Clay Mounce scores 1,000th point to lead Furman in victory over Flagler

Furman senior forward Clay Mounce scored his 1,000th point on the first basket of the game in Furman's win

Head coach Bob Richey was not pleased with his team’s lack of motivation on either end of the floor in Wednesday night’s game at American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati. On Saturday afternoon, he was certainly pleased with how his team started the game.

“I am proud of our guys and how they came out today especially in the first half of play with a great focus on defense and I thought our movement on offense was good and we put 50 on the board and held them to 25,” Richey said. 

It was also a special day for Furman senior forward Clay Mounce, who scored his 1,000th point on the game’s first play, as Furman’s all-time winningest player, Jordan Lyons, looked on. Mounce is the 46th player in the rich history of Paladin basketball to achieve the feat. 

Mounce finished the contest by going 9-for-11 from the field and was 2-for-4 from three-point range to finish off his third 20 or more point effort of the season. 

“We ran that play to get Clay that bucket and get that out of the way. I was proud of Clay’s performance. In the first half, he really carried over from what he did in the second half at Cincinnati,” Richey added..

“Jordan texted me yesterday and said he wanted to come see the game and be there for Clay’s 1,000th point. It was great to see him and have him in the locker room after the game. It’s always great to have family back,” he added.

It speaks to the culture that Bob Richey has helped build upon and elevate since he took over for Niko Medved some in the spring of 2017. Interestingly enough, both Richey and his counterpart on the other sideline, Chad Warner, took their head coaching jobs on the same day of 2017, both accepting their current positions on April 7, 2017.

Lyons remains the all-time winningest player in Furman history—for now at least. He finished out what was a standout career as a Paladin by finishing his four years as at Furman with 96 wins, as well as holding the all-time record for three-pointers made in a career (281). Mounce and teammate and point guard Alex Hunter are quick on the trail of Lyons, however, having won their 78th game in the 25-point victory over the Saints. 

Should the Paladins win 19 more games in a season that has already been shortened, the current class would eclipse Lyons’ games won mark. With only 19 games remaining in the regular-season, if Mounce and Hunter finish their respective careers with the record it will be a good indicator that the Paladins will have done pretty well in Asheville at the Southern Conference Tournament, but that’s still a along way off.

“I think it’s exactly what you said. It’s culture. Seeing him up there was special and it’s what culture is about. It’s about loving your brother, and leaving the jersey you wear better than when you found it,” Mounce said.

The Paladins were sharp on both sides of the ball in the early going, jumping out to a 13-2 lead to force a timeout by Saints head coach Chad Warner take a timeout. Furman senior forward Clay Mounce was the catalyst in the fast start by the Paladins, as he scored 12 of Furman’s 23 points, as the Paladins ran out to a 23-8 following a layup by the Elkin, N.C. native with 10:36 remaining in the half. 

Despite holding a 25-point lead at the break, Flagler, who had knocked off Division I foe and MAC member Central Michigan, 92-73, in a recent exhibition, would make things somewhat interesting in the second half.

Furman saw Flagler make a bit of a run in the second half, however, chipping away at Furman’s 25-point lead. With 5:21 remaining, Derrick Ellis, Jr. a foul shot, as the Saints made it a 71-58 contest following Ellis Jr.’s offering.

With mostly reserves in the lineup at the time to try and get them game experience and build depth prior to conference play, with the only starter on the floor at the time being Mike Bothwell, Furman subbed in Mounce, Hunter and Jalen Slawson to help the Paladins build back what once was  a comfortable cushion, eventually reaching the halftime margin by the time the final buzzer sounded. The Paladins held the Saints without a field goal for the final 6:51 of the game. 

That helped the Paladins close the game in strong fashion, as Furman put together a 15-3 run to close the game, which was sparked by Mounce’s only points of the second half—a three-pointer from the left corner on a feed from Joe Anderson with exactly five minutes remaining—and the Paladins assumed a 74-58 advantage, and the shot seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for any thoughts a comeback by the Saints. 

Mounce would score 18 of his team-high 21 points in the opening half. Mounce got into some foul trouble early on in the second half. 

Mounce was one of five Paladin players in double figures. He was joined by junior forward and fellow Lou Henson Award candidate Noah Gurley (17 pts, 5 rebs, 2 blks, 2 stls), Jaylon Pugh (15 pts), and Hunter (10 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls). Pugh was 5-for-6 from three-point range off the bench, which marked a career-high, eclipsing his previous career-best performance of 11 points in an overtime loss to No. 13 Aubrun last December.

For the game, Furman held a 39-30 advantage on the boards and shot 50% (31-of-62) from the field, while holding the Saints to 42.6% (23-of-54) from the field. The Paladins also held advantages in points in the paint (38-34), points off turnovers (22-14), second-chance points (8-5), bench scoring (25-11), and fast-break points (6-2).

The win saw Furman improve to 5-1 overall on the season, while Flagler starts its season on Jan. 9 when it opens Peach Belt play against North Georgia in Daholonega.  Furman heads on the road, where it will face Alabama on the SEC Network for a nationally-televised contest Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m.