'Magic' Bothwell is the main attraction in the Scenic City once again

Furman wins tough battle in SoCon opener at Chattanooga

Noah Gurley guards Chattanooga's A.J. Caldwell

Magic Mike Bothwell posted a game-high 22 points  and Furman handed Chattanooga its first loss of the season, downing the Mocs, 77-73, Wednesday afternoon at McKenzie Arena. 

Bothwell's final two foul shots helped the Paladins seal the win by making all four free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds, helping the Paladins to the all-important conference-opening win. In addition to his 22 points, Bothwell also added seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. In his last two games in the Scenic City, Bothwell is 21-of-31 from the field with 49 points, including 3-for-6 from three-point last season. Since last season's breakout career-high 27-point effort, Bothwell has scored in double figures in 23 of the past 26 games for the Paladins. 

With the win, the preseason league favorite Paladins moved to 7-3 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play, while Chattanooga fell to 9-1 overall and 0-1 in SoCon action.

It looked as though Furman was going to control the game from tip, as Furman raced to a 9-0 lead before Chattanooga knew what had hit them. The Mocs promptly answered with three-straight triples to tie the game, 9-9, and the game was a tight battle from that point forward. 

Furman trailed the contest 68-67 with just over three minutes remaining, but the Paladins showed true championship grit in coming from behind to get the win. Freshman forward Garrett Hien came in and showed uncanny poise for a true freshman, as he posted back-to-back baskets after coming into the game to replace Noah Gurley, who had fouled out. Hien's second layup in the lane helped give Furman a 71-68 lead with 2:24 remaining.

After the Paladins got the rebound off a missed three-pointer from the Mocs, the Paladins ran a beautiful backdoor play, as Jalen Slawson cut to the basket and went up for the power slam, but was fouled by AJ Caldwell. Slawson knocked down 1-of-2 free throws with 48 seconds to play.

Chattanooga would score on the ensuing possession, as David Jean-Baptiste, who returned to the Mocs team just prior to tip-off after a brief time in the transfer portal, knocked down a 15-foot jumper to get the Mocs back within a bucket. 

The Mocs fouled Bothwell on the inbounds pass, and he stepped to the line to convert a 1-and-1, putting the Paladins ahead 74-70 with 29.3 seconds remaining. On Chattanooga's next possession, the Mocs saw Malachi Smith answer with a three, which appeared short after hitting the front of the rim, but bounced in the basket, bringing the Mocs to within a point and bringing even more drama to an already well-played basketball game on both ends of the floor.

With the Paladins clinging to a 74-73 lead, the Mocs called timeout to set up their defense, and Bothwell was fouled once again with 14.1 seconds to play. He stepped to the line and knocked down two more foul shots to give the Paladins a 76-73 lead. After K.C. Hankton, who finished with 17 points to tie a career-high for the Mocs, missed a three, Hien corralled the rebound and was fouled with 5.1 seconds remaining. He knocked down the first of a two shot foul to give the Paladins a 77-73, which ultimately sealed Furman's seventh-straight conference-opening win and eighth-straight overall against the Mocs. 

The story of the game was what Furman did in the paint, and that was simply dominate the game from start to finish.  The Paladins dominated the paint to the tune of a 50-18 edge in points in the paint. That help off-set a 4-for-14 performance from three-point range for the Paladins.

Meanwhile, the Mocs were red-hot from three-point range in the contest, finishing going 13-of-26 from beyond the arc. Both Furman and Chattanooga shot the ball well from the field, with Furman connecting on 51.8% from the field for the game, while the Mocs shot the ball at a 47.3% clip for the game. 

Bothwell was joined in double figures by Jalen Slawson, who posted 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from three-point range and 7-of-8 from the line. Prior to fouling out, Gurley added 13 points, five boards and three assists. Clay Mounce led the Paladins with nine rebounds to go with eight points.

Furman held advantages in points off turnovers (15-10), points in the paint (50-18), second-chance points (14-2), total rebounds (33-26), and fast-break points (5-0). The Mocs held a substantial edge in bench scoring (35-9). The game featured 10 lead changes and four ties.

Much of that was because Chattanooga was staying locked in on Furman’s shooters, not giving them any air on the perimeter. That forced Furman into a lot of 2-on-2 basketball, with the pick-and-roll making the Paladins look like the Utah Jazz under Jerry Sloan at times Wednesday.

“They stayed out on our shooters and we just did a great job of attacking the paint all night. I thought we were patient with our offense and let the ball move,”  Furman coach Bob Richey told Dan Scott on the Furman Radio Network’s postgame interview.

What's Ahead For Furman:

Furman returns to Timmons on Saturday to face Mercer (7-2, 0-1 SoCon). Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.