Furman ends senior night in first place with a win over The Citadel

 Furman 72, The Citadel 63 

Junior forward and reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week Noah Gurley posted 21 points, nine rebounds, a career-high five blocks, two assists and a steal, as Furman was able to overcome an early 10-point deficit early in the second half, as the Paladins knocked off The Citadel, 72-63, on Senior Night at Timmons Arena. 

The Paladins’ win over the Bulldogs, coupled with UNC Greensboro’s loss on Senior Night to Western Carolina (81-80) sets up what is almost a de facto Southern Conference men’s basketball regular-season championship game Saturday night at Wofford’s Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. 

Wednesday night’s win over the Bulldogs marked Furman’s sixth-straight triumph in the series, as well as its fourth-straight victory, and fifth in its last six games during the stretch run to the finish the regular-season. 

The Paladins will enter the regular-season finale  with a 16-7 overall record, including a 10-4 mark in the Southern Conference regular-season, while the Terriers will enter the SoCon regular-season finale with a 14-8 overall record and an 11-5 SoCon record.

With the title to be decided on percentage points, all Furman needs to do is win Saturday evening to capture the outright SoCon title and the No. 1 overall seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville. 

The Citadel will now be idle until the Harrah’s Cherokee Southern Conference Tournament  presented by General Shale in Asheville, N.C., next week, as the Bulldogs will head into the tournament as the No. 8 seed, with a 12-11 overall record and a 5-11 mark in Southern Conference play.

Gurley was able to finish the night as one of three players in double figures for the Furman, which improved to 74-12 on irs home floor since the start of the 2015-16 season and closed out the 2020-21 regular-season with an 11-1 overall mark inside the friendly confines of Timmons Arena, as the Fayetteville, GA., product finished with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, which included going 2-of-8 from three-point range.

For Gurley, it marked his fourth-straight double-figure scoring performance of the season, and his fourth game with 20 or points this season. 

The game got off to a slow start offensively for both teams, with Furman holding just a 6-3 lead at the first media timeout, however, eight-straight points off the media timeout allowed the Bulldogs to suddenly take an 11-6 lead before Jaylon Pugh answered with a layup for the Paladins cut it back to a three-point Paladin deficit, at 11-8, heading into the second media timeout. 

A three-point play the old-fashioned way by Clay Mounce would tie te game, 11-11, with 11:30 left, and less than 20 secons later, a steal and a jam by Mounce would be part of a 10-2 Furman response, as it had a 15-13 lead with 10 minutes to play in the half. 

Following a three-pointer by Brent Davis with 5:52 remaining, the Bulldogs matched their largest lead of the half, at 26-21, however, back-to-back layups by Mounce and Gurley brought the Paladins back to within a point, however, Derek Webster Jr.’s jumper on the ensuing possession helped the Bulldogs regain a 28-25 lead with 3:50 remaining in the opening half.

Back-to-back layups by Gurley and Mounce helped the Paladins regain a 29-28 lead with a little less than three minutes in the half. The Bulldogs answered back, as a Stephen Clark jumper in the lane helped the Bulldogsn to a brieft 30-29 lead before the Paladins answered with a layup from Mounce with 1:05 remaining in the half to take a 31-30 lead. 

But Clark, who was closely guarded by Furman’s Gurley in the paint, knocked down a jump hook from about eight feet out, giving the Bulldogs a 32-31 lead with 34 seconds remaining in the half. That would remain the margin at the half.

The Citadel would come out strong to start the second half, using an 11-2 run out of the halftime break to take a 43-33 lead, forcing a Furman timeout. Moments later, the Paladins would get a layup from Gurley and a three-pointer Colin Kenney to trim the lead back to seven, at 45-38, moments later, however, a Kaiden Rice layup high off the glass helped the Bulldogs head to the first media timeout of the second half, with a nine-point, 47-38, lead.

However, Furman’s Mike Bothwell would score a pair of quick layups, to ignite a 14-2 lead, eventually giving the Paladins take back the lead, as two more Bothwell buckets helped close the Furman run, and  the Paladins took a  51-49 lead with 10:38 remaing to the roar of a sparse, but rowdy crowd. It was the first time this year you could a type of atmosphere in Timmons Arena, which helped propel the Paladins to the win down the stretch. 

The Bulldogs, despite having already been locked into the No. 8 seed coming into the rivalry matchup, wouldn’t go away so easily, as the Bulldogs would briefly re-take the lead, 54-53, with 9:22 left following a Clark layup. 

However, Furman was not going to finish a night on which it honored its lone senior Clay Mounce on a sour note, as freshman forward Jonny Lawrence knocked down a pair of triples, and Gurley added a third triple in the stretch, as the Paladins put together another quick spurt, with the 11-2 run capped by a Bothwell fade-a-away just to the left of the lane, giving the Paladins the lead for good, at 64-55, with 6:24 remaining. 

The Bulldogs would make one more charge at the Paladins, using four-straight from Clark and Brown on a pair of short jump shots in the lane, trimming Furman’s lead to five, at 64-59, with 5:32 remaining. 

Six-straight points by the Paladins, however, all but sealed The Citadel’s fate for good, and fittingly, it was an emphatic ending applied by Gurley on a alley-oop slam from Jalen Slawson, whicb gave the Paladins their largest lead of the night, at 70-59, with 2:44 remaining. A pair of Hunter free throws took the lead back to 11 before two Rice foul shots set the final margin at nine points.

Furman ended the night connecting on an impressive 54.5% (30-of-55) from the field, which includerd a 63.0% (17-of-27) shooting percentage in the second half. It was the 13th time in 23 games the Paladins have finished a game shooting at a 50% or better clip this season, as well as accounting for their third-straight game in which they have matched or exceeded that 50% shooting threshold. 

Meanwhile, though there were some lapses defensively in the paint against the Bulldogs, it was Furman’s dedicated effort locking down the perimeter against a team that ranked second in the SoCon in total three-pointers made, with 228 total made triples coming into the contest behind VMI, which had canned 256 in two more games, were held by the Paladins to just four made triples in the contest, matching a season-low for the Bulldogs, which the Bulldogs were also held to in the previous game vs. Mercer, and earlier this month against Western Carolina. 

The Paladins finished the final home game of the season by connecting on 29.6% (8-of-27) from the field, while The Citadel’s 4-of-17  performance from long range computed to just a 23.5% clip. The Paladins held the Bulldogs to just 41.3% (26-of-63) from the field in the game.

The Paladins ended the contest holding advantages in total rebounds (37-30), total assists (16-14), points in the paint (44-38), fast-break points (2-0), and bench points (11-8). The Citadel posted slight edges in points off turnovers (13-7) and second-chance points (8-4).

Gurley was joined in double figures for the Paladins by Bothwell and Hunter, who added 14 points apiece in what was a solid, balanced scoring up and down the Paladin roster among the 11 players that saw action in the win. 

Hunter, who announced yesterday he would be returning to Furman next year in the free year provided by the NCAA as a result of the pandemic, also added a team-high five assists and a rebound in what would’ve normally been his senior night. 

Additionally, the senior from Raleigh connected on 5-of-6 from the field, which included 2-for-3 from three-point range. Hunter’s 199-career three-pointers now ties him for fifth in school history along with former Paladin sharp-shooter Anthony Thomas (1999-2002).

Bothwell posted his 14 points on a 7-for-11 shooting effort in the contest, while adding a block, a steal, and an assist. 

Mounce played his final game in front of the home crowd, flirting with double figures in his final game at Timmons Arena, as he posted nine points, four rebounds, a team-high three steals, a block and an assist. 

Lawerence also added nine points, coming off the Paladin bench to hit three three-pointers, connecting on 3-of-5 from the field and was 3-for-4 from three-point range.

The Citadel was paced by SoCon Player of the Year candidate Hayden Brown, who finished with 18 points,  seven rebounds, dished out three steals and recorded one steal. Brown finished by connecting on 7-of-15 from the field, including 0-for-1 from three-point field.  

Kaiden Rice, who came into the contest second in the contest to only Brown in the SoCon in scoring, added 16 points, five boards and a steal, while Srephen Clark rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Bulldogs with 14. 

While The Citadel will await the Southern Conference Tournament as the No. 8 seed next Friday in Asheville. Furman has a date with Wofford Saturday night with a 7 p.m. tip-off slated at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, which is also the Ingles Southern Conference game of the week.

Post-game Press Conference:

A Few Notes:

--Furman is 74-12 at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.

--Over the past two seasons, Furman has won 23 of its past 24 games at Timmons Arena, with the only loss coming to Wofford back on Feb. 6, 75-67

--Furman suffered its largest margin of defeat to Wofford last season before a national television audience on ESPNU at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, as the Paladins dropped a 66-52 contest. Furman would later be knocked out of the SoCon Tournament by those same Terriers, dropping a 77-68 contest to the No. 7 seeded Terriers. Wofford, which had been 5-0 in tournament title appearances, would go on to suffer its first loss in the tournament title game, with a 72-58 loss to 30-win ETSU.

--The Paladins will be playing for a sixth Southern Conference title on Saturday at Wofford, and with a win, would also clinch the No. 1 overall seed for the Southern Conference Tournament regardless of the result of the UNCG-ETSU outcome. 

--Furman's regular-season Southern Conference titles have come in: 2016-17 (shared with ETSU and UNCG/No. 2 seed in tournament/Lost to Samford, 67-63, in quarterfinals); 1990-91 (shared with ETSU and Chattanooga and No. 1 overall seed on tiebreakers/Lost in tournament semifinals to App State, 88-82/qualified for NIT by winning regular-season title); 1979-80 (outright regular-season champion and No. 1 overall seed/won tournament); 1974-75 (outright regular season champion/ No. 1 overall seed in tournament/won tournament/*NCAA);  1973-74 (outright regular-season champion/No. 1 overall seed/won tournament/*NCAA)...Furman's lone NCAA Tournament appearance in which it did not win the regular-season came during the 1970-71 season, as the Paladins won the Southern Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed. 

CofC's Andrew Goudelock and Furman's Jordan Miller

--Furman hasn't won at Wofford since the 2010-11 season, knocking off the Terriers 73-68 on Jan. 24, 2011)...Wofford went on to claim its second-straight NCAA Tournament berth. In the final day of the 2010-11 regular-season, Wofford claimed a 79-65 win at Timmons Arena, clinching the No. 2 seed for the upcoming tournament behind College of Charleston in the SoCon's South Division, while knocking Furman out of a bye and into an opening day contest against Samford. Furman, who would go on to knock off one of the favorites Chattanooga on its home court at the Roundhouse, as the Paladins posted a 61-52 win to shock the Mocs before eventually bowing out with a loss to CofC. 

--Furman reached the title games of the Southern Conference Tournament title game in 2002 and 2015, losing to Davidson and Wofford, respectively, and making it through from the play-in round of the tournament on each occasion. Wofford has claimed five tournament crowns over the past 11 years

Alex Hunter's career night leads Furman to a key SoCon win over Samford

Furman got a career-high 23 points from senior point guard Alex Hunter, as three Paladins finished in double figures, allowing Furman to capture a 78-64 Southern Conference win over Samford Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.

With the win, Furman improved its overall record to 14-7 overall and 8-4 in Southern Conference play, while the Bulldogs, who dropped their fourth-straight, fell to 6-12 overall and 2-9 in league action. Wednesday night’s clash between the Paladins and Bulldogs will mark the only matchup of the season between the two SoCon foes. 

Wednesday night was a wild night in the Southern Conference, and with Furman’s win, coupled with UNC Greensboro’s 88-77 loss at VMI, means the Paladins and Spartans are both now tied in the loss column of the Southern Conference standings. It was decided just last week that since an uneven amount of games will be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic that the SoCon champion being decided on winning percentage, with preferential treatment given to school’s that were able to complete their full 18-game league slate.

Hunter’s night was certainly indicative of the type of season he is having as a senior. The Raleigh, N.C., product scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, which included a 7-for-9 shooting performance from beyond the arc. His 23 points eclipsed his career-best performance of 22 points established early in the season in a win over USC Upstate, while his seven three-pointers were enough to also set a new career standard, eclipsing his previous mark of five, which he had done three previous times, with the most recent coming in a loss to Wofford back on Feb. 6. Hunter had already tied that mark for a fourth time by halftime, as he went 5-for-6 from three-point land in the opening half of play. 

Hunter’s 23-point performance in the win saw his strong shooting from beyond the arc continue during the month, as he has hit 46.1% (18-of-39) from three-point range in the month of February, which is slightly higher than his 39% shooting clip from beyond the arc for the season. In addition to his 23-point performance, he also posted six rebounds. 

Following Wednesday night’s performance, Hunter sits at 197 three pointers and 918-career points, surpassing the 900-point plateau in the opening half on Wednesday night. With three more three pointers this season, Hunter would become the third player in the past four seasons to knock down 200 three-pointers in a career, joining both Devin Sibley (2017-18) and Jordan Lyons (2019-20). Hunter also added six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists in the win. 

Also finishing with double-figure scoring efforts for the Paladins were Mike Bothwell (19 pts) and Noah Gurley (16 pts), who became the 47th player and the second this season, to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Gurley, a junior, now has 1,014 points in his standout career for the Paladins. Bothwell added six assists, two steals and a block to an overall impressive stat line. Clay Mounce led the Paladins on the boards with eight boards.

Furman had an 11-8 lead at the first media timeout, however, were a bit sluggish in the middle portions of the opening half and saw the Bulldogs assume a 28-25 lead with a three-pointer from Logan Dye with 3:59 remaining in the opening half. However, Furman would finish the half on a flurry, using an 9-2 run, using three of Hunter’s seven three-pointers to take a 36-30 lead into the halftime break. 

The Paladins would see that lead grow to 13 points early in the second half, at 45-32, following five-straight points from Bothwell and Hunter’s sixth three-pointer of the night, and a Garrett Hien free throw with 17:36 to play in the game, as the Paladins completed a 18-4 run, spanning two halves to open up a sizable, double-digit advantage, which it would maintain most of the remainder of the game. 

Samford was only able to cut Furman’s lead inside double figures twice the rest of the way, with the latest being 59-50 on a Dye layup with just 9:09 remaining. But Furman would finish strong, extending its lead to as many as 18 points on a pair of free throws from Gurley with 3:06 remaining, as the Paladins assumed a 76-58 lead.

Furman finished the contest connecting on 51.7% (30-of-58) from the field, while holding the Bulldogs to just 43.9% (25-of-57) for the game. The Paladins knocked down 37.1% (13-of-35) from three-point range, while the Bulldogs were 33.3% (7-of-21) from beyond the arc in the loss. 

The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (17-4), fast-break points (4-3) and assists (20-10), while the Bulldogs owned advantages in total rebounds (35-29), bench points (20-19),  and second-chance points (13-8). 

Samford ended the night with two players in double figures, with Dye scoring 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, including 1-of-2 from three-point range and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. Jaron Rille added 13 points for the Bulldogs to round out the double-figure scorers for Samford.

Furman's complete effort too much for Western Carolina

After Western Carolina jumped out to a 9-2 lead, Furman responded with a 30-6 run to take 32-15 lead midway through the opening frame en route to a 55-31 halftime lead, and never looked back, as the Paladins posted their 11th-straight win in the series, getting an 88-70 Southern Conference win over the Catamounts Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

It was Furman’s 21st win in their 22nd game, as the Paladins improved to 13-7 overall and 7-4 in Southern Conference play, while the Catamounts fell to 9-12 overall and 3-10 in Southern Conference play.

Following the 9-2 deficit to open the game by the Catamounts, which featured a three-point play the old fashioned way by forward Xavier Cork and back-to-back threes by Cory Hightower and Kameron Gibson, the Catamounts found themselves out to a seven-point lead early in the contest, however, Noah Gurley, who tied Jalen Slawson with a game-high 16 points, knocked down a three, and that was followed by a pair of triples from Clay Mounce, as Furman built a quick 11-9 lead and never looked back, shooting a blistering 63.6% (21of-33) in the opening half of play, which included shooting 50% from three-point land (10-of-20), building a 24-point halftime lead.

In the second half, the Paladins would increase their lead to as much as 32 points when a Clay Mounce layup gave Furman a 74-42 lead. In two games against the Catamounts this season, the Paladins have shot 51.2% (64-of-125) from the field, including having connected on 42.7% (24-of-57) from three-point land. The Paladins finished out Saturday’s game against the Catamounts connecting on 49.3% (34-of-69) from the field, which included that impressive shooting performance in the opening half. In the second half of Furman’s first win in Cullowhee two weeks ago combined with the opening half of Saturday’s game, the Paladins connected 65.5% (38-of-58) from the field.

Western Carolina shot the ball well in the loss, connecting on 51,0% (26-of-51) from the field, but it was Furman’s sweltering defense, particularly in the opening 20 minutes, that helped force 18 Catamount turnovers, which led directly to 27 Paladin points, as Furman out-scored Western Carolina 27-7. So far this season and throughout the Bob Richey tenure, Furman has been at its best when it is able to force live-ball turnovers and turn those into points. Meanwhile, Furman was able to limit its turnover total to seven, which matched a season-low, which it matched in a 74-73 loss at VMI last month.

The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (27-7), assists (20-12), points in the paint (38-32), bench points (44-20), and second-chance points (11-6). The Catamounts were able to claim a 35-32 edge on the boards, and a slight advantage in shooting percentage (51.0%-49.3%). Furman connected on 14 three-pointers in the win, which is its most in SoCon play this season.

Of particular note has been the play of both Noah Gurley and Jalen Slawson as of late. The Paladins are 8-1 this season when Slawson scores in double figures, which he has done in two of the past three games. Since the loss to Wofford, Slawson has been coming off the bench., giving head coach Bob Richey excellent minutes and bringing energy almost immediately upon his insertion into the lineup. Slawson posted 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including going 2-for-2 from three-point land. Slawson also added six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

Gurley posted his 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. Gurley’s complete performance was once again highlighted by an outstanding performance on the backboards, which saw him rip down eight boards, while also dishing out three assists. A change to affect the game in a myriad of different ways, including his performance on the boards as of late, has been something noticeable in Gurley as of late. Adding to the credibility of that evidence was him taking a charge with 10:41 remaining against Western Carolina’s Tyler Harris and the Paladins leading 72-42 at that point in the contest. All told, the Paladins took three charges in the contest.

"I spent some time with Noah [Gurley] yesterday after practice, just wanting to relax him. He's too good of a player to be out here pressing. He's just got to let the game come to him a little bit," head coach Bob Richey said. "He did a great job of that today. When they brought two (defenders), he threw out and when they didn't bring two, he went and scored. ..He got 16 points tonight on eight shots, which is incredibly efficient. He shot more twos than threes, which I always like for him,” Richey added.

In three of his last four games, Gurley has rebounding totals of 11, 11 and eight. Prior to the past four games, only once had Gurley reached that eight rebound total, which came in a loss at Cincinnati.

Aside from Gurley and Slawson, the Paladins had two other players end up in double figures, Mounce and Jonny Lawrence added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Lawrence added his second double-figure scoring performance of the season, as he also came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points in Furman’s final non-conference game vs. South Carolina State. Lawrence finished by connecting on 4-of-8 shots from the field, including going 3-for-7 from three-point range and added a pair of steals. Mounce went 5-for-10 for the game, including connecting on 3-for-7 from three-point range, with a steal and an assist.

Western Carolina had five players end up in double figures, with Xavier Cork leading the way for the second-straight games for the Catamounts, posting 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Cork also added seven rebounds, 2 assists and a block. Also finishing in double figures for the Catamounts were Kameron Gibson (13 pts), Cory Hightower (11 pts), Matt Halvorsen (11 pts) and Mason Faulkner (11 pts).

Furman will return to action Wednesday night when it hosts Samford at Timmons Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. The Catamounts will be on the road Wednesday night, traveling to Chattanooga for a 7 p.m. contest.

SoCon Hoops Update: tiebreakers and heartbreakers

Wofford vs. ETSU could be a game that amounts to a regular-season elimination game Saturday evening

Southern Conference makes determination on Conference Tournament

By the time we get to March in SoCon hoops, tiebreakers may require someone to crank up the enigma code-breaking device from World War II to figure out seeding in Asheville.

There’s good news on the surface at least, as the league office has made a determination concerning the Southern Conference Tournament and the remainder of the regular-season.

Teams are required to reach a threshold of 10 games, which every team on the men’s side of the bracket has reached. Unfortunately, no fans will be allowed at the conference tournament and as a result, there will be no general ticket sales.

But we have basketball and that is a good thing, especially in one of the wildest season’s in recent memory in the league.

The regular-season champion and the No. 1 overall seed for the 10-team tournament will be decided based on winning percentage. If two teams should be tied based on winning percentage, the Southern Conference will then award the team that was able to play the most regular-season games as the regular-season champion.

The only team yet to meet the 10-game conference threshold to this point is Samford, which has played a total of nine games and should meet that requirement Saturday, as the Bulldogs travel to Lexington, VA., to face off against the VMI Keydets in what is a key league clash. 

Plans are to go ahead with the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville March 5-8 as scheduled, and seeding for the conference tournament and will done first among the teams who have played the least amount of conference games. Teams that do not play at least 10 conference games on the men’s side will be seeded after the top six.

Wild Race:

One thing the pandemic has done is provide us with one of the more exciting conference races from top-to-bottom in league history, due to long layoffs, while other league team’s have been able to continue playing games. With a couple of weeks to go in the league race, UNC Greensboro currently sits atop the league standings with a 9-3 overall mark in league play and 14-6 overall mark.

The next three teams—Wofford, East Tennessee State and Furman—are all tied in the loss column, with four setbacks, however, each has a different amount of wins. Saturday’s clashes between East Tennessee State (11-8, 7-4 SoCon) and Wofford (12-7, 9-4 SoCon), as well as UNC Greensboro and Mercer could tell us a lot. The game between ETSU and Wofford in Johnson City could very well end up being a regular-season title elimination game.

The pressure is seemingly more on the Bucs, who can’t afford a second loss to the Terriers on Saturday. The first meeting of the season saw Wofford snap what had been a three-game losing streak to the Bucs, which included a loss in last season’s SoCon title clash in Asheville, as Wofford came from behind to get a 67-62 win over the Bucs. It’s a matchup between a pair of programs that have combined to win five of the past seven Southern Conference titles. 

It’s a pretty good guess that both ETSU’s Damari Monsanto and Wofford’s senior point guard Storm Murphy won’t experience the same type struggles shooting the basketball as they did in their respective previous outings. Against The Citadel, Monsanto went 0-of-7 from the field, including having gone 0-for-3 from long range, as the talented redshirt freshman forward was held scoreless for the first time all season, and that played a major part in why the Bucs dropped their first game to The Citadel since February of 2018. Prior to the game with the Bulldogs, Monsanto had scored 20 or more points in five-straight games and shooting 55.8% (38-of-68) from the field, as well as shooting a blistering 52.5% (21-of-40) from three-point land. 

Meanwhile, Murphy, who is another strong candidate for SoCon Player of the Year honors, had an awkward night himself in a 78-66 home loss to Chattanooga in Spartanburg. Prior to a scoreless effort against the Mocs, as Murphy had posted double-figure scoring efforts in 10 of the previous 11 games, which included scoring 20 or more points in seven of those contests. Prior to going 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-2 from three-point range, Murphy had scorched the nets for 24 points, which included 10-straight points in the second half, as the Terriers downed I-85 rival Furman, 75-67, in come-from-behind fashion in Greenville. It’s safe to say that the combined 0-of-12 efforts from Murphy and Monsanto on the same night won’t be seen again this season, but it goes to show it can happen to any player no matter how good that player is. 

Mocs Mayhem:

Chattanooga picked a good time to start playing good basketball again. Remember this was the team that started the season a perfect 9-0, and then reality hit like a ton of bricks. A 77-73 home loss to co SoCon preseason favorite Furman was tough to swallow. I mean after all, the Mocs hadn’t lost with or without David Jean-Baptiste after his week in the transfer portal. However, after the Paladins dealt the Mocs a first loss of the season, an injury sidelined sharp-shooting wing K.C. Hankton after he had only just become eligible in Chattanooga’s thrilling non-conference win over UNC Asheville a couple of weeks earlier.

