Quotable: 

Furman head coach Bob Richey on defending Abee in the second half after scoring 15 in the opening half:

“We just tried to get to what we wanted to do originally on him (Fletcher Abee) and that’s making sure…and not to get super technical here…you still have make sure getting too technical here, but you still have weak side responsibility when you are guarding a shooter like that and early we were so tight on him on the weak side that we didn’t have backside support and then on the strong side we were too loose…and so strong side being tight and making sure we’re connected and not giving him free looks, but on the weak side you still have weak side help and he was getting some back cuts on us and I mean it wasn’t just the threes…he cut us twice and then he got three threes and I thought we did a much better job on him after that.”

“This is nothing against Alex [Hunter] or that he was doing a bad job on him [Fletcher Abee] but the ownership that I saw Jordan Lyons take to ask for the matchup and then to come into halftime and make sure he was still getting the same matchup in the second half…he just continues to impress me as a leader and his response this week and the way he has led has been phenomenal and I thought he was one of our better defenders today and they couldn’t screen him in the second half and they kept trying to run some different screen action for him and Jordan [Lyons] did a phenomenal job on the defensive end of the floor today.”

What’s Next:

Furman will begin its second round of Southern Conference games on Wednesday night when it hosts VMI at Timmons Arena in a tip-time set for 7 p.m. The Paladins started the year with an 89-73 win at Cameron Hall over the Keydets, powered by a 40-point effort from Furman senior guard Jordan Lyons, who went 11-of-15 from the field and 10-for-12 from three-point range. 

The Citadel returns to the floor on Wednesday night facing another Palmetto State rival, when it hosts Wofford at McAlister Field House in a matchup set for 7 p.m. The Bulldogs dropped a 73-71 decision to the Terriers back on Jan. 11 in Spartanburg. 

Stay tuned for my takeaways on this weekend’s action around the league coming up Monday, and later this week, I will have a special article on the point guards in the SoCon for mid-major madness later in the week. 

Furman's 17 threes too much for Samford; Mercer's Serbian sensation does his thing again

Furman 107, Samford 67

The Individual and Team Particulars

For the second time in three games, Furman had six players in double figures, and for the first time this season, eclipsed the century mark on a season-high 30 assists and tied a school-record against a Division I opponent for three-point field goals made, with 17, as the Paladins coasted to a 101-78 win over Samford in a midweek Southern Conference clash at Timmons Arena. 

With the win, Furman improved to 16-5 and 6-2 in Southern Conference action, while Samford dropped its fifth in a row, and its record fell to 8-13 overall and 2-5 in league action. Furman improved to 59-11 at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 season, including 34-5 in SoCon games. 

It was also Furman’s 60th win in the city of Greenville over that same duration, as the Paladins improved to 60-12 overall and 34-6 against SoCon foes. Furman is 1-1 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena this season, and will return for the final of three outings at the Well on Feb. 22 when it faces upstate rival Wofford. 

The Paladins recorded 30 assists for the first time since a couple of years ago, when it recorded a school-record 31 assists in a 107-67 home win over The Citadel on Jan. 4, 2018, and the 17 three-pointers matched a school-record for number of three pointers in a game against a Division I opponent, which was last accomplished earlier this season in a win over Elon. The 30 assists Wednesday night were the second-most in program history. 

As a team, Furman finished the night connecting on 53.5% (38-of-71) shots from the field, including 17-of-39 from three-point land. Meanwhile, Samford finished the night connecting on 48.2% (27-of-56) from the field, which included shooting 34.8% (8-of-23) from three-point land in the setback.

Furman finished the night holding advantages in assists (30-21), points in the paint (42-36), points off turnovers (22-12), bench scoring (24-12), blocks (5-4) and steals (10-7). Samford finished out the contest holding holding advantages in second-chance points (18-15), fast-break points (21-18), and total rebounds (35-33). Samford connected on 16-of-20 free throw attempts in the contest, converting 80% from the line, while the Paladins connected on 8-of-13 shots from the charity stripe 

Leading Furman’s six players in double figures was senior guard Jordan Lyons, who after going 0-for-8 from the field for just five points last time out against Wofford, finished with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field, including going 6-for-12 from three-point range and was 1-for-2 from the line on two potential four-point plays to round out his scoring efforts. The Peachtree City, GA, native also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal to his overall game totals to round out another solid performance. Lyons needs just eight more three-pointers to surpass Eric Webb’s school-record 273-career triples established from 2003-07.

Lyons was joined in double figures by Noah Gurley (19 pts), Mike Bothwell (16 pts), Jalen Slawson (15 pts),Clay Mounce (11 pts) and Alex Hunter (11 pts). For Gurley, it was his 16th double-figure scoring game this season, including his fourth in a row, after leading the Paladins with 15 points last time out in the loss to Wofford. In addition to his 19 points, Gurley also added three assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block. 

