Furman drops first SoCon game of the Year at VMI

 VMI 74, Furman 73

Reigning SoCon Player of the Week Greg Parham scored 24 points, which included 22 in the second half, as VMI snapwithped a 10-game losing streak against Furman and handed the Paladins their first Southern Conference loss of the season, as the Keydets held on for a 74-73 win Wednesday night at Cameron Hall.

With the win, VMI improved to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in Southern Conference play, while Furman dropped to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in league action. It marked VMI's first win over Furman since Feb. 13, 2015, as the Keydets were 93-59 victors over the Paladins at Cameron Hall. For the second year in a row, Furman was looking to get off to its first 5-0 start in Southern Conference play since the 1979-80 season, which is the last time the Paladins won both the Southern Conference regular-season crown, as well as the tournament title. 

Parham finished the night connecting on 8-of-15 shots from the field, including going 2-for-4 from three-point range. Parham was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the contest to equal his 24-point effort. Parham was one of four Keydets in double figures in the contest, as VMI was able to overcome what was a six-point, 40-34, halftime deficit to get the come-from-behind win, improving to 8-1 on the home hardwood this season. 

The Paladins held a 60-55 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the contest following a Mike Bothwell jumper in the lane. From that point forward, VMI would embark on a 10-0 run, which started with a Sean Conway three-pointer and ended with Parham jumper in the paint, giving the Keydets a 65-60 lead with just under four minutes to play, as the Paladins went scoreless from the field over a four-minute span. 

Jalen Slawson, who paced Furman with a double-double with 18 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, and five steals, connected on a triple with 3:41 remaining, as his shot caromed off the back of the rim and down through the hoop, as Furman cut VMI's lead to two, at 65-63.  A little less than a minute later, Bothwell tied the game, 65-65, on a short jumper. 

Marshall would respond with one of his two three-pointers of the night from the deep left elbow, giving the Keydets the lead back, 68-65, with 2:27 left in the contest. After a missed three-pointer from Clay Mounce and rebound by VMI, Slawson got a steal and tomahawk slam to get Furman back within a point, at 68-67, with 1:47 remaining.

However, Parham and VMI would continue to have a response, and another driving layup from VMI's leading scorer extended the home team's advantage back to three with 1:25 remaining. 

On Furman's ensuing possession, Noah Gurley had his shot blocked out of bounds by VMI center Jake Stephens, however, off the out-of-bounds play, Furman senior point guard Alex Hunter connected on a three-pointer from the left elbow to tie the game, 70-70, with 57 seconds remaining. 

Myles Lewis answered with a layup just 12 seconds later to help the Keydets grab the lead once again, 72-70, with 43 seconds remaining. Following a Bothwell missed layup attempt, VMI's Jake Stephens would rebound and was fouled immediately. He connected on 1-of-2 free throws to make it a 73-70 VMI lead with 17 seconds remaining. 

Furman would tie the game one more time, as Hunter was fouled on a three-pointer from the corner just in from of the Furman bench with 9.1 seconds left. He calmly stepped to the line and hit all three foul shots, tying the game 73-73.

In the biggest moment of the game, VMI turned to its dynamic freshman Trey Bonham, and his quickness allowed him to get to the basket and get a shot up, forcing Furman's Bothwell to commit the foul with 3.2 seconds remaining. Bonham stroked home the first foul shot to give the Keydets the 74-73 lead. He would miss the second, however, Slawson mid-court heave as time expired was no good, and VMI celebrated with the one-point win. 

Furman and VMI got off to a strong start from three-point range, with each team connecting on triples prior to the first media timeout, with Stephens and Conway both connecting from long range for the Keydets, while Jalen Slawson and Alex Hunter both connected on triples for Furman, as VMI took a 10-8 to the first media timeout of the night. 

Slawson would help power the Paladins to a 40-34 halftime lead, having posted a double-double in the opening half alone, as he finished the opening frame with 10 points and 10 boards in the opening half of play. The two teams nearly shot identical percentages from the field in the opening half of play, with the Paladins knocking down 41.0% (16-of-39) of their shots from the field, while the Keydets connected on 40.7% (11-of-27) from the field in the opening frame. 

Furman finished shooting the ball at just at 37.0% (27-of-73) from the field for the contest, while the Keydets completed the contest shooting the ball at a 47.1% (24-of-51) clip for the contest.  The Keydets shot the ball at a 54.1% (13-of-24) clip in the second half of play alone, while Furman was held to just 32.3% (11-of-34)  from the field in the second half. 

From beyond the arc, the Keydets connected on 11-of-25 from long-range, which converts to a 44.0% clip for the game. Meanwhile, Furman connected on just 30.8% (12-of-39) from three-point range for the contest.

In addition to Parham's 24 points, the Keydets placed three other players in double figures, with Stephens adding his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Bonham added 13 points off the bench for the Keydets. Conway, who went 4-for-8 from three-point range in the contest, rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Keydets with 12 points.

Slawson was joined in double figures by Bothwell, who added 14 points, while Gurley finished his night with 12 points to go with seven boards and four assists. 

Furman was able to claim advantantages in second-chance points (20-11), total rebounds (40-38), assists (16-14), points off turnovers (16-6), and bench points (18-4). 

Furman returns to action on Saturday when it travels to East Tennessee State with another first-place battle on the line with the Bucs, who are also 4-1 in SoCon after capturing a 59-48 road win over Western Carolina earlier on Wednesday afternoon, with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall. VMI will face a road test at Mercer in a tip-off slated for 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.