Following the loss to the Paladins, the Mocs would drop two of their next three, with both coming to the league’s military contingent. The Mocs were 84-79 losers at VMI, which was followed by a brief respite, as Chattanooga was able to manufacture a 73-68 home win over Samford. A trip to The Citadel is never easy, and the Mocs found out the hard way against the unbeaten Bulldogs, who handed UTC a 92-87 setback.

The Mocs would respond from a 19-point opening half deficit to defeat Mercer, 83-80, at home, while blowing a 13-point (35-22) halftime lead against Wofford only to see the Terriers blow the doors off McKenzie Arena in the second half, as the Mocs were out-scored 55-24 in the second half in one of the weirder games of the conference season. A six-point, 70-64, win over Samford gave the Mocs a season sweep over their closest SoCon neighbor, which was followed by a 74-66 setback to UNC Greensboro. 

Following a pause to positive COVID tests within the Chattanooga program, Lamont Paris’ team has suddenly gotten hot again, and right on the heels of the top four teams in the league as we enter the stretch run,. Three-straight road wins at Western Carolina (74-67), at ETSU (67-65) and at Wofford (78-66) suddenly has the Mocs at a league best 15 wins to go with a 6-5 record in SoCon play, sitting just a half-game back of Furman and a full-game back of ETSU. The win in Johnson City by the Mocs snapped what had been a 10—game skid to ETSU. 

What’s been the difference for Paris’ Mocs since a bit of a rocky start to league play? Well, for one having more than seven or eight players dressing to play games helps, but also injecting a major dose of confidence has been James Madison grad transfer Darius Banks, who has finally 100% and ready to give it a go for the Mocs. He has started all seven games he has played in for the Mocs, and the 6-6 forward hasn’t disappointed, as he is averaging 12.9 PPG to rank third on the team in scoring, while his 5.1 RPG rank him second on the team in a category that was sorely needed prior to him becoming completely healthy.

Banks has combined with all-conference performers David Jean-Baptiste (17.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG) and Malachi Smith (16.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG), which has suddenly given the Mocs one of the most dangerous scoring duos in the Southern Conference, and has helped off-set their struggles that were evident early on with a lack of depth in the front court.

Chattanooga has been one of several surprise packages we have gotten in the Southern Conference this season. UTC is once again performing at a very high level shooting the basketball, and have shot the ball well from long-range, as the Mocs currently rank fourth in three-point field goal percentage (37%/163-of-440), while also defending the three relatively well, ranking fifth in three-point field goal percentage defense (33.6%/137-of-408). The Mocs are capitalizing on the pandemic in road performances, having posted a 9-2 mark on the road, while posting just a 6-3 record inside the friendly confines. 

UNCG and Furman

The two teams picked by the coaches and media to win the Southern Conference title in the preseason met twice in a little over 48 hours last week, and as you might expect, the two teams split those games. 

Furman was able to capture the first meeting between the two by posting one of its best defensive performances of the season, holding the Spartans to a season-low field goal percentage (29%), while also limiting the Spartans to their second-lowest point total of the season (49 pts), as Furman claimed a 68-49 win over the Spartans last Monday night at Timmons Arena. 

In the return matchup a couple days later at a cavernous Greensboro Coliseum, preseason SoCon Player of the Year Isaiah Miller and the Spartans turned up the screws on Furman defensively, particularly against the Paladins’ backcourt,  holding Furman’s Alex Hunter and Mike Bothwell in check for the most part, holding the combined backcourt the Paladins to a grand total of 15 points in the contest, while Miller posted 22 on his own, including nearly equaling Furman’s sum total for their backcourt for the entire game in the opening half, as Miller scored 14 of those 22 points prior to the break.

The silver lining in the win for the Paladins was their effort, and despite shooting just 31.6% from the field, ended up only dropping a six-point decision, 64-58, to the Spartans. When you add in the fact that the Paladins out-rebounded their fourth-straight foe, and out-rebounded the Spartans, who came into the two-game mini-series as the league leaders in rebounding margin, by double digits in both games, finishing with an edge of 86-58 combined in the two games. Furman was getting handled on the boards pretty easily in the early portion of the season.

Miller is continuing to ascend up the charts in all-time steals in league history, and his 289-career steals ranks him third in SoCon history, and with five more steals this season, Miller would surpass former App State great D.J. Thompson (2003-06) for second in league history in career thefts. 

Miller and the Spartans head to Macon, GA, Saturday having won eight of their last 10, as they will take on the Mercer Bears at 2 p.m. Furman, which has lost four of its last six in a rare swoon, will look to bounce back at Timmons Arena Saturday hosting Western Carolina at 2 p.m.

Three-Dets!

In the past, it's not uncommon to see VMI to produce some great shooting teams during some of their glory days in the Southern Conference, and just like Daryl Faulkner or Bobby Prince during the Bart Bellairs era, Dan Earl's Keydets have carried on that tradition some 25 or so years later, with the likes of Kamdyn Curfman (12.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG) and Greg Parham (18.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG) leading the way. Curfman and Parham have combined to connect on 111 of the team's 220 made triples so far in 2020-21. 

VMI has produced two of the bigger upsets in the Southern Conference this season, ending long losing streaks to both Furman and Wofford, getting narrow wins over both. VMI captured a 74-73 win over Furman back on Jan. 20 and then two weeks later, the Keydets went on the road and snapped a two-decade losing streak to the Terriers, snatching their first road win of the season, with an 84-82 overtime win at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

This season, the Keydets are shooting the ball better than anyone from the perimeter once again in the Southern Conference. The Keydets head into Saturday's Nexstar SoCon game of the week connecting on 39.1% (22O-of-562) from three-point range and rank second in the SoCon in triples made per game (11.0). 

The Keydets did have their solid play interrupted on Monday night, however, with a trip to Cullowhee that resulted in a 74-72 setback to the Western Carolina Catamounts. VMI, like Chattanooga, isn't going to threaten you much with their size and strength in the paint outside of 6-11 Jake Stephens (14.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG). What Earl's Keydets will do is out-smart you and out-shoot you. This is a dangerous team and could play spoiler down the stretch and on into March when the 10 teams arrive in Asheville in early March for the Southern Conference Tournament. 