Samford finished with three players in double figures, with star senior point guard Josh Sharkey leading all scorers with 24 points, and just missed the second triple-double in the SoCon this season, adding 10 rebounds, nine assists and three steals to his overall worksheet. The Philadelphia, Pa, native finished the night connecting 6-of-16 shots from the floor, including 3-for-6 from three-point land, and was 9-for-12 from the free throw stripe.

Sharkey was joined in double digits by forward Jalen Dupree (23 pts) and Brandon Austin (13 pts). Dupree also added seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal in the loss. 

Jordan Lyons’ Fast Start:

Furman took control of the game from the outset, as the Paladins were quicks to shake off any cobwebs that might have lingered in the aftermath of Friday night’s 66-52 loss at arch-rival Wofford, as the Paladins ran out to a quick 20-6 lead in the opening half following a Jalen Slawson three-pointer with 14:27 remaining in the opening frame. 

Furman, which fell behind 2-0 following a pair of Jalen Dupree free throws, proceeded to go on an 18-4 run,  which was fueled in large part by Jordan Lyons. Lyons scored all 12 of his team-leading points total in less than five minutes to open the game, as he connected on 4-for-5 from three-point range in the opening 4:18 of the game to get Furman out to a fast start. 

The Paladins would never look back the rest of the way, increasing their lead to as much as 22 points, at 49-27, following one of four three-pointers on the night. The Paladins would eventually settle for a 49-30 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Paladins would grow their lead to as much as 31 points with 2:44 to play on a Ben Beeker layup, as the Paladins took a 99-68 lead. The Paladins closed out the game on a Tre Clark layup, giving the Paladins their first 100-point performance of the season. 

Quotable:

Noah Gurley on Furman’s improved defensive performance from Friday night:

“Like Jordan [Lyons] said after the game Friday we had a meeting in here and just talked about what it takes to be us and the offensive side of that was ball movement…but it was also the defensive side…like turning people over…we do takeaways not giveaways…We just had to flip that so our coach really challenged us today on how many deflections can we get and how many active plays and how many flow plays can we get and I think the whole team kind of took that personally and you could feel that throughout the whole game and there was never really any drop-off from that.”

Coach Bob Richey on how Furman shared the basketball and ball movement vs. Samford

“It’s just really hard to guard ball movement…it really is…the dribble is much easier to guard than the pass and you gotta know when guys are cutting and know where guys are going to be and the way we play that’s just how it’s always been and I think that’s the first time we have scored 100 all year I think and I don’t even know if we got to 100 in even some our Division II games but I think to memory this is the first time we have scored 100…this is the first time we had 30 assists and to be honest with you it’s probably our best ball movement of the year.”

Full Press Conference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW_i_XONr6E 

What’s Next:

Furman will be on the road Saturday afternoon in the Low Country of South Carolina, when it faces arch-rival The Citadel (6-12, 0-7 SoCon) in Charleston in a tip-off time set for 1 p.m. inside McAlister Field House. 

The meeting will mark the midway point of the Southern Conference basketball season for the Paladins, who will be playing their ninth game in an 18-game league slate. It will also be the renewal of Furman’s oldest most played basketball rival, as it will mark the 212th meeting between the Paladins and The Citadel on Saturday. 

Furman’s holds a commanding 124-87 lead in the all-time rivalry, including having won six of the last seven in the rivalry. The Bulldogs will be looking to put an end to a seven-game losing skid Saturday after coming off of a 92-69 loss at Chattanooga Wednesday night.

Take-aways and Wednesday Night Recaps:

While East Tennessee State and UNC Greensboro won’t take the floor again until Saturday, it looks as if four teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack again—at least at this point—save maybe Chattanooga. Of those top four, Furman and Wofford were in action Wednesday night, with both getting double-digit wins. 

Although the league from top to bottom is overall improved, the top four have only either gotten better or at least maintained a level of excellence they established in the magical season the league enjoyed in 2018-19.

It was predictable we’d see at least some drop-off from Wofford with its losses to graduation, transfer, and having to replace a head coach, it was only natural to see the Terriers take a step down from that 30-5, nationally-ranked team of a year ago. 

The question is, how much closer to the other three did Wofford come? Well, so far the Terriers have looked like a team that will be in the mix for a Southern Conference regular-season and tournament title again this season.

Jay McAuley’s Terriers have a one-point loss at East Tennessee State (L, 48-49), a lopsided win over Furman (W, 66-52), and a double-overtime win over UNCG (W, 98-92). Wofford’s only other league loss also came in the Volunteer State,  The Terriers were in action Wednesday night, hosting the VMI Keydets in a key league battle Saturday.

The Terriers took care of business once again, winning their 23 game in their last 24 on the home hardwood, including the 13th-straight win at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, with a 64-52 win over VMI. 

The win saw the Terriers improve to 13-6 overall and 5-2 in league action, while VMI fell to 6-15 and 1-7 in league play. After scoring just two points in last Friday’s big win over Furman, Messiah Jones showed us why he is considered one of the SoCon’s top freshmen this season, posting his first career double-double as a Terrier, with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and was one of four Terriers in double figures in the contest.

Nathan Hoover (14 pts), Tray Hollowell (12 pts) and Chevez Goodwin (10 pts) rounded out the Terriers in double figures.

Wofford’s defense was once again stout on its home floor, picking up where it left off Friday night in the win over Furman, holding the Keydets to just 35.2% from the field. The Terriers will return to action Saturday night with a key contest against Western Carolina, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. in Cullowhee.

Western Carolina (12-6, 4-3 SoCon), meanwhile, will be looking to rebound from a third-straight loss when it hosts the Terriers Saturday night. The Catamounts faced suddenly red-hot Mercer (9-11, 3-4 SoCon) in Macon, and after picking up a 79-71 win over the Bears just a little over a week ago, the Bears posted a third-straight league win, downing Western 85-79 at Hawkins Arena.

Western Carolina, Mercer and Chattanooga are indicative of how much the middle-of-the-pack teams have improved this season. It’s been a disappointing week for the Catamounts, who headed to Greenville to face Furman as the SoCon’s lone unbeaten last week.

After battling hard in what was an outstanding basketball game against the Paladins, Western suffered its first Southern Conference loss, dropping an 83-79 contest.  Then, facing a talented East Tennessee State team is hard enough at home and with one of the league’s premier big men, in Carlos Dotson, but without him due to a lower body injury, it proved to be too much to handle, as the Bucs and Isaiah Tisdale’s 26 points and 10 boards saw ETSU emerge with an 85-66 road win.

Even having him back didn’t matter on the road Wednesday night against a Mercer team, which is playing some of the best basketball in the league. Serbia has been the kind of country that has produced great athletes in two major sports—soccer and hoops. 

I am guessing that Djordje Dimitrejevic probably knows who Peja Stojakovic or the other Kings talented guard in more recent years—Bogdan Bogdanovic—are. I also bet he probably is familiar with names like Dragan Stojkovic and Dejan Stankovic are—two former greats from the former country of Yugoslavia—are. I am betting he probably has posters in his room of all four, however, while that might be debatable, one thing that is not is the native of Belgrade, Serbia can play some hoops.

He has now scored 23 or more points in four-straight games, as the reigning SoCon Player of the week posted 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from three. He was also a perfect 7-for-7 from the line. Jeff Gary joined Dimitrijevic in double figures with 20. Ethan Stair rounded out another s

Mercer heads to VMI for the Nexstar SoCon game of the Week Saturday to face VMI in a 1 p.m. clash at Cameron Hall.

Western was led by Mason Faulkner’s 23 points, while Dotson chipped in with his league-leading ninth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 boards. 

Not to be outdone, Chattanooga (13-7, 4-3 SoCon) continued to show that it just might be the team that can break in the SoCon’s top four hierarchy, as the Mocs posted a resounding 92-69 win over The Citadel (6-12, 0-7 SoCon) Wednesday night. The Mocs have won their last three average of 24.6 PPG, with their only loss at home to this point being a 73-66 loss to Furman. The midweek win over The Citadel was a nice bounce back for the Mocs, who were coming off a 72-52 loss at UNCG over the weekend. 

The Mocs hope to find their rhythm on the road, heading to East Tennessee State Saturday which suddenly looks like a more intriguing game with the Mocs play in the first seven league games.

In the Wednesday night win over the Bulldogs, the Mocs showed another balanced performance, with five finishing in double figures. After leading by 12 points at the break, the Mocs broke open the game with what has seemingly become one of those signature halves the Mocs have seemed to have had of late at McKenzie Arena, opening the second half on a 16-2 run to increase a 12-point halftime lead to 26, at 68-42 following an A.J. Caldwell three with 16:09 left.

Vila was joined in double figures by Matt Ryan (12 pts), David Jean-Baptiste (12 pts), Stefan Kenic (11 pts) and AJ Caldwell (11 pts). While the Mocs shot the ball at a decent 45.6% clip in the second half, it was the defensive effort that head coach Lamont Paris’ club put together against The Citadel that was most impressive, holding the Bulldogs to just 26% shooting and just 29 points in the second half. Duggar Baucom’s Bulldogs had only one player finish in double figures, as Kaiden Rice led the way with 11 points.

Check back here Saturday for more updates around the SoCon.