Anderson Stuns Furman

Anderson Stuns Furman at Timmons Arena

For Furman's men's basketball program, it finished a triumphant year in a way it probably least expected--with a loss to a non-Division I foe. 

Former Bob Richey assistant Jimmie Williams' Anderson University Trojans handed the Paladins a 79-74 setback inside the friendly confines of Timmons Arena, which also accounted for Furman's first home loss of the 2023-24 season and a place the 'Dins very seldom lose basketball games. 

In fact, the Paladins had won 37 of their previous 39 home non-conference games coming into the contest, as well as having not lost to a non-Division I program in over a decade, since Dec. 10, 2013, when Mars Hill, who is a conference rival of the Trojans in the South Atlantic Conference, came into Timmons Arena and handed the Paladins a 97-93 setback during that particular campaign.

So, for a year that included a high point for the first time in 43 years--an 88-79 SoCon championship win over Chattanooga as its high point and a 68-67 win over Virginia in the NCAA Tournament as a bonus--the loss to Anderson must have seemed like easily the low point for Richey and his basketball team. 

The calendar year which included Furman's most wins in school history (28), first NCAA Tournament win in 49 years and first NCAA Tournament appearance and Southern Conference Tournament title in 43 years, will now also include a loss to Division II Anderson. 

To say the beginning to Furman's title defense in 2023-24 has been humbling would be the understatement of the year. The Paladins finished out the 2023 calendar year with a 23-10 record, and now they must figure things out and figure them out fast before the start of league play next week, which starts with tests vs. league title contenders UNC Greensboro (Jan. 3) and Chattanooga (Jan. 6) both on the road. 

Furman, which entered the season as the preseason favorite in the Southern Conference, now enters the conference portion of its slate with a losing record for the first time since the 2015-16 season, when the Paladins entered the league portion of the slate with a 6-7 mark. 

Furman was without the services of Marcus Foster (19.8 PPG) and JP Pegues (18.4 PPG), but even with that, Furman's team was superiorly talented to that of Anderson's collection of talent, which seemed better than the seventh place preseason poll position it was selected in the 13-team league by the league's head coaches. 

If I came down on Samford last season for losing to Tennessee Southern, as well as Mercer dropping the season opener to Clark Atlanta, then it is only right of me to do the same for the team I cover on a regular basis. Losses to Division II programs under any circumstance are inexcusable. Especially for a league like the Southern Conference looking to establish itself as an emerging mid-major and a loss like this no doubt is bad for metrics for this league just like Samford's loss last season and Mercer's season-opening loss to Clark Atlanta.

With all that being said, the team that deserved to win in Timmons Arena on Saturday afternoon deserved it. The Trojans out-played the Paladins from tip-to-buzzer, and Furman, without its two stars Pegues and Foster looked lost at times, even with veterans like Alex Williams, Garrett Hien and Tyrese Hughey on the floor, the Paladins played with a joyless countenance and looked like a team that expected a win because they had more talent. 

What was revealed is in fact that Furman isn't as deep, at least at the moment, as once thought, and that though talented, lacked the mental toughness to overcome in-game adversity, and that has been a recurring theme throughout the duration of the non-conference slate to this point in the season. With that said, the Paladins have had just about every situation you could imagine to deal with in the non-conference portion of the slate.

Leading the way for Anderson was second-team All-SAC performer Garrett Denbow, who finished the a game-high 27 points and was one of three Trojans players in double figures. Anderson's sharp-shooting senior guard connected on 10-of-19 shots from the field, and connected on five of the team's eight triples. He finished the game going 5-for-10 from long-range. 

Garrett Denbow was joined in double figures by his brother Luke Denbow, who contributed 12 points, while Andre Wright Jr. chipped in with 10. Cole Middleton led all players on the glass, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds, including snagging six on the offensive end. 

Furman was led in the game by Garrett Hien's 20 points, as he paced three Paladin players in double figures, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Hien, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., finished the game connecting on 7-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-12 from the charity stripe. Hien's 20 points matched a career-high, while Davis Molnar's 11 points established a new career high for the freshman for

Carter Whitt put together a strong performance, starting in place of JP Pegues, as he posted 10 points and dished out seven assists. 

Furman finished the contest connecting on 44.6% (25-of-56) from the field, while connecting on just 10.0% (2-for-20) from three-point range and a staggering 61.1% (22-of-36) from the free throw line.

The primary key to the win is the Anderson overcame its shooting deficiencies from long range, the field at large, and from the free throw stripe by grabbing 19 offensive rebounds, which led to a 17-13 advantage in second-chance scoring.

How It Happened:  

For much of the afternoon, Furman struggled to find its shooting touch, and the Trojans led most of the afternoon, and while Anderson didn't shoot the ball at an alarming level either for the entirety of the game, both timely shooting and 20 extra shot attempts, which were fueled by 19 offensive rebounds, were at the heart of why the Trojans were able to come in and hand Furman a 79-74 setback to close out 2023. 

Despite some early struggles, it looked as though Furman was going to be able to enforce its will and open up a potential double-digit lead towards the latter portions of the opening half of play, as the Paladins assumed a seven-point, 31-24, lead following a Cooper Bowser layup in the paint with 5:33 remaining in the opening half of play. 

However, following Bowser's basket, the Trojans went on a 15-3 run to end the half, which started with an AJ Wright layup and ended with a Wright layup on a fast-break with 1:29 remaining in the half, leading to a surprising halftime scoreline, as the Trojans went to the locker room with a 39-34 lead. 

Furman's lone points in the final five minutes of the opening half of play came on one of Furman's two three-point field goals in the contest, giving the Paladins a a brief 34-32 lead with 2:49 left in the half. It would turn out to be the Paladins' final lead of the game. 

In the second half, the Trojans would open up their largest lead in the opening two minutes of the second half, as a Garrett Denbow layup gave Anderson a 47-36 lead with 18:16 remaining in the contest. The Trojans would keep that margin at least five points over the next 13 minutes of game action before the Paladins would make things a bit interesting down the stretch.

Trailing 65-55 following a Garrett Denbow triple with 8:10 remaining, the Paladins would mount a 10-0 run to tie the game. The run would start with an Alex Williams layup and conclude with a Tyrese Hughey offensive rebound and put-back in the paint, making it a 65-65 contest with 4:24 remaining. 

However, Garrett Denbow responded with a well-defended fade-a-way shot over a pair of Paladin defenders in the lane from about eight feet from the basket, restoring the Trojans lead for good. Another Garrett Denbow jumper following a big block on the defensive end by Cole Middleton on a Ben VanderWal layup attempt helped put the Anderson lead back at two possessions,  at 69-65, with 3:32 left.

Following a Middleton 1-of-2 effort at the line, which extended the Trojans lead to five, the Paladins would make it a one possession contest once again with just under three minutes remaining, as Garrett Hien converted a layup in the paint to make it a 70-67 contest with 2:58 left to play. 

On Anderson's next possession, Hughey blocked a Middleton effort in the paint, however, Middleton came up with the loose ball and went immediately back up and was fouled by Hughey. Middleton converted both foul shot attempts this time to push the Trojans lead to five once again, at 72-67 with 2:35 left.

Furman continued to counter and try and battle back into the contest on the other end, however, as Hien came up with an offensive rebound off a PJay Smith Jr. missed three-pointer and converted a layup in the paint to cut the deficit to three once again, at 72-69, with 2:18 left. 

After the two teams exchanged missed scoring opportunities on each end, it would be Anderson's Garrett Denbow that would ultimately put the game away for the Trojans, posting another seemingly impossible fade-a-away in the paint, despite two Paladin defenders trying to block the shot, making it a 74-69 Anderson lead with 58 seconds remaining.

Bob Richey called timeout to set up a play on Furman's next trip down the floor. He said up a pick-and-roll play for Hien, executing to perfection by Carter Whitt, as the Paladins trimmed the Trojans lead back to three, at 74-71, with just 50 seconds remaining.

Garrett Denbow, who has posted 38 and 34 points in games against Flagler and Belmont Abbey, respectively, this season, and had connected on 33 of the team's 84 three-point field goals in the first 11 games of the season coming into the contest against the Paladins, provided the ultimate silencer with an NBA range triple from the left elbow with 31 seconds remaining to give Anderson the six-point, 77-71 lead.

The small contingent of Anderson fans that made the 35-mile trip to Greenville to witness the game were suddenly the loudest group of fans inside Timmons Arena, as Denbow's long-range rainbow sent Paladin fans heading for the exits knowing the feared outcome was now becoming a startling reality. 

On Furman's next trip down the floor, Carter Whitt was fouled hard going to the basket. He went to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws with 28 seconds remaining to cut Anderson's lead to four, at 77-73, however, the Paladins would be forced to foul, opting to foul Luke Denbow.  Denbow went to the charity stripe with 22 seconds left and knocked down 1-of-2 on the two-shot bonus, extending the Anderson lead back to five.

Furman's final flurry to get back into the game and prevent the unthinkable from happening ended with two more misfires from long range by Hien and Smith, and finally, Hien would be fouled on his offensive rebound with 3.8 seconds left. His miss on the first attempt the outcome academic. He made the second, making it a 78-74 game. 

Whitt then fouled Anderson's Luke Denbow with one second remaining, and he knocked down 1-of-2 shots from the stripe to provide the final winning margin for the South Atlantic Conference visitors. 

Other Non-Conference Notes:

--The Paladins hit 124 three-pointers during non-conference play, while making 122 triples last season through its first 13 games.

--The Paladins finish out the 2023 calendar year with a 23-10 record.

--Furman will commence Southern Conference play with a losing record for the first time since the 2015-16 season

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