Furman displays calloused grit in road win
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| Furman senior guard Marcus Foster notches fourth double-double in his fifth game back from injury to lead four in double figures for Furman in its win at The Citadel. |
Furman has only been with its full roster of players over the past five games, and has used 14 different starting configurations in games this season, yet have found a way to win more than they have lost, despite an embarrassing loss to Division II Anderson.
Every time Furman has been knocked to the mat this season, it has found a way to respond with resolve and resilience. The latest knockout came from Wofford, which handed a 77-67 setback in Spartanburg last Saturday night in a game, which saw the Paladins connect on just seven two-point field goals and shot its second-lowest percentage (31.8%) from the field.
The latest challenge came from The Citadel, which last time out on its home floor faced its own set of issues when it trailed by as many as 18 in the first half and 11 with under five minutes left, however, battled back late to get a game-winning triple from Elijah Morgan to overcome Mercer, 68-66, to snap a six-game losing streak to open league play.
This time, it was Furman that had to fight the entire way to get back into the game, and it had an odd similarity to the way the Tulane game unfolded, as the Paladins fought back from as much as a 16-point deficit on that occasion
The Paladins were able to pick up what was their first win in overtime game since an 83-80 overtime win over Western Carolina at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament.
One of those three losses accounted for one of Furman’s eight losses a year ago in what was a record-setting 28-win season, as The Citadel claimed what was a 69-65 win last season. In what was the lone loss for the Paladins in a streak that saw the ‘Dins end the season by winning 15 of its final 16 games to close the regular-season and tournament.
While Furman has battled its share of injuries this season, it was head coach Bob Richey that wasn’t 100% in Wednesday night’s contest, battling a bad cold/flu the past couple of days, however, he found a way to be there and engaged with his team throughout the game.
It’s continues to be a season in which Furman has learned to adapt to different adversities and hardships along the way, and without having learned how to push through the adversity many of the same players had to fight through a year ago, much like down the stretch against Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, the Paladins continue to show the wears of their callouses gained along the way.
No win is easy, but in the heat of the moment and when the game is on the line down the stretch in the SoCon’s most-played hoops rivalry, it was apparent that one team was ready for the hard, while the other found itself fearful of it.
A couple of late misses at the line by the Bulldogs on the front end of two different 1-and-1s allowed Furman, which trailed by as many as 18 points late in the opening half, one too many opportunities.
Pegues missed the better of the two looks, but the second one, which his coach Richey admitted that he was surprised when The Citadel opted not to foul to send Pegues to the charity stripe instead of letting him get off that second triple, which swished through with .8 left to help the Paladin.
"I thought they [The Citadel] were going to foul there to be honest with you and when he missed the foul shot there was about six seconds left and I thought they were going to foul him when he crossed half court and then when they didn't and I said well I guess he's [JP Pegues] is going to get one off and he kinda just did what he did...he loves those moments" head coach Bob Richey said after Furman's overtime win.
Wednesday night's game felt really important for both teams. For The Citadel, a second-straight win in front of one of its best home crowds of the year in a loud environment might have been the turn-key win for the Bulldogs program heading into the second half of league play.
For the Paladins, the game felt like on the Paladins had to have to not only stay in contention in the regular-season title race, but especially coming off what was a debacle of an outing last time out at Wofford, which put an end to a five-game winning streak.
Now exactly halfway through Furman's 18-game league slate, the Paladins continue to win games in different ways, and Wednesday night's overtime true road win came in a true hostile, boisterous environment of a listed crowd of 4,111 of mostly cadets and they helped ignite The Citadel for much of the night, especially in the opening 20 minutes. It was Furman's third true road win of the season, including its second in SoCon play, as well as its sixth triumph in its last six outings.
Giving that crowd even more energy was the fact that a win would allow for some forgiveness for demerits for some, while for all, a win by the Bulldogs guaranteed a day off from physical training (PT) tomorrow, which despite the overtime loss, it was announced the corps would get anyway.
The Paladins were paced again by senior guard Marcus Foster, who posted 17 points, posted a career-standard 15 rebounds and dished out a career-best seven assists, which accounted for his fourth double-double in his fifth game back since returning from a lower body injury, which kept the Atlanta, GA, native out a total of nine games.
Foster would complete the contest by connecting on 6-of-15 shots from the field, including going 2-for-8 from long range, and finished a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. On the defensive end of the floor, Foster added a steal and blocked a shot.
In addition to yet another big occasion for Foster, he was joined by his usual partners in crime, in JP Pegues and Alex Williams, who added 16 and 12 points, respectively, while PJay Smith Jr.'s 15 points off the bench helped Furman's bench boast a 33-2 scoring edge over its opposition in bench scoring. It would be the largest disparity of any of the statistical categories at the end of the night.
Like Foster, it wasn't a shooting night to remember for Pegues, however, the one that everyone will remember is the one that sent the game into an extra five minutes. Pegues went just 2-for-10 from three-point range for the night, while matching Foster's shooting performance of 6-for-15 from the field. Additionally, Pegues added four assists, four rebounds and had a pair of steals, while also finishing the night a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
While Pegues and Foster struggled to find their range from long range, Smith was on one for most of the night. His 15 points came on a 5-for-9 shooting performance for the game, including a 4-for-8 effort from long-range. Williams finished the night by scoring 10 of his 12 points in the game in the first half, keeping the Paladins in the game, while Pegues and Foster struggled to find much scoring success in the opening 20 minutes. Williams also added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Also of note was the performance of freshman Cooper Bowser off the bench for the Paladins, as he posted five points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks in 15 minutes of action off the bench for the Paladins.
For The Citadel, its backcourt was strong all night, with Elijah Morgan posting 22 of his game-high tying 24 points in the opening half of play. However, Furman would put a healthy effort in against him in the second half, and Morgan would score in the second half, and his only points in the final 25 minutes of basketball came on a pair of free throws in overtime.
Morgan finished by connecting on 7-of-17 shots from the field, including a 5-for-11 effort from long range and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
AJ Smith, who has worked his way back from a shoulder injury earlier this month also posted 24 points, which included 14 of those in the second half. He also added team highs in both rebounds (8) and assists (5).
Rounding out the Bulldogs in double figures in the contest were Kenyan Davis and Quentin Millora-Brown, who added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
For the game, Furman knocked down 47% (31-of-66) of its shots from the field, while knocking down 33.3% (11-of-33) from three-point land and finished 81.8% (9-for-11) from the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs finished the night connecting on 47.6% (30-of-63) from the field and were 36.8% (7-of-19) from long range. The Bulldogs also connected at a 75.0% (12-of-16) from the foul line.
Furman finished the night holding advantages in total assists (19-14), points in the paint (38-36), points from turnovers (17-7), fast break scoring (20-13), and bench scoring (33-2).
The Bulldogs finished the night holding advantages in second-chance points (11-6) and total rebounds (38-32).
How It Happened:
The Citadel came out to a rowdy atmosphere of cadets on “Pac the Mac” night and took the game to Furman, feeding off the atmosphere inside the friendly confines of McAlister Field House, connecting on 59.3% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, which included blistering the nets at a 62.5% (5-for-8) from three-point land to take a 42-30 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Bulldogs held as much as an 18-point opening half advantage after Elijah Morgan connected on his fifth three of the opening frame with 1:42 left to give the Bulldogs a 42-24 lead. It was all part of a 22-point first half for the the Notre Dame transfer, which saw him connect on 7-of-11 shots from the field, including a 5-of-7 from long range.
However, despite that hot shooting in the opening half, threes by Alex Williams and JP Pegues helped Furman take a morsel of momentum into the halftime, cutting The Citadel lead to 42-30.
In the second half, the Paladins upped the tempo and began to chip away at the Bulldogs’ double-digit lead, pressing out of the locker room in order to try and speed up the tempo of the basketball game.
The Paladins would open the second half with a dedicated intensity on the defensive end of the floor and used a 13-8 run in the opening culminated with a PJay Smith Jr. layup, making it a 50-43 game off a feed from Marcus Foster, as the two teams headed for the first media timeout of the second half.
A little less than five minutes later, the Paladins ended up whittling the Bulldogs' halftime lead to a single possession, as Smith found his shooting range from the left elbow to make it a 54-51 game with 11:10 remaining, as Furman had increased its run to 24-9 out of the locker room.
Quentin Millora-Brown answered with a jumper for the Bulldogs on the other to push the lead by five, however, the Paladins wouldn't be deterred and continued to have an answer, and this time, Garrett Hien came up with a loose ball underneath on a good hustle play by JP Pegues and PJay Smith Jr to keep the ball alive and his two-handed flush got the Paladins back to within three, at 56-53, with 8:49 remaining.
When Madison Durr missed a three on the other end for the Bulldogs, Furman would draw even with a triple of its own, as PJay Smith Jr. sized up a three in transition and splashed it home, tying the game, 56-56, with 8:25 remaining.
Following a couple of missed shots from close range in the paint for Millora-Brown, Foster would finally coral the rebound and he would find a cutting Carter Whitt in transition and his layup off the glass would see Furman take its first lead of the game, at 58-56, with 7:44 remaining, which was much to the delight of Furman's healthy crowd on-hand in Charleston to see the Paladins play, bringing a roar out of the purple-clad section.
From there, it was game-on, as neither team lead by more than three points for the remainder or regulation. Five-straight points from Kenyan Davis allowed the Bulldogs to retake a three-point lead, using a layup and a three-pointer with 6:39 left to play to help give the Bulldogs a 61-58 lead.
Ben VanderWal's one-handed dunk on the other end in transition got the Paladins back to within a point 11 seconds later, however, as neither team was backing down and with each basket, the electricity of the boisterous rivalry crowd became more palpable.
Millora-Brown would answer with a dunk on the other end in the paint, giving the Bulldogs a three-point lead, at 63-60 lead with 6:15 left before Furman's true freshman talent Cooper Bowser out-fought Millora-Brown for a loose ball on Furman's offensive end and finished with a layup to bright the Paladins within 63-62 with just under six minutes left to play.
After a good defensive effort by Bowser forced Millora-Brown to miss from close range, the true freshman center from Woodbridge, VA, rebounded the loose ball and Carter Whitt converted a layup on a goaltending violation by the Bulldogs, helping the Paladins regain the one-point, 64-63, lead with 5:22 left.
Whitt was whistled for a quick foul against AJ Smith, and it would send Smith to the line for a two-shot foul, as it was determined Smith was shooting.
The Bulldogs had been a perfect 6-for-6 from the line and 11-for-11 for the game, however, Smith's first offering would be the first of three crucial misses by the Bulldogs from the foul line in crunch time, leaving the deficit at one. His second free throw evened the contest, 64-64, with 4:59 left.
A Foster miss for Furman and a Marcus Pigram turnover for The Citadel saw the two teams exchange empty possessions, however, Foster would come up big on Furman's next possession, as his three-pointer from the left elbow, giving the Paladins a it's largest lead of the night to that point at three (67-64) with 4:09 left.
That wouldn't last too long, however, as the Bulldogs scored six-straight to go ahead by three. First, Kenyan Davis was fouled by Garrett Hien in the act of finishing off a layup to have the opportunity to complete a three-point play the old-fashioned way, which he would convert from the line, tying the score, 67-67, with just under four minutes left to play.
Following a floater that fell well short by Whitt in the lane on Furman's offensive end, the ball found its way to AJ Smith, who was wide open from the left corner for a three-pointer, which he drained with the composure of a veteran, giving the Bulldogs the 70-67 lead with 2:58 left.
Furman got the ball quickly to the other end, and JP Pegues drove hard to the basket before getting fouled by Davis going to the basket, creating a two-shot foul opportunity. Pegues easily drained both foul shots, despite the best efforts of the corps of cadets behind Furman's second half basket at McAlister Field House, bringing the Paladins to within a point with 2:38 remaining.
The Citadel's final bucket of regulation came on Millora-Brown converted the easy layup to give the Bulldogs a three-point, 72-69, lead with 1:32 remaining. Foster missed a three for the Paladins 10 seconds later and Kenyan Davis grabbed the rebound before Ed Conroy called timeout with 59 seconds remaining.
On the other end, Davis found himself with an open look for three, which would have rendered the game academic, however, the Bulldogs' possession only consumed 10 seconds and Davis' shot was well short, leaving the door open for the Paladins.
After Furman's Bob Richey called timeout to draw up a look for PJay Smith Jr., his open look from the corner missed its mark with 28 seconds remaining was corralled by AJ Smith and he passed to teammate Madison Durr, who was immediately fouled by Pegues with 24 seconds remaining. Pegues' foul was Furman's eighth foul of the half to send Durr to the line for a 1-and-1. Smith missed the Bulldogs' second foul shot of the game, however, on his front end offering and Foster rebounded for Furman and head coach Bob Richey quickly called timeout with 15 seconds remaining.
A well-devised scheme on a sidelines out-of-bounds play got a good look at a three-pointer for JP Pegues off a pass from PJay Smith Jr. on what looked liked an option pitch/handoff play at the top of the key created enough separation for Furman's clutch shooter, however, his shot was on-line but just short and the rebound came off the front of the rim to Bulldogs center Millora-Brown, who was fouled by Foster with just 8.5 seconds left.
Brown went to the line for a 1-and-1 on Furman's ninth foul of the half, however, his front end shot was long and the ball caromed off the back iron to Alex Williams, who quickly passed to Pegues, who raced across the timeline to the right corner and was able to get off an off-balance shot from long range that unsurprisingly found the bottom of the net with 0.1 remaining on the clock to tie the contest, 72-72. The muted reaction by Furman's bench was one more of relieved expectation than of jubilation.
"Actually on the draw play from the left wing on a wide open look and it looked good but it was a little short and like you could see we had a little time left on the clock so I knew the game wasn't over and you know that's a credit to my teammates because at the end of the day they didn't have to give that second opportunity to take that shot again and...coach he drew it up for me and my teammates believed in me so I believed that second shot....I believe all my shots are going in...but I felt like I was going to make that second one count," junior guard JP Pegues said after the game.
The body language on The Citadel's sideline was almost that as if the Bulldogs had lost the game all together, yet after .7 was put back on the clock, the game was still tied. The Citadel's long inbounds pass was intercepted by Foster, who did his best Travis Blackshear (Furman Senior All-American CB) impersonation to send the game into overtime.
While The Citadel's countenance continued to be of a team that had already been defeated, Furman displayed the polar opposite non-verbal in their collective team non-verbal disposition as overtime began. Both teams were sluggish in the opening minute-and-a-half of overtime, however, Garrett Hien fouled was whistled for his fourth foul as Millora-Brown drove to the hoop. Millora-Brown missed the shot, but made up for his late 1-and-1 miss late in regulation by connecting on both free throws to give the Bulldogs a 74-72 lead with 3:33 left.
Furman's Alex Williams, who posted 10 of his points in the opening half, posted his only two of the second half or overtime when he knocked down a pair of crucial charity shots following a Madison Durr foul with 3:18 left to tie the game, 74-74.
Durr then missed a jumper for the Bulldogs on the other end, and that would lead to Furman's first overtime lead, as PJay Smith's three in transition hit nothing but net to give the Paladins a 77-74 lead with 2:48 remaining and the positive vibes and energy continued to show from Furman's overall team collective attitude. The Paladins finally smelled the blood in the water, and for the first time all night, looked like a team ready to close out a big Southern Conference road win.
The Bulldogs continued the fight, and after Davis went 1-of-2 from the line after Hien committed his fifth foul to bring his evening to an end, and then the Paladins took over the game.
Following Smith missed a three on the offensive end for Furman, it was Foster, grabbed his only offensive rebound of the 15 total caroms he finished the evening with, and then proceeded to draw a foul as he put the ball off the opposite side of the glass on a beautiful reverse lay-in.
The ball rolled in the hoop as if it was almost willed by Furman's positivity and hasty excitement to taste the thrill of a conference road victory...Those haven't been with regular frequency this season as in the recent past for Furman, as every win has come with a fierce fight this season. Foster knocked down the free throw, as the ball never touched iron, giving the Paladins a 80-75 lead with 1:57 remaining. '
The Bulldogs' only field goal of the overtime came on the ensuing possession, as AJ Smith converted an easy layup in the paint to get The Citadel back within three, at 80-77, with 95 seconds remaining.
Furman's offense was operating without hesitation for the first time all evening, and the Paladins exhibited a precision that was confident of the ultimate outcome, as JP Pegues drove in for a layup to restore Furman's five-point edge, which would also be its final points of the evening with 1:11 remaining.
PJay Smith Jr. then fouled a lunging Elijah Morgan, who did the old Reggie Miller jump into the defender jumper, which was rewarded with a two-shot opportunity. The only thing Morgan didn't get was the three shots he had hoped for with his diving attempt to draw a foul. He easily knocked down both foul shots to get the Bulldogs to within one possession with 57 seconds left. After Morgan torched Furman for 22 in the first half, Paladin guard PJay Smith Jr., who guarded Morgan a vast majority of the second half, had held him scoreless for 24 of the latter 25 minutes of the game.
Then on Furman's ensuing possession, the Bulldogs desperately looked for the trap of Pegues in the corner, however, it appeared Pegues had executed the perfect long pass to Foster, who likely would have had a wide open dunk to provide an exclamation point, however, just before firing off the pinpoint missile to Foster, Pegues had inadvertently grazed the back line and his foot out-of-bounds, giving the Bulldogs a last chance...Actually three last chances with 55 seconds left.
Elijah Morgan missed a three, and the Foster appeared to have gotten the rebound, but the Paladins turned it over out of bounds and following a timeout, the Bulldogs missed three excellent looks at potential game-tying threes before Furman could finally celebrate maybe its hardest fought win of the 2023-24 season.
The Paladins will return to action Sunday for a nationally-televised battle against UNC Greensboro (16-6, 7-2 SoCon) with tip-off set for 2 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU. The Bulldogs return to action Saturday with a 4 p.m. test vs. East Tennessee State at Freedom Hall in Johnson City.
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