A blog about Southern Conference basketball, but primarily focused on Furman hoops, with recaps, previews and weekly league power rankings and around the SoCon recaps
Over the past four years, Furman basketball has seen a substantial upgrade in many ways. A winning standard has been set and a culture put into place, and while two head coaches during that time frame—Niko Medved and current head coach Bob Richey—have played a major part, it’s been a player like senior guard Jordan Lyons that has put a stamp on the program that will be documented in Furman basketball media guides for years to come.
Lyons, a native of Peachtree City, GA, will play his final game in front of the Furman home crowd Saturday, as the Paladins host The Citadel at Timmons Arena for a 4:30 p.m. contest against the Bulldogs. He’ll leave the Paladin basketball program as the school’s all-time leader in wins (95) and three-point field goals made (285), while currently ranking 16th in the history of the Paladin basketball program in scoring (1,505 pts).
It seems like just yesterday I was in then assistant coach Bob Richey’s office doing an interview for an article I would write on the now Furman head coach, and we were discussing Lyons—a then wide-eyed 17-year old, who had already signed a national letter of intent to attend Furman.
Richey brimmed with excitement when I brought up his name. He knew what Furman was getting, and it had less to do with what Lyons could do as a shooter or as a scorer and more to do with his magnetic personality and what a difference he could make off the floor and in the locker room. Lyons had been highly sought after in the recruiting process. Wofford, Mercer and Chattanooga were all interested in acquiring his scoring ability.
As I think back, Richey said some words that day that have stuck with me asince then. I am paraphrasing here, however, he said you have to have kids that are used to win and that come from programs that win, but more than that, you have to have kids that can take a program to the next level. As great as the kids are that we have now—guys like Stephen Croone and Devin Sibley—they’re the foundation for what the next wave of winners is about to do and he told me he had no doubts that Lyons would leave Furman having taken Furman basketball to a different level by the time he has done. Those words have proven prophetic as I think back. Lyons, a product out of McIntosh High School, readies to play his final game.
So many of the memories that flood my mind have happened at Timmons Arena. The NCAA record-tying 15 three-pointers vs. North Greenville last year is the one that first comes to mind. Just this season his late three on a night Furman made only three triples vs. VMI helped will the Paladins to overtime in a game they looked like they had no business winning vs. the Keydets also comes to mind. Furman would go on to a 74-72 win. Lyons also went for 40 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field in a Furman road win at VMI earlier this season. With that spectacular performance vs VMI, the senior guard became the first Furman player since Darrell Floyd (1952-56) to record two or more 40-point games in a career.
While all players who have ever suited up have been important to Furman basketball, Lyons came at a time when Furman desperately needed a Jordan Lyons. It needed his personality to push it to a new level—a high water mark. In my opinion, without the charisma, character and class this young man has exuded over the past four years, I am not sure Furman basketball is conversations it is in among the national media.
The past four years have seen a golden generation of Furman basketball going back to the 2016-17 season, with guys like senior Kris Acox. A year later with Devin Sibley, Daniel Fowler John Davis III and Geoff Beans.
Last year, it was the stoic, yet level-headedness of a guy like Matt Rafferty that seemed to personify the toughness and grit that has been required for Furman basketball to get to make the progress it has. Then this year. Lyons has worn the emotion and the character—a ‘never say die attitude’— that Furman has given Furman its own identity within the 2019-20 season.
Like the aforementioned pillars of this generation of Furman basketball players, Lyons has his own unique traits that have helped build the Furman basketball culture, infused with a personality only a person like he can provide. His signature stomp after hitting a big three against Loyola Chicago will always stick out. His personality is infectious so much that even if you have never met him, you kind of already like him.
In Furman’s hard-fought, 75-66, loss at East Tennessee State last week, Lyons did something that floored me although it really shouldn’t have. While ETSU head coach Steve Forbes and I were having a friendly conversation after the game, Lyons comes up and shakes coach's hand and thanks him and tells him it has been an honor to compete against a coach like him. All the while I am thinking what class and what humility. Coach Forbes replied "Well the season isn’t over yet" and chuckled. Both laughed and Forbes—taken aback a bit said—"It’s been a pleasure to coach against a player the caliber you are and one with such high character"… "Jordan Lyons you’re a class act and I appreciate that," Forbes added. "It ain’t easy coaching against you though," as the jovial coach laughed.
Those are the kind of moments that make you realize who Jordan Lyons really is. He loves the sport. He loves people and he is a major reason Furman basketball has an opportunity to do something it hasn’t in four decades next week in Asheville. You don’t find many like Jordan Lyons. He’s been a true diamond for Furman. When he exits for the final time Saturday to what will most assuredly be a standing ovation, I wonder what unique way of showing his love for the Furman basketball program will be. For Stephen Croone in 2015-16, he kissed the mid-court logo. I am sure Lyons has something up his sleeve.
