Furman dominates the paint in win over Southern Wesleyan

 Furman 89, Southern Wesleyan 49

Furman placed four players in double figures, as the Paladins moved to 3-0 with an 89-49 win over Conference Carolinas member Southern Wesleyan Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena. 

For the first time since Dec. 16, 2015 against Bluefield, Furman brought down 50 or more rebounds in a game, as it tallied 55 boards in the win over the Warriors, out-rebounding Southern Wesleyan, 55-29, in the contest. The Paladins dominated the paint, out-scoring the Warriors 55-24 underneath in getting the win.

The Paladins were equally as stingy on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Warriors to just 32.1% (18-of-56) shooting from the field for the game, while forcing Southern Wesleyan into 19 turnovers, which led to a 27-7 advantage in points off turnovers for the game for the Paladins. 

Furman placed four players in double figures, with Mike Bothwell leading the way in scoring for the second time in three games, posting 17 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jalen Slawson continued his strong play underneath the basket with a double-double, posting 13 points and 10 rebounds. Clay Mounce and Noah Gurley rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Paladins with 11 points apiece. 

Despite the disparity in the final score, the first half was a hotly-contested game, with the Paladins holding just a 24-23 advantage with 4:30 remaining in the opening half of play.  The Paladins closed the half on a 13-3 run to take a 37-26 lead into the halftime locker room. Nine of those points during that run prior to the half came from Bothwell, as he helped will the Paladins to a bit of a halftime cushion.

In the second half, the Paladins continued to pour it on against the defending Conference Carolinas champion, extending its lead from the first half to 63-34 following a dunk from Noah Gurley with 10:42 remaining. From that point forward, the Paladins controlled the game and never looked back in getting the 40-point win to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Furman and Southern Wesleyan got off to an inauspicious start, with turnovers and sloppy play defining much of the opening half of play between two teams picked to win their respective conferences, as Furman was picked to win the SoCon by the league’s media, while the Warriors were the favorites to capture Conference Carolinas by that league’s coaches in the preseason. The Warriors came into the contest having already claimed one win over a Division I foe this season, downing USC Upstate, 82-72, just last week.

One of the things that has enhanced Furman’s fast start to the season has been the ability to get to the charity stripe, having gone to the line 79 times in three games, which is second most in the SoCon behind only Western Carolina, which has played one more game. Nineteen of those attempts have come from Mike Bothwell, who is 16-for-19 from the stripe on the season after tonight’s contest, and finished tonight going 3-for-4 from the line. 

The win marked the 15th-straight win at Timmons Arena and 18th-straight non-conference win. The Paladins, who were originally slated to play No. 19 Richmond Saturday, had a change of plans due to COVID-19 protocols, and will now face College of Charleston in a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at TD Arena.

The Cougars, who also come into the contest having had a contest canceled with Richmond, which was slated for Wednesday night, will enter the contest against the Paladins with a 1-1 record, having recorded a 99-59 win over Limestone College and dropped a 79-60 contest to No. 14 North Carolina. 

Postgame Quotes:

Junior Guard Mike Bothwell

"We watched last year's film of the Southern Wesleyan game and they had a similar kind of first half run. I just wanted to kind of spark the team, really defensively. Getting stops is how we get going. We locked in a little bit more and got tighter on defense, got rebounds and pushed it. That led to easier shots than we were getting.”

Head coach Bob Richey:

"People can say, 'that's just Southern Wesleyan,' but that's a really good team that won its league last year. For us to be able to put together a 40-point win against that team, that's a really good win. Are we a finished product? Not even close, but it's another game where we know there's still a lot to improve on but we're making strides in areas where we need to."