Saturday's home contest against Samford will be a must, especially given the struggles Earl's Keydets have had playing on the road. VMI still has a road trip left at Furman and Chattanooga, and remained tied in the league standings with Mercer, as both have identical 5-6 league marks. The only meeting between the Keydets and Bears this season saw Mercer hold on for an 83-80 win at Hawkins Arena back on Jan. 23. Remember, the Keydets and Bears were supposed to open Southern Conference play against one another way back on Dec. 10, but the game was paused due to COVID positive tests within the Mercer program, and no makeup game has yet been slated for the Keydets and Bears.

Should VMI manage to do well enough down the stretch to garner one of the top six places in the SoCon pecking order, it would mark the first time they have been the beneficiaries of an opening round bye in Asheville since the 2015 SoCon Tournament, when the Keydets were under the direction of current Citadel head coach Duggar Baucom, as VMI finished as the No. 6 in the SoCon at the end of the regular-season and faced No. 3 Mercer in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Keydets, which are currently 1-9 away from Cameron Hall, are likely going to need to get another one or two road wins to close out the season, while holding serve at home to find themselves with a rare bye on the opening day of the tournament. 

Battle For Purple Supremacy:

One thing about the Battle for Purple Supremacy on the college basketball hardwood we can certainly say is there is no love lost between Mark Prosser's Catamounts and Bob Richey's Paladins. That's because the two teams have staged some down right classics over the past three seasons, and each of the past two season's, the "chippy-ness" at the end of the game has carried over in the handshake line last year, and as the two teams exited the court this season to their respective locker rooms in Cullowhee just two weeks ago.

The Paladins survived to get a 75-69 win at the Ramsey Activities Center, marking the Paladins' 10th-straight win in the series, however, it's not as if any of those, especially over the past three seasons, has come particularly easy. Four of the past five meetings between the two have been decided by 10 points or less.

The Catamounts have one of the top backcourts in the SoCon, while Furman has arguably the league's top front court. It was Furman's front court of Jalen Slawson, Noah Gurley and Clay Mounce, who combined to score 43 of Furman's 75 points in the win, while the Paladins did nice work defensively against the Western Carolina backcourt of Mason Faulkner, Matt Halvorsen and Tyler Harris, who posted just a combined 28 points. Furman held Faulkner scoreless in the opening half of that game before putting together a solid second half in that contest by scoring 14 points. Halvorsen is Western's new three-point king, surpassing former Catamount great Jake Robinson's 278-career three-pointers, which he established from 2006-10 as one of memorable players during those golden years for the late legendary head coach Larry Hunter. Included in that stint while Robinson was on campus was a win over Louisville in 2009. 

SoCon’s Saturday Slate:

The Citadel (11-7, 4-7 SoCon) at Chattanooga (15-5, 6-5 SoCon)

*Samford (6-10, 2-7 SoCon) at VMI (10-10, 5-6 SoCon), 1 p.m.

Western Carolina (9-11, 3-9 SoCon) at Furman (12-7, 6-4 SoCon), 2 p.m. EST

UNC Greensboro (14-6, 9-3 SoCon) at Mercer (12-7, 5-6 SoCon), 2 p.m. EST

Wofford (12-7, 9-4 SoCon) at East Tennessee State (11-8, 7-4 SoCon), 4 p.m. EST

*-Nexstar Southern Conference Game of the Week

--For more on SoCon tie-breaking procedures for the remainder of the season, please click the link below.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/soconsports.com/documents/2021/2/11/2021_Tie_Breaking_Criteria.pdf

Furman and UNC Greensboro split the regular-season series

Isaiah Miller leads UNC Greensboro to important win over Furman

UNC Greensboro senior guard Isaiah Miller showed why he is both the reigning and favorite to repeat as Southern Conference men's basketball Player of the Year, as he posted a game-high 22 points to go with, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists, as UNCG rebounded from a 19-point loss to Furman in Greenville just 48 hours earlier to get a hard-fought 64-58 win on Wednesday evening before a national television Audience on ESPNU at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Miller finished the night connecting on 10-of-17 shots from the field, and was 2-for-2 from the line, as he was one of two Spartans in double figures. Miller would be joined in double digits by 2019-20 SoCon Freshman Keyshaun Langley, who added 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field, including going 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. 

With the win, the Spartans remain in the Southern Conference regular-season title race, improving 14-6 overall and 9-3 in SoCon play, while Furman dropped to 12-7 overall and 6-4 in SoCon play. As a result of losses by both Wofford and East Tennessee State, UNCG finds themselves atop the Southern Conference standings once again, as we head down the stretch run of the 2020-21 campaign. 

The opening half got off to a slow start in the early going, as points were hard to come by, however, a pair of threes by Clay Mounce gave the Paladins an early 14-7 lead, but back-to-back jumpers and a layup by Miller the Spartans to within a point, at 14-13, midway through the opening half. 

Miller, who had 14 points in the first meeting with the Paladins on Monday evening, was hot in the first half for the Spartans, scoring 12 of UNC's firrst 17 points of the contest, and his acrobatic layup with just over seven minutes remaining in the opening frame. 

Late in the half, Hayden Koval and Keyshaun Langley hit back-to-back threes for the Spartans to give UNCG a 29-25 lead with just under three minutes remaining. Moments later the Spartans would assume their biggest lead of the opening half for either team, at 31-26, following an Angelo Allegri layup. Keyshaun Langley's four-point play with four seconds remaining in the half, allowing the Spartans to increase their lead to nine points, at 37-28. Miller's 14 points in the opening half equaled his total from the entire game. Furman was led in the opening half by Mounce, who poured in double his point total from the first meeting between the two, as he posted 15 points in the opening half, while scoring only seven the other day. 

The Paladins shot just 32% in the opening half of play, which included eight turnovers. Early in the second half, the Spartans increased their lead to 12 points early in the frame on a  three-pointer by Langley and a layup by Miller to take a 42-30 lead. A Mounce layup helped the Paladins cut it to 10 heading into the first media timeout of the second half. 

A Jalen Slawson jumper from the corner cut the UNGC lead to seven, at 45-38, with just under 13 minutres remaining, however, Mohammed Abdulsalam's layup would put the Spartans back up nine just prior to the second media timeout of the second half. A second-straight layup by Abdulsalam just following the media timeout put the Spartans back up double figures, however, Mike Bothwell 's first points of the night on a three-pointer got the Paladins to within eight, at 49-41, with 11:00 left. 

But an overturned charge call gave Koval a pair of free throws, and he connected 1-of-2 foul shots and Miller got another steal and bucket to get the lead back to double digits at 52-41. Furman wouldn't go away, however, as a Slawson tip-in and a three-pointer by Gurley, which was sandwiched by a layup from UNCG's Allegri, cut the UNCG lead back to eight, at 54-46, with  7:38 left.

The Spartans would increase their lead to their to 13 points, howecer, the Paladins would continue to chip away, as Alex Hunter canned two triples, and a layup and two foul shots by Bothwell, got the Paladins to within three, at 59-56, with 3:41 remaining. Allegri answered with a three on the other end, Mounce answered with a tip-in to get the Paladins back to within four points, at 62-58, with 2:18 remaining. 

The Spartans would end up closing the game out at the free throw line, as Keyshaun Langley connected on a pair of free throws to increase the lead to six, and the Paladins had a couple of chances to close the margin, but couldn't find the range from the perimeter, and that's how the margin would stay as the Spartans closed out their 14th win of the season and their ninth victory in league play. 

Furman ended the night being led by Mounce, who was the only Paladin in double figures with 19 points and had a career-high 16 rebounds, posting 15 of those in the opening half, as he finished the night connecting on 6-of-14 shots from the field, including going 3-for-8 from three-point land.  For Mounce, it marked his fourth double-double of the season.

Mounce's 16 boards helped highlight what was another strong night on the glass against the best rebounding team in the SoCon, as the Paladins ended the game with a 40-27 edge on the glass. 

Meanwhile, UNCG held advantages in shooting percentage (45.8%-31.6%), points in the paint (28-16), bench points (15-13),  points off turnovers (14-12), and fast-break points (4-2). Furman held edges in second-chance points (14-7) and total assists (10-9). Furman turned the ball over 18 times for the second-straight game, while forcing 12 UNCG miscues. 

Both teams return to action on Saturday, as Furman will host Western Carolina in a 2 p.m. tip at Timmons Arena, while UNCG will be in action at Mercer, with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.  

Furman uses stifling defense to snap UNCG's seven-game winning streak

Senior point guard Alex Hunter led Furman with a game-high 19 pts

Senior guard Alex Hunter posted a game-high 19 points and dished out a team-high five assists, while junior forward Jalen Slawson added 14 points, six rebounds, a career-high five blocks and dished out three assists, as Furman posted a 68-49 win over UNC Greensboro Monday evening at Timmons Arena.

With the win, Furman bounced back from a loss to Wofford on Saturday evening, as the Paladins improved to 12-6 overall and 6-3 in Southern Conference play, while UNCG saw its seven-game winning streak snapped, as the Spartans fell to 13-6 overall and 8-3 in Southern Conference play.

Hunter finished the contest by connecting on 8-of-15 shots from the field, including going 3-for-8 from three-point range. Slawson finished the contest by making good on 5-of-6 shots from the field, and was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. 

The only other Paladin in double figures was junior guard Mike Bothwell, who finished with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The native of Cleveland Heights, OH, also posted four rebounds and a steal. Noah Gurley ended up leading the Paladins on the backboards, snagging 11 rebounds to go with his four points. It marked Gurley’s second-straight game with a double-figure rebound total. 

These two teams will do battle once again on Wednesday, as it will be a second-straight nationally-televised game for both teams, as the two teams will do battle on ESPNU in a game slated for 5 p.m. EST at the Greensboro Coliseum, as the two teams picked to win the Southern Conference by both the coaches’ and media face off against each other for a second time in a 48-hour span.

The Paladins put together maybe their most complete performance of the season on both ends of the floor, holding the Spartans to just 29% (18-of-62) for the game, including just 11.1% (2-for-18) from three-point range in the contest. The 49 points scored by the Spartans match the lowest point total allowed against any opponent this season, which was also scored by Southern Wesleyan in an 89-49 Paladin victory. 

The Spartans were able to get out to an early, 9-6, lead following a layup by reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Isaiah Miller. However, from that point forward, Furman took initiative and took the game to the Spartans. A 24-4 run by the Paladins, which was capped by a Hunter layup, gave the Paladins their largest lead of the opening half, at 30-13, and Furman would end up settling on a 36-24 halftime advantage. 

Despite a pair of highlight reel plays from Miller—one of which came off a steal and slam—the Paladins were able to use a Bothwell layup and a three-pointer from Slawson to take a 41-30 lead into the first media timeout of the second half. That lead would grow to as much as 15, at 47-32, following a pair of Johnny Lawrence free throws, however, a Muhammad Abdulsalam layup on the other end and a travel whistled against Bothwell saw the margin 13, as the two teams headed for their respective sideline’s for the second media timeout of the second half with 11:41 remaining.

Furman increased its lead to its largest of the night, at 52-34, when Hunter canned a three from the left elbow with 9:16 remaining, prompting a Wes Miller timeout for the Spartans. A Hunter layup on the other end extended the lead to 20 with 8:51 remaining in the contest,  giving the senior from Raleigh, N.C., 19 points in the contest. A pair of Jarrett Hensley foul shots got the Spartans to within 16, at 57-41, with just under five minutes remaining. However, that would be as close as the Spartans would get the rest of the contest. 

The Paladins finished the contest holding advantages in points in the paint (34-30), total rebounds (46-31),  second-chance points (11-6),  bench points (26-12), points off turnovers (19-15), and assists (15-5). The Spartans held a slight edge in fast-break points (8-2). 

UNCG finished with two players in double figures in the contest, as Miller led the way with 14 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, as well as posting a game-high six steals to increase his career total to 286-career thefts, as he continues to move up the SoCon ladder on that career ledger, as he now ranks third in league history in that career stat behind only former Appalachian State standout guard D.J. Thompson (293), and  Keith “Mister” Jennings (334) of East Tennessee State. 

The only other Spartan player in double figures in the contest was point guard and reigning SoCon co-Freshman of the Year Keyshaun Langley going 4-of-11 from the field and went 1-of-4 from three-point range. 

Notes

--Furman improved to 71-12 at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 season...The Paladins also improved to 41-6 in SoCon games in the friendly confines over that same span

--The Paladins captured their second-straight win in the series over UNCG, as the Paladins were also 80-67 winners at the Greensboro Coliseum late last February

--The 49 points scored by UNCG was the second-lowest output of the season, with only Wofford, which held the Spartans to 45 points in a 48-45 win earlier this season being lower

--Senior point guard Alex Hunter registered his third-straight game in double figures, posting 16 points in a win at Western Carolina, 15 points in a loss to Wofford and 19 points vs. UNCG

--The win marked Furman's first of the season when being held under 70 pts. 

--Furman held UNCG to its lowest field goal percentage (29.0%) of the season

--Over the past three games, Alex Hunter is shooting 51.4% (18-of-35) from the field, and is shooting 50% (12-of-24) from three-point range. He also has 16 assists/five turnovers in the last three games

--Jalen Slawson has posted eight of his 25 blocked shots this season in the past three outings. 

--Noah Gurley has put together back-to-back double-figure rebounding games this season, posting 11 boards in each of the past two games

Storm Murphy’s 24 points helps Wofford snap Furman’s 19-game winning streak at Timmons Arena

Storm Murphy posted a game-high 24 points, as Wofford came to Timmons Arena and snapped a 19-game home court,  as he helped the Terriers down the Paladins, 75-67, Saturday night at Timmons Arena. 

Things came full circle for the Terriers, who were the last team to defeat Furman inside its home court facility, as the Terriers captured what was a 72-64 win over the Paladins back on Feb. 23, 2019. 

Murphy finished the night leading Wofford by scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, and 4-for-7 from three-point range. He also dished out a team-high six assists, had four rebounds and recorded a pair of steals.

With the win, Wofford improves to 12-6 overall and 9-3 in Southern Conference play, while Furman fell to 11-6 and 5-3 in SoCon play.  The Terriers have now claimed four of the last five meetings against the Paladins, including winning two out of three last season.

Furman will be back on its home floor Monday evening when it faces UNC Greensboro in a 5 p.m. contest Monday night. The Paladins will turn around on Wednesday night and make the trip to Greensboro to face UNCG in a key league road contest. Monday night’s contest will be before a national television audience on ESPNU. 

Furman would build as much as a nine-point lead in the second half when a Clay Mounce three-pointer gave the Paladins a 49-40 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Mounce’s fourth three of the night gave the Paladins a 54-47 lead, however, Murphy answered with five-straight on a three off a screen from the left elbow, and then followed that with a steal and a layup to make it a 54-52 game with just under seven minutes left. 

Another three off a Safford steal gave the Terriers a 55-54 lead. After Mounce made it 56-55 with a jumper in the lane, Murphy made it 10-straight for the Terriers, giving Wofford a 58-56 lead following another trey.  A Larson layup and a Godwin slam off an alley-oop gave the Terriers a 62-56 lead with 3:24 remaining. 

It would be a lead the Terriers wouldn’t relinquish, extending their lead to nine, at 67-58, with 1:39 remaining following a triple by Hollowell. Hunter cut the Furman deficit to six following a triple by Hunter, however, another dunk from Godwin off a pass from Murphy increased that lead back to eight, at 69-61. The Terriers would hit their free throws down the stretch, despite a pair of threes from Noah Gurley and Alex Hunter, as Wofford would go on to the eight-point, 75-67, win. 

Wofford sliced the Furman lead to four, at 44-40, with a Morgan Safford floating one-hander in the lane, however, the Paladins would respond with five-straight points on a three-pointer by Colin Kenney and a layup by Clay Mounce to take the Paladins to their largest lead to that point of the night, at 49-40, with 10:42 left. Following the Wofford timeout, however, the Terriers would score five-straight on a layup by BJ Mack and a three-from the corner by Tray Hollowell, cutting the Paladin lead to 49-45 with 9:24 remaining.

With just under 16 minutes remaining in the contest, a three-pointer from the left elbow by Hunter increased Furman’s lead to 38-32, prompting a Jay McAuley timeout. 

In the opening half of play, Furman forced an early Wofford timeout by running out to a 15-7 lead following a layup by Mounce with 15:51 remaining in the half to force an early Wofford timeout. However, the Terriers would storm back to take their first lead, 23-22, on a three-pointer by Austin Pattterson with 7:03 remaining in the opening frame. That completed a 16-7 run by the Terriers. 

From that point, however, in what turned into a defensive slugfest to close out the opening half of play, the Paladins were able to take a 32-27 lead into the half, with a 10-4 run over the final seven minutes of the frame.

The Paladins finished the contest shooting 40.6% (26-of-64) from the field, while Wofford finished the contest connecting on 49.1% (28-of-57) from the field, which included shooting 54.8% (17-of-31) in the second half. Wofford held advantages in points in the paint (32-26), second-chance points (14-0), bench scoring (20-13) and fast-break points (4-2), while both teams were tied with 16 points off turnovers. The Paladins held a narrow 36-35 advantage on the boards, but Wofford had a 13-9 edge on the offensive glass. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times, while Wofford held a 19-15 advantage in total assists. 

In addition to Murphy’s stellar night for the Terriers, he was joined in double figures by senior guard Tray Hollowell and Sam Godwin, as both scored 11 points for the Terriers. It was Godwin’s seventh game in double figures for the Terriers during his freshman campaign.  For Murphy, it was the 15th double-figure scoring effort of the season, and it was his eighth game of 20 or more points this season. 

Mounce ended up leading three Paladins in double figures, posting 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, which included going 4-of-15 from three-point range. The senior from Elkin, N.C., also added 10 rebounds, three steals and an assist in the losing cause. With his 20 points and 10 boards, Mounce was able to notch his third double-double of the season, including his second in league play. 

He was joined in double figures by Hunter (15 pts, 6 asts) and Gurley (12 pts, 11 rebs). Furman’s leading scorer Mike Bothwell, who came into the contest averaging 18.0 PPG, was held to just two points. Gurley’s 12 points and 11 boards marked his first double-double of the season.