For someone who covers mid-major basketball, guys like Jordan Lyons are what makes this so much fun to do. Writing about guys like that is priceless and I am thankful to tell a story like his. Thank you Jordan Lyons. Thank you.
Furman vs. The Citadel Notes
—Furman (24-6, 14-3 SoCon) and The Citadel (6-22, 0-17 SoCon) will be meeting for the 213th time on the college basketball hardwood, with Furman holding the commanding 125-87 edge, including a 78-54 win over the Bulldogs back in January.
—Furman has won 10 out of the last 11 meetings between the two in the series. Clay Mounce paced the Paladins with a team-high 22 points in the last meeting between the two.
—The Citadel enters the contest having lost 18-straight games and have yet to win in the 2020 calendar year. The Bulldogs have battled injuries to key players all season, contributing to the struggles.
— Both The Citadel and Furman already know their opposition next week in the Southern Conference Tournament. With Furman’s 81-67 win Wednesday night, the Paladins will open in Asheville as the No. 2 seed. The Paladins will face the winner of No. 7 Wofford and No. 10 The Citadel in the 6 p.m. quarterfinal on Saturday.
—With a win Saturday, Furman could tie last season’s school-record 25 wins and set a new program standard for Southern Conference wins in a campaign with 15. Furman has never totaled 25 in a regular-season in its history.
—The Citadel will be trying to avoid becoming the first team since the 1959-60 Davidson team go winless (0-10) in Southern Conference play.
Below are some YouTube clips chronicling Lyons' tremendous career at Furman .
Noah Gurley and Jalen Slawson combined for 17 points in Furman's road win at UNCG
Furman 81, UNC Greensboro 67
The Particulars:
Furman played the role of spoiler on senior night, and tied regular-season school records for both overall wins (24) and Southern Conference wins (14), defeating UNC Greensboro, 81-67, Wednesday night in front of 4,256 fans at the Greensboro Coliseum to witness the final home game for UNCG standouts James Dickey, Malik Massey and Kyrin Galloway.
With the win, Furman improved to 24-6 overall and 14-3 in league play, clinching the No.2 seed for the Southern Conference Tournament. The Paladins will play the winner between No. 7 Wofford and No. 10 The Citadel. The loss for UNCG locked up the No. 3 seed for the Spartans at next week’s Southern Conference Tournament and will play either Mercer, Chattanooga or Western Carolina in Saturday’s quarterfinal round in Asheville. The Spartans fall to 23-7 overall and 13-4 in SoCon play.
The Paladins placed five players in double figures, led by a career-high 17 points from sophomore forward Jalen Slawson. He was Furman’s co-leading scorer along with redshirt sophomore Noah Gurley, who also chipped in with 17.
Perhaps the biggest story was Furman’s defensive performance against the SoCon’s leading scorer in league games—Isaiah Miller—who came into the contest averaging 20.2 PPG in 16 previous league games— but the Paladins collective defensive effort held the talented junior guard to just nine points on just 3-of-13 shooting from the field. UNCG was fittingly led in scoring by a senior on senior night, as James Dickey posted 15 points and five boards in his final performance in front of the Greensboro faithful.
Furman had a breakout performance shooting the basketball after having not reached 43% shooting from the field in the previous four games. In its final road game of the season and facing a team it had lost seven out of eight games to, the Paladins picked the perfect night to shoot well, connecting on 50.9% (27-of-53) of their shots from the field. The Paladins connected on 47.6% (10-of-21) from three-point range.
But Furman’s good shooting performance was only out-shined by its performance on the defensive end of the floor, as well as on the backboards. The Paladins held the Spartans to 46.2% (24-of-52) from the field and forged a 23-23 tie on the glass. More importantly, Furman forced 17 UNCG turnovers and turned that into a 28-17 advantage in the points off turnovers category. Seven of Furman’s forced turnovers came off steals. The Spartans kept themselves in the game most of the night by virtue of a good shooting performance from long-range, connecting on 42.3% (11-of-26) from long range.
In stark contrast, in UNCG’s 86-73 win at Bon Secours Wellness Arena last month, the Spartans posted a 24-13 advantage in points off turnovers, forcing 17 Paladin miscues, with 13 of those forced Furman turnovers coming on steals. Furman turned it over just seven times Wednesday night, with only seven of those coming on Spartan steals.
The Paladins also held advantages in points in the paint (30-24), second-chance points (11-7), and fast-break points (12-8). The Spartans held advantages in bench scoring (17-9) and assists (16-15). Furman also shot the ball extremely well from the charity stripe, connecting on 17-of-19 charity attempts (89.5%), while the Spartans finished the night going 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the stripe.
Slawson connected on 6-of-8 shots from the field and went 4-for-5 from the line in 31 minutes of action en route to his career-best performance. Additionally, Slawson added a team-leading nine rebounds, dished out three assists and had one steal.
Gurley, a native of Fayetteville, GA, posted his 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Gurley added three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Senior guard Jordan Lyons put in another solid effort, posting 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 1-for-3 from three-point land. The Peachtree City, GA, native also went 3-for-3 from the line. Lyons was also a key contributor defensively, leading Furman with four steals.
Making his second-straight start, Mike Bothwell posted 13 points to go with two rebounds and a pair of assists. He connected on 3-of-9 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point land and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
Junior point guard Alex Hunter rounded out the Paladins in double figures, posting 11 points and had a team-high six assists with just one turnover. He also had two steals on the defensive end. Hunter made arguably the biggest shot of the night for the Paladins, canning a triple with 2:27 left to extend Furman’s advantage to double digits, at 75-65.
Dickey scored his team-leading 15 points for the Spartans on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. The senior also had a pair of steals, two assists and blocked a shot.
Dickey was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Kaleb Hunter and Angelo Allegri, who posted 11 points apiece. Allegri’s perimeter shooting kept the Spartans in the game in the second half, and he finished the night connecting on 3-for-6 from long range.
Spartan senior guard Malik Massey finished with nine points, while classmate and forward Kyrin Galloway finished with six points playing their final game in front of the home crowd. Massey, Dickey and Galloway have combined for a school record 104 wins during their four seasons at UNCG.
The Turning Point:
Much like the first meeting between these two teams this season, it came down to big shots and big moments made by one team. It was UNCG that was that team with several dagger threes following substantial second half runs by Furman in the initial meeting between the two at Bon Secours Wellness Arena back on Jan. 11. Forty-five days later, that team was Furman.
The Spartans chipped away at Furman’s nine-point halftime lead, and back-to-back threes from Angelo Allegri got the Spartans as close as they had been since James Dickey put them ahead 2-0 on the first possession of the night, as Allegri’s high arching triples brought the Spartans to within 60-58 with 7:55 left.
Following a media timeout 11 seconds later, Furman’s response was an aggressive one, putting together a 5-0 run courtesy of a three-point play the old-fashioned way by Noah Gurley and a Jordan Lyons jumper in the paint with 6:57 remaining to stretch Furman’s lead back to seven, at 65-58.
UNCG wouldn’t go away quite so easily, however, cutting it to four on a couple of occasions down the stretch, with the final time coming after a pair of made foul shots from Dickey with 4:34 left to trim Furman’s lead to 67-63.
The Paladins made an emphatic response, however, using a 10-2 run to take complete control of a crucial late-season road conference game, with the biggest shot in the run coming from Raleigh, N.C., native Alex Hunter, as his three-pointer with 2:27 left stretched Furman’s lead to double digits, at 75-65. A pair of Lyons foul shots with 1:59 left capped the run to give the Paladins a 77-65 lead. A pair of Slawson foul shots stretched Furman’s lead to as much as 17, at 81-65, with 1:27 left before Furman eventually settled for the 14 point win.
It appeared UNCG would have all the momentum coming out in the second half, as Isaiah Miller’s 75-footer was good at the buzzer, cutting Furman’s deficit under double digits, at 40-31, at the half.
That shot, as outstanding as it was, couldn’t overshadow an outstanding opening 20 minutes by Furman, which saw the Paladins shoot 53.6% from the field, including 58.3% from three-point land, connecting on 7-of-12 threes in the opening half of play. The Paladins also as stingy defensively, holding the Spartans to just 44.0% (11-of-25) from the field and forced eight UNCG turnovers, which led to 10 Paladin points. Up until his final heave at the halftime buzzer, the Paladins had held Miller—the SoCon’s scoring leader in conference games (20.1 PPG)—to just two points on 1-of-6 from the field.
Quotable:
Wes Miller on Furman’s Defensive Performance and point guard Isaiah Miller
“Isaiah [Miller] was effective, even though the ball didn’t go in the hole for him. (Furman’s) defense has gotten significantly more aggressive here in the second half of league play. That’s a different defense than we faced when we played them in Greenville. They’re going to make you make plays, and they’re not going to let the guy with the ball make a play. Isaiah had seven assists and got us a lot of quality looks. When we made our runs, he was creating offense for us. But it was difficult for anybody to drive it and get something clean around the rim.”
Bob Richey on the significance of the road win for Furman
"I couldn't be more proud of this group. It's hard to win in here. Their senior group has won over 100 games. ... We knew it was going to be a battle. When you're a coach and you're in those battles, the proud moments are when your team responds.Twice in the second half, we responded. They cut it to three, we pushed it back to 10. They cut it two, we pushed it back to 10. That's a sign of a championship-level ball club."
Up Next:
Furman will celebrate senior day when it honors Jordan Lyons—the program’s all-time three-point king (285) and all-time winningest player (95-36). Lyons has scored 1,505-career points, ranking 16th on the school’s all-time scoring ledger. The Paladins will tip-off against The Citadel at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena. A win would give Furman its most Southern Conference wins in school history and most wins in the regular-season in school history, while also tying the the school record most wins in a single season and postseason set by the 2018-19 Paladins.
UNCG will close out the season on the road at Chattanooga, with tip-off for that contest slated for 4:30 p.m.
News and Notes from around the SoCon:
ETSU claimed at least a share of the regular-season Southern Conference title, knocking off Wofford 60-54 at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Bucs improved to 26-4 overall and 15-2 in SoCon play and will head to Asheville as the No. 1 overall seed for the SoCon Tournament in a little over a week. The Bucs would open Saturday’s conference slate with the noon quarterfinal matchup facing the winner of the No. 8 vs. No.9 game to play played Friday night in a matchup yet to be determined. The 26 wins are tied for the fifth-most in school history.
After getting out-scored 29-19 in the opening half of play on the road and trailed by 14 points with 14 minutes to play, however, ETSU closed the contest in championship fashion, out-scoring the Terriers 34-14 over that final stretch to claim the win. Tray Boyd III led ETSU with 16 points, while Lucas N’Guessan just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
ETSU took its first lead since 2-0 with 5:16 remaining when N’Guessan stepped in front of Nathan Hoover pass and finished off the break with a momentum-swaying dunk, giving the Bucs a 48-47 lead. All-SoCon forward Jeromy Rodriguez returned to the lineup and he played six minutes and scored one point. Rodriguez has missed most of Southern Conference play with a nagging foot injury.
Wofford locked up the No. 7 seed for the Southern Conference Tournament, falling in defeat for the sixth-straight game. The Terriers are now 16-14 overall and 8-9 in league play.
In Western Carolina’s lopsided, 109-78, win over Samford, junior point guard Mason Faulkner recorded his second triple-double in his career, as well as in program history, scoring 16 points, dishing out 12 assists and corralling 10 rebounds. Both Onno Steger (31 pts) and Josh Sharkey (30 pts) went for 30 or more points in the same game, marking the first time that has happened this season in a Southern Conference game.
Ethan Stair pulled down a career-high 23 rebounds in Mercer’s 73-57 win at The Citadel. The Bears improved to 16-14 overall and 10-7 in SoCon play.
Mike Both-'well' helped Furman save the best for last in its return to downtown basketball
Furman sophomore guard Mike Bothwell
Furman 67, Wofford 66
Furman and Wofford went to the downtown facility affectionately referred to as The Well, and when the two teams emerged, the Paladins ended one losing streak and continued another, as they handed Terriers their fifth-straight setback, while ending a three-game skid to Wofford, with a 67-66 win Saturday afternoon in front of a season-high home crowd of 6,096 fans on-hand at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Paladins have become known as the "Downtown 'Dins"' since returning to their basketball roots. On Saturday, Greenville showed up for them when head coach Bob Richey's team needed them to the most battling its I-85 rival and defending Southern Conference champion Wofford. For much of the day, it felt like the Furman was staring a third-straight loss to Wofford squarely in the face. However, down the stretch, the crowd of 6,100 was enough to inject the kind of palpable electricity into a team to allow it to overcome and take down the rival in front of them. On Saturday, that's exactly what happened. I have been told that a loud, boisterous home crowd is worth a good 3-5 points in a close game at home. I would say that was evident to everyone who witnessed Saturday's rivalry contest at the Well.
With the win, Furman improved to 23-6 overall and 13-3 in the Southern Conference, while Wofford falls to 16-13 overall and 8-8 in league action. The win improved Furman to 2-1 at The Well this season and 64-12 and 38-6 in SoCon action when playing in Greenville since the start of the 2015-16 season. Overall, Furman improved to 113-52 and 64-24 in Southern Conference play over the same duration. The five-game losing skid by Wofford marks its longest such streak in conference play since losing six-straight to league foes back in the 2007-08 season.
It was probably of little surprise the script included a player with the word "well" in his name, and that the said player would have a significant impact on Saturday's outcome. Sophomore guard Mike Bothwell, who started his first game because of a scorebook snafu, came up big in the second half for the Paladins, scoring 15 of his 18 points on the night in the second half. He was one of three Paladins in double figures. The Paladins were playing a bit short-handed, as Tre Clark was sidelined with an apparent upper body injury suffered in the first half of the loss to East Tennessee State Wednesday night, and as a result it forced others to step on both the defensive end as well as on the glass in his absence.
The Paladins finished the night with shooting the ball at just a 40.7% (24-of-59) clip, including just a 20.8% (5-of-24) clip from three-point land. Wofford finished the contest connecting on 43.1% (25-of-58) shots from the field, while hitting on 28.1% (9-of-32) from three-point land in the contest. Furman connected on 73.7% (14-of-19) from the stripe, while Wofford connected on 70.0% (7-for-10) for the contest.
Furman held advantages in points in the paint (36-26), points off turnovers (20-4) and fast-break points (6-2). Wofford countered with advantages in total rebounds (38-33), assists (14-9), second-chance points (16-10), and bench points (8-3).
The Paladins made up for their disadvantages on the boards and in second-chance points by using 11 steals to create 14 Wofford turnovers, which led directly to 20 points. Meanwhile, the Paladins took excellent care of the basketball, turning it over only five teams, yielding just four points to Wofford. Furman committed only one turnover over the the final 21 minutes of game action.
Individually, Furman was paced by Noah Gurley’s 22 points, as he connected on 7-of-16 shots from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. The redshirt sophomore from Fayetteville, GA, also was an impressive 5-for-6 from the charity stripe on the day. In addition, Gurley posted a team-leading seven rebounds, while recording two steals, a block and an assist.
Bothwell’s 18 points came on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 from three-point range. The sophomore from Cleveland Heights, OH, also had three assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Furman senior guard Jordan Lyons rounded out the Paladins in double figures in the win, posting 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the field and was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. In two games vs. Wofford this season, Lyons is a combined 0-for-15 from beyond the arc.
Much like Tre Clark’s performance against Chattanooga last Saturday in a five-point win at Timmons Arena, Furman sophomore forward Jalen Slawson populated the stats sheet in several different categories, which included a pair of emphatic slams to whip the crowd into a frenzy and helped build Furman’s second-half momentum. The native of Summerville, S.C., finished with nine points, five rebounds and three steals.
Though Furman junior point guard Alex Hunter failed to score, the Raleigh, N.C., put together a solid effort in the Paladins narrow win over its I-85 rival, as he collected five rebounds, recorded three steals and dished out two assists and did not turn the ball over in a team-high tying 38 minutes of work.
Like Furman, Wofford placed three in double figures, led by Storm Murphy’s 17 points, while Nathan Hoover and Chevez Goodwin had 15 apiece. Goodwin added a game-high 11 rebounds to complete his fifth double-double of the season.
Murphy, a junior point guard from Middleton, WI, finished the day 7-of-11 from the field and was 2-for-3 from three-point land, while going 1-for-1 from the line. He also dished out five assists and corralled three rebounds. Hoover’s shooting woes continued, as he was went 5-of-16 from the field and connected on just 3-of-11 from three-point range. Hoover scored 10 of his 15 points in the opening half.
The Turning Point:
Wofford took an took its largest lead of the day, at 47-36, less than a minute into the second half following a layup by Chevez Goodwin with 19:03 left, however, Furman responded with a 17-6 run, which was capped by a dunk from Jalen Slawson, tying the game, 43-43, with 12:46 left.
From that point, neither of the I-85 rivals held more than a four-point lead the rest of the way, as the two teams battled the rest of the way. A little over a minute later, Furman’s Mike Bothwell gave the Paladins a 47-45 lead with a layup in the lane as part of his 15-point second-half effort. Wofford responded with a 9-3 spurt, to take a 54-50 lead following a Nathan Hoover with 8:13 remaining.
Two minutes later and Wofford up three, Furman sophomore guard Jaylon Pugh made one of the biggest shots of the game, knotting the score, at 54-54, from the left elbow with 6:13 left bringing the crowd to its feet once again and raising the decibel level inside of downtown Greenville’s primary downtown arena. Wofford’s Tray Hollowell, however, would answered with a three to give Wofford the lead back, at 57-54, with just under six to play.
The Paladins didn’t fold, however, and stayed within one possession the rest of the way. With the game tied, 61-61, Jalen Slawson tipped a Wofford pass away, caught up with the ball in the forecourt and spun past a defender and went in for a one-handed tomahawk slam that brought the crowd to its feet, and gave Furman a 63-61 lead with 2:59 remaining. On Wofford’s ensuing possession, Bothwell came up with a steal and converted a layup to give Furman a four-point lead, 65-61, with 1:46 left, and it was the biggest lead the Paladins enjoyed all afternoon.
Wofford responded with five-straight to re-take the lead with just under a minute to play, with Storm Murphy responsible for all of those points. His triple with 57 seconds left gave Wofford a 66-65 lead. Furman head coach Bob Richey called timeout with 49 ticks on the clock. Following a pair of missed shots by Furman, which were both out of bounds off of Wofford, the Paladins had the ball out-of-bounds with 20 seconds remaining. Eight seconds later, Mike Bothwell pivoting layup gave the Paladins a 67-66 lead.
On Wofford’s final possession, sharp-shooter Nathan Hoover had a good look, however, the from about 30-feet out, but the ball hit the back iron and the buzzer sounded, helping the Paladins become just the fifth team to win 23 or more games the past four seasons.
The opening half of play saw the Terriers take a 33-26 lead into the locker room with the momentum on a 13-6 run to close the half and take a seven-point to the break. The Terriers were powered by 10 first-half points from Nathan Hoover. Noah Gurley led the Paladins with 13 points in the opening frame.
Turning ‘The Well’ into an idea
Furman’s experiment playing games in downtown Greenville for the first time since the 2006-07 season turned out to be a huge success, and the experiment worked. Hats off to Furman Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly for having the vision and foresight to capitalize on a window of opportunity.
The best was saved for last, as the Paladins played in front of a home crowd of 6,096 which is believed to be one of the largest home crowds to ever witness a Furman home basketball game.
Crowds for each of Furman’s first two games in the downtown facility in games against Winthrop and UNC Greensboro have been outstanding for the city of Greenville, with a crowd of nearly 5,000 on-hand to witness UNCG’s 86-73 win over Furman back on Jan. 19, with 4,643 fans piling in the arena to watch the Paladins and Spartans. That averages out to 4,826 fans per game.
It was evident today that Furman gained some walk-up fans looking for something to do on an early Saturday afternoon. It also helps that Furman has played some exciting basketball inside the arena this season, with a number of athletic dunks on display.
In Furman’s 80-73 win over Winthrop, a crowd of 3,740 fans witnessed what are currently two of the top mid-major programs in the state of South Carolina, as well in the southeastern region of the United States. Despite the fact that
In terms of a broader vision, the precedent has already been set for a potential tournament at the facility with a local flavor, and it’s one of the great sporting traditions of the Northeastern United States. The Tournament known as the ‘Philly Big 5’ Tournament played at the famous arena on the campus of one of the great mid-major basketball programs—the Penn Quakers—who play their home games at the Palestra.
For those of you that might not be familiar with the Philly 5 Tournament, which is also known as the Philadelphia Big 5 Tournament, is a tournament that started in 1955 and features the five programs within the city of Philadelphia—La Salle, Villanova, Temple, Saint Joseph’s. Below I posted a screenshot of the tournament’s website.
The Philly 5 is a tournament that hosts games at the Palestra throughout the each season, and is tallied at the end of the season. It features conference and non-conference games from teams in the city of Philadelphia that play against each other, and at season’s end, while no trophy is formally awarded, it’s a sense of pride throughout the city to say that you won the tournament. The aforementioned five programs are five of the top 50 winningest programs in college basketball history.
The tournament was originally the brainchild of Penn Director of Athletics Jerry Ford. The Sports Information Director at the time—Bob Paul—and Penn’s business manager at the time John Rossiter. On Nov. 23, 1954, the tournament was brought into the existence by Penn president, Dr. Gaylord Harnwell.
You might think there is no link to have such a tournament in the Upstate region of a football-crazed state and region like South Carolina, however, there actually is. Enter Furman Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly. Donnelly came to Furman from Villanova, where he served both on Jay Wright’s basketball staff as the Director of Basketball Operations initially back in 2005 before eventually working him self as an associate director of athletics.
While the venue and the basketball craze are certainly on a different level in the northeast than Bon Secours Wellness Arena and mid-major programs like Furman and Wofford, the idea is something I think should be given some serious consideration. This isn’t Clemson football or South Carolina football.
Furman’s way to capture Greenville and truly once again become Greenville’s team is do it through its basketball culture it is creating under third-year head coach Bob Richey.
With the win over Wofford Saturday, Richey improved to 71-25 at the helm of the Furman basketball program. The more significant note is perhaps that Furman joined with only a handful of teams that have won 23 or more games each of the past five seasons, and with two more this season, will tie a school record for victories in a season. The Paladins are chasing down a goal—to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four decades. If that should happen this year, it could well create a frenzied atmosphere and basketball fever.
Clemson is never going to be able to enjoy the kind of success within its own league as Furman can in the Southern Conference. On the same hand, Furman isn’t going to be able to compete with Greenville to win Clemson fans over during football season, but basketball is fair game for sure. Especially if Donnelly and his administrative staff can persuade Clemson to pay a visit to the Well for a tournament to play not only Furman, but perhaps Wofford, too.
A window of opportunity might not come around for a long time for programs like Furman and Wofford, or even the Southern Conference, and capitalizing on this moment has the potential the pay off big-time for both programs during the future. Being that Bon Secours Wellness Arena is an NCAA Tournament venue in 2020 for women’s basketball and 2022 for the men, it makes the venue especially attractive for a game between Furman and a school from a power seven conference within the region.
My proposal would to be use teams as close to the Upstate region as possible, including Furman, Wofford, Clemson, Winthrop and alternate Clemson and South Carolina each year. The possibilities to take this idea to a new level are there, and it’s just a matter of putting the idea into action. This is just a commentary on what I think, but I think it deserves some serious consideration. Furman has enough creative thinkers to make this happen.
Furman Record at The Well (6-8):
Dec. 26, 1998 vs. ClemsonL, 57-64 First basketball game ever played at The Well
Nov. 26, 1999 vs. Ole MissL, 61-75 SoCon Holiday Hoops Tournament
Furman returns to action in another crucial game near the top of the standings, traveling to face a UNC Greensboro (23-6, 13-3 SoCon) team that is red-hot, having won six-straight. The Spartans have won six of the past seven matchups with the Paladins, including each of the past two. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Wofford will be at home to celebrate senior night Wednesday night against league-leading East Tennessee State. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
In what was one of the most anticipated mid-major basketball games of the season, Furman and East Tennessee State looked every bit the part of what their respective records would indicate, and at the end of the night, it was the preseason SoCon favorite that avenged an early-conference setback.
With first place up for grabs in the Southern Conference, East Tennessee State got 52 points from its backcourt to hold off Furman, 75-66, in a key Southern Conference tilt Wednesday nightie front of a record crowd of 6,177 fans on hand at Freedom Hall.
With the win, ETSU improved to 24-4 overall and 13-2 in the SoCon play, while Furman fell to 22-6 and 12-3 in league play. The Bucs and Paladins have now split the regular-season meetings , with Furman having claimed a 65-56 win in Greenville in early January. The Bucs improved to 66-11 inside the friendly confines of Freedom Hall since the start of the 2015-16 season. The win by the Bucs was their sixth-straight win, while Furman’s seven-game winning streak was halted.
Furman played without Tre Clark, its best defensive performer and a player largely helping Furman gut out a home win over Chattanooga last Saturday, as he went down in the opening half of play with an apparent upper body injury and did not return. Furman, which held a 15-14 advantage on the boards at the half, were out-rebounded 27-9 in the second half. Clark had a team-high nine rebounds, as Furman out-rebounded Chattanooga, 36-35, last time out. Furman out-rebounded ETSU, 41-28, in the meeting earlier this season, with Clark ripping down seven boards.
For the game the Bucs shot the ball at a 48.1% (26-of-54) clip of their shots from the field, including a 32.0% (8-of-25) clip from three-point range, while the Paladins finished the night shooting the ball at a 42.3% (22-of-52) clip from the field, while connecting on just 27.3% (6-of-22) from three-point range. ETSU shot the ball at a 75.0% (15-of-20) clip from the charity stripe, while Furman finished the night connecting on a 76.2% (16-of-21) mark from the line.
The Bucs finished the night holding advantages in points in the paint (34-22), second-chance points (13-7), fast-break points (11-7), assists (11-8), rebounding (41-24) and bench scoring (22-12). Furman held a 16-7 edge in points off turnovers. The Paladins committed just 10 turnovers, while forcing ETSU into 16 miscues
ETSU had four players finish the night in double figures—all guards—as Isaiah Tisdale led the way with 15 points, connecting on 5-of-9 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range. Additionally, Tisdale added a team-leading eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Tisdale was joined in double figures by Bo Hodges (14 pts), Patrick Good (13 pts), and Tray Boyd (10 pts) in what was one of the stronger performances of the season by the Bucs backcourt.
Hodges showed why he is one of the leading candidates for the Southern Conference Player of the Year accolade, scoring his 14 points on 5-of-11 shots from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He finished with 12 points in the first meeting between the two this season, but struggled from the line, connecting on just 2-of-7 foul shots. In addition to his 14 points on Wednesday night, Hodges added seven rebounds and a block.
Furman got a game-high 18 points from Jordan Lyons before he fouled out of a game for the first time in his Paladin career with 4:52 remaining in the contest. The senior from Peachtree City, GA, scored his 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-5 performance from beyond the arc. Lyons also finished with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Lyons was joined in double figures Noah Gurley (14 pts), Clay Mounce (12 pts) and Mike Bothwell (11 pts). Mounce led the Paladins on the boards, grabbing six caroms, and also led the Paladins in assists, dishing out three of the team’s eight helpers.
The Turning Point:
Following the first media timeout of the second half, ETSU held a 41-39 lead and proceeded to embark on a 12-6 run that would create a little separation between the two SoCon heavyweights. Isaiah Tisdale keyed the stretch for the Bucs, as he scored eight of the 12 points during the run. Fittingly, the Bucs run started with a Tisdale three and ended with a Tisdale jumper in the lane with 11:54 left.
Furman would fall behind by nine just under four minutes later, as Patrick Good’s three from the top of the key gave the Bucs a 59-50 lead with 8:01 remaining. Furman would not go away, however, with a 9-4 run culminating in a three-pointer by Alex Hunter with 5:27 left to trim ETSU’s lead to four, at 63-59.
Shortly thereafter, Jordan Lyons would pick up his fifth personal foul when he went up against Joe Hugley, as Hugley finished off the glass. It was the first time in Lyons’ standout career he has fouled out. Hugley converted the three-point play the old-fashioned way to give the Bucs a seven-point lead, at 66-59.
ETSU’s lead would grow to double-digits for the first time all night on a pair of Bo Hodges foul shots with 1:17 left. Furman answered with a Clay Mounce three to get it back to seven, however, a Hodges jumper in the lane and block of a Mounce layup attempt on the other end on what one of the more athletic plays of a night filled with those on both ends, helping secure the nine point win for the Bucs.
Quotable:
Furman head coach Bob Richey on the atmosphere and importance of the game:
"It was a heck of an environment to get the chance to play in and obviously not the outcome we wanted, but we will learn from this. We’ve got three games left. This wasn't a destination game. It was a high-level college basketball game where both teams played as hard as they possibly could.”
Bob Richey on the status of Tre Clark:
“Tre [Clark] took two hits to the head and player safety is always first. As much as we need him on the court, his health is first. Our trainer made the decision to hold him out and I fully supported that."
ETSU head coach Steve Forbes on the environment and getting the hard-fought win
“Furman is a really really good basketball team. Bob [Richey] has done an outstanding job with that group. I mean it’s not like you can just stop one guy and their guards do a great job of making you think as defensively and also when attacking them offensively because they are really gapped on defense…I mean Lyons is a great player, but then you throw in [Clay] Mounce, [Noah] Gurley, [Alex] and [Mike] Bothwell it makes them [Furman] really tough to guard. I mean Lyons had 16 at the half and we were able to hold him to two in the second half and he got in a little foul trouble so that also of course limited his time on the court. I am really proud of Pat [Good] and how Isaiah [Tisdale] played tonight when they had to step up they did and made big shots. Bo [Hodges] was outstanding as well and this was a team win for us and it took a collective effort to win this game because we couldn’t put them [Furman] because every time we would get a six or seven point lead here they come again and it was that way all night so we had to really fight for this one. But this was a big-time atmosphere and like I’ve said, it’s why you sign up. You sign up to play these type of games. I felt like what this game was billed as coming in it lived up to the hype. This was a heavyweight fight and both teams knew that coming in and both were ready to play and the intensity was there throughout.”
Up Next:
Furman returns to the court Saturday at high noon to take on I-85 rival Wofford in downtown Greenville in its final Weekend at the Well game. The Paladins are 1-1 in the downtown facility so far this season, posting an 80-73 win over Winthrop back in December, while dropping an 86-73 contest to UNCG back in mid-January. Wofford handed Furman its worst loss of the season back on Jan. 17, handing the Paladins a 66-52 setback at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
ETSU will take to the SoCon road Saturday where they will look to stay atop the Southern Conference standings facing off against Samford in Homewood, AL. Tip-off for that contest is set for 3 p.m. EST at the Pete Hanna Center.
News and Notes From Around the SoCon:
With ETSU’s win and Furman’s loss, the Bucs now own sole possession of first-place in the Southern Conference. Furman falls into a second-place tie with UNC Greensboro following the Spartans’ 83-79 overtime win over Wofford Wednesday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. The win saw the Spartans improve to 22-6 overall and 12-3 in the SoCon. UNCG’s win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Terriers.
Wofford has now lost four-straight SoCon games, and itt marks the first time since the 2007-08 season that Wofford has lost four-straight league games. That season, the Terriers lost consecutive league games to Elon (L, 67-70 OT), Appalachian State (L, 55-83), Georgia Southern (66-77), Furman (61-67), Chattanooga (L, 76-82), and Western Carolina (L, 57-62).
Wofford’s Nathan Hoover has been struggling shooting the basketball during the four-game losing skid for the Terriers, connecting on just 39.7% (29-of-73) from the field and just 28.0% (12-of-43) from three-point range.
UNCG senior center James Dickey noticed his second-straight double-double and 19th of his career, with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the Spartans to the overtime win. The Spartans held the lead for just 26 seconds in the second half.
VMI pulled the upset of the night, downing Western Carolina, 74-71, at the Liston B. Ramsey Center, creating a logjam at the middle of the Southern Conference standings, resulting from Wofford’s loss and wins by Chattanooga and Mercer. All four teams now have identical 8-7 conference records with three games left. Mercer has a sweep is the only team yet to be swept by any of the other three. Chattanooga owns a sweep over Wofford. Western Carolina owns sweeps over Chattanooga and Wofford and split with Mercer. Mercer and Chattanooga play Saturday.
Travis Evee led VMI with 25 points, and center Jake Stephens posted 13 points, eight boards and four blocks to lead the Keydets to the upset win.
Mercer recorded an astounding 32 assists in a 40-point beatdown of Samford, as the Bulldogs recorded a 106-66 win at Hawkins Arena Wednesday night.
