Furman handles Wofford to gain a season series split

Furman junior guard JP Pegues

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Marcus Foster (20 pts) and JP Pegues (20 pts) combined to score 40 points, and Furman held Wofford to just 35.7% shooting in the second half, as the Paladins were able to pull away for an 82-67 win over the Terriers in Southern Conference action before a sellout crowd of 2,547 fans Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

The win marked Furman's fourth in its past five games, and saw the Paladins improve to 16-13 overall and 10-6 in Southern Conference play. For Wofford, the loss marked the Terriers' third in a row and Wofford dropped to 15-14 overall and 8-8 in league action. 

The first half of the game saw both teams come out and try and enforce their identity on the offensive end of the floor, and the teams were particularly trying to make a statement from three-point range with the two teams combining to connect on 13-of-30 shots from long range (43.3%), and the Paladins would end up stepping up the defensive end of the floor everywhere in the second half, particularly from three-point range, as the Paladins held the Terriers to just 28.6% (4-for-14) from three-point range. 

The Paladins claimed their fifth win in the last six meetings with Wofford and improved to 92-63 all-time against Wofford in the college basketball hardwood. The Paladins and Terriers have met 58 times as league rivals, with Wofford holding the 33-25 series advantage, which dates back to the start of the 1996-97 campaign.

The win saw Furman 109-18 at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 season, while improving to 63-9 against Southern Conference competition in the friendly confines over that same span. The Paladins will play their final game in the current version of Timmons Arena on March 2, 2024, when they host Mercer in a 2 p.m. EST. 

All told, the Paladins claimed their 197th win since the start of the 2015-16 season, which is tied for tops overall in the league in total victories with UNC Greensboro. The Paladins also notched their 113th Southern Conference win, which is second to only UNCG, which has 114. 

Pegues notched his 12th game of the season with 20 or more points, following up his 33-point effort at Samford with 21-point effort, and probably has a strong case for SoCon Player of the Week honors for his performances in games against the Bulldogs and the Wofford Terriers this week.

In Saturday's win over the Terriers, Pegues connected on 8-of-17 shots from the field and was 1-for-6 from three-point range, while also going 4-of-5 from the free throw line to equal his 21 points. The junior from Nashville ended the night by dishing out four of the team's 14 assists. 

Foster got back on track scoring the basketball, and after finishing with just five points, matched Pegues for game-high scoring honors with 20 points on 6-of-14 points, which included a 5-for-11 effort from three-point land and finished a perfect of 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. 

Rounding out the Paladins in double figures in the contest were both PJay Smith Jr. and Ben VanderWal, who finished the night with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Smith shot the ball especially well from beyond the three-point arc, finishing the afternoon with a 4-for-6 from three-point range. Smith was once again active on the defensive end of the floor for the Paladin, registering four of the team's nine steals in the game. 

VanderWal added a pair of blocks and two steals to his overall strong performance in the contest. He also finished with a couple rebounds.

Tyrese Hughey and Garrett Hien, who finished with four and six points, respectively, finished the game also adding six and four points, respectively, and were key on the defensive end, especially in the second half. Hien's stepped up his physical play in recent games, which is an absolutely paramount if Furman is going to make a run in Asheville. 

Hughey's dunk put-back in the second half, though it wasn't clean, was an energy play for the team that kept the sellout crowd on its feet at critical juncture early in the half, which saw Furman begin to make its move. 

In the first half, it was Hien providing one of those energy plays for the Paladins, receiving a beautiful feed from Alex Williams off a Wofford turnover, as the senior from Charlotte, N.C., went for the one-handed dunk in emphatic fashion, bringing the crowd of 2,547 fans to its collective feet. 

Williams returned to the lineup after a three-game suspension, and Furman's third-leading scorer ended the night with five points on 2-for-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 from long range, as he saw 11:31 of game action in his first game back in the lineup for the Paladins. 

Wofford had three players finish the game in double figures, with Jackson Sivills, Dillon Bailey and Chase Cormier all adding 11 points to the Terrier cause. Corey Tripