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| Alex Williams was one of two Paladins to finish with 20 points in Furman's win over ETSU Saturday |
In the game of basketball, games are often determined by how you stack positives and build off the negatives. It's a microcosm of life in many respects. Furman captured its second-straight win for just the second time this season, knocking off East Tennessee State, 82-73, in a Southern Conference battle Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Life is at least right now, a lot better than it was a week ago for the reigning Southern Conference champions after putting together a second-straight win. Just a week ago, Furman was coming off its worst shooting performance of the season in a string of struggling shooting performances, as the Paladins connected on just 27.5% of its shots from the field in falling to 0-2 in SoCon play in a 73-58 loss at Chattanooga.
A week later, the Paladins now have consecutive wins under their belts in a pair of 82-point scoring outings against both The Citadel and East Tennessee, as the Paladins continue to try and get back to full health as a basketball team.
The mood around Timmons Arena should be a lot different this week as opposed to last, and there is a crucial stretch of games ahead, beginning with one the Paladins' longest road trips of the conference season, as the Paladins will head for Cameron Hall to face off against the VMI Keydets (3-14, 0-4 SoCon) before hosting Western Carolina (15-2, 4-0 SoCon) next Saturday and Samford (15-2, 4-0) a week from Wednesday, with both of those teams set to come to Timmons Arena.
With the win, the Paladins improve to 8-9 overall and even up their SoCon ledger at 2-2. The Bucs dropped their third-straight for the first time this season, falling to 9-8 overall and 1-3 in league action.
The win marked Furman's third-straight over ETSU, allowing the Paladins to knot the all-time series, 34-34. The Paladins have their longest winning streak against the Bucs on the hardwood since winning five-straight over ETSU from 1995-2000. The win was also Furman's sixth-straight over the Bucs at Timmons Arena, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
On Saturday afternoon, as Furman celebrated the 1974 team as a part of "Legends Day", and for 35 minutes against ETSU, played some of the best basketball it has played all season.
Much has been made this season about the two "legends" Furman had last season (I am guilty of this too) and rightfully so, but in no disrespect to either Mike Bothwell or Jalen Slawson, this Paladin team looked like a team with winning DNA and intent on carving out its own legacy, without comparisons to last season or how this team has "missed those two legends" this season.
The only player Furman missed Saturday was Marcus Foster, and though he probably could have been out there, the Paladins didn't even need him, much less the two former legends mentioned above that will forever be remembered and soon to return to Timmons Arena to be recognized for the indelible mark each left on a Legends Day in the future. Foster, who is Furman's leading scorer, could be set to return this week after suffering a lower body injury in early December.
Saturday marked Furman's ninth game without its leading scorer, having posted a 4-5 record in games where he was not in the lineup. The expectation is that Foster will likely make his return Wednesday night at VMI, which would be just in time for the most crucial part of Furman's early league schedule.
It is important to note that ETSU was missing its defensive stalwart and leader on the glass, Karon Boyd, and that has had at least some effect on the Bucs in two losses to Western Carolina and Furman, however, it was next man up again for the Bucs...The way it has been for over a month for Furman.
The Paladins didn't shoot the ball out of the world, but rather played like a team full of good players, operating within their roles, which makes them an even more dangerous basketball team moving forward.
Furman has started 13 different lineups in 17 games. The Paladins liked the 13th as it was the same one that started out against ETSU as the one that won against The Citadel, and you know what, the same lineup scored 82 points--again--and allowed five more points en route to a nearly identical performance on the scoreboard. It marked the first time this season Furman has won with the same starting configuration of players.
It was again a night where the Paladins got what they needed from both JP Pegues and Alex Williams, who delivered a couple more solid scoring performances, while the other parts of the Paladin offensive engine were operating with good offensive efficiency, as the Paladins placed four in double figures in the win. Williams and Pegues posted 20 points apiece, leading the Paladin attack.
Carter Whitt, who at one time played for ETSU head coach Brooks Savage when Savage was an assistant on Steve Forbes at Wake Forest, had another strong effort for the Paladins, posting his seventh double-figure scoring performance this season, as he finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals, a block and five turnovers.
All in all, it was another positive performance for the sophomore guard from Raleigh. Whitt was also charted with nine ball deflections, which is a testament to his improvement on that end of the floor, and he played maybe his best defensive game in a Paladin uniform in Saturday's win.
Williams, who had 26 points in the 82-68 win over The Citadel last week, posted his 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, which included a 3-for-4 effort from long-range. He was also 3-for-5 from the charity stripe in the win.
JP Pegues finished the contest by 13th double-figure scoring performance in his 14 appearances for the Paladins this season, including his seventh 20 or more point effort of the season. He finished the night by connecting on 5-of-15 shots from the field, which included a 2-for-7 performance from long range and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
Rounding out the Paladins in double figures in the contest was Garrett Hien, who scored his 10 points off the bench in succession in the opening half, and also added three assists and two rebounds.
ETSU also had four players in double figures, which was led by Jaden Seymour's 23 points and four rebounds, while Quimari Peterson added 16 points, with 14 of those coming in the opening nine minutes of the game. Peterson also added seven rebounds and three assists, but also turned it over six times.
Seymour scored his game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 effort from three-point range. He also finished with four rebounds.
Ebby Asamoah and Jadyn Parker rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Parker narrowly missed a double-double, ripping down nine boards.
The Paladins finished the night connecting on 44.1% (26-of-59) for the game, while finishing the contest by connecting on 35.0% (7-of-20). The Paladins also had one of their best efforts from the charity stripe this season, knocking down 23-of-26 shots from the charity stripe.
ETSU completed the contest connecting on 43.9% (29-of-66), while finishing the contest by connecting on 32.0% (8-of-25) from beyond the arc. It marked only the second time this season that the Paladins have won a game in which the opposition has connected on more threes, with the other being the season-opening win over North Greenville.
Furman finished the night owning advantages in points from turnovers (16-12), fast-break points (6-5), bench scoring (14-6), total rebounds (40-36), while the Bucs posted a 38-36 advantage in points from turnovers. The Paladins and Bucs tied, 16-16, in second-chance points.
With statistics almost identical in every other area, the one major advantage for Furman came at the charity stripe, as the Paladins attempted 15 more free throws (26-11) and outscored the Bucs by 16 (23-7) at the charity stripe.
How It Happened:
The early portions of Saturday's game were high-octane, with both teams trading buckets early in the game, and Carter Whitt set the tone early with a pair of beautiful assists to Alex Williams and Ben VanderWal to give the Paladins an early 4-0 lead. A third Whitt assist, on a no-look feed to Tyrese Hughey gave the Paladins a quick 6-2 lead out of the gates.
The Bucs got a quick start from Quimari Peterson scored 12 of ETSU's first 13 points, and his layup with 14:26 remaining in the opening half would trim Furman's lead to 14-13 after the Paladins had held a 14-8 lead following three JP Pegues free throws heading into the first media timeout.
Following a missed three-pointer by Pegues on the other end, the Bucs made it an 8-0 spurt when Ebby Asamoah came down and connected on his lone three-pointer of the day, giving the Bucs their only lead of the game, at 16-14.
Off the bench, Garrett Hien scored 10-straight points, beginning with a three-pointer from the corner, which helped restore Furman's lead for good, at 17-16, with 13:28 remaining in the opening half.
Following two more missed shots by the Bucs, Hien added a jump hook in the paint, and then with 11:19 remaining in the half and with the shot clock winding down, gave the Paladins a 22-16 lead on a right elbow three. The Bucs would only interrupt Hien's personal affect on the game briefly when another Peterson layup made it a 22-18 contest with just over 11 minutes left, however, Hien finished his scoring flurry with a short jumper in the paint to restore Furman's lead at six, making it a 24-18 contest with 10:47 remaining in the opening frame.
The Bucs would manage to trim the Furman lead to three (30-27) when Jaden Seymour knocked down a three-pointer with 6:17 remaining in the half, however, a 6-0 spurt by the Paladins on a free throw and three by Alex Williams and a Carter Whitt driving layup pushed the lead back to nine, at 36-27, prompting a Brooks Savage timeout.
Late in the half and trailing 40-35, the Bucs had a chance to make it a one-possession game after Whitt's pass was stolen by Seymour, however, Whitt raced back to cause a bit of hesitation on Seymour's initial shot attempt, and after the nice shot-fake and thinking the coast was clear, the talented junior wing from Charlotte, N.C., went up for the strong dunk attempt finish only to find that Whitt's hustle had given Tyrese Hughey enough time to sprint back and chase him down and glass his dunk attempt, bringing a roar from the 2,279 fans on-hand at Timmons Arena.
Seizing upon the momentum gleaned from Hughey's big block, the Paladins would get a pair of free throws from Ben VanderWal with under a minute left to put the Paladin lead back to seven, at 42-35, however, on the next trip down the floor for the Bucs, the aerial acrobatics would continue as Allen Strothers missed floater was snagged in mid-air by 6-11 Jadyn Parker who dunked it home in beautiful fashion to make it a 42-37 game with just 23 seconds remaining.
Furman would look to its main man with time running down on the clock, however, as JP Pegues found enough freedom to drive to the hole and lay it off the glass to give the Paladins a 44-37 lead with half-a-second left in the half, and that would remain the margin as the two teams went to the break.
The Paladins would end up breaking open the game in the second half. With the Paladins leading 53-45 with 15:10 remaining, Pegues, like Hien in the opening half, would go on his own personal scoring journey to give Furman the cushion it needed to close out its second Southern Conference win.
Furman's 16-3 run would start with a pair of Tyrese Hughey free throws, increasing the Furman lead to double digits for the first time all afternoon. Then Pegues scored 11-straight using a three-pointer, a second-chance layup, three foul shots after being fouled on a three for the second time in the game, and capped his personal scoring flurry with a triple from the left elbow to make it 66-48.
After Peterson turned it over following an offensive rebound, Alex Williams would essentially put the game away with 11:40 remaining, as he was fouled on a made layup and converted a free throw to push Furman's lead to 21, at 69-48, which concluded the 16-3 run.
The Bucs didn't quit, however, and took advantage of some bad shot selection by Furman to make things at least a little interesting down the stretch, as ETSU would get within seven, at 73-66, following a pair of Tyler Rice free throws with 4:48 remaining, however, the Bucs could get no closer than that the rest of the way, as the Paladins closed out their second league by a nine-point margin.
ETSU and Furman will both be in action next week, with the Bucs traveling to Spartanburg to take on Wofford (10-7, 3-1 SoCon) at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST. Furman will be on the road at VMI (3-14, 0-4 SoCon), with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at Cameron Hall.
Postgame Press Conference:
Head Coach Bob Richey--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pushg0WZ1nY
Players Carter Whitt and Tyrese Hughey--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4PBEFPNZx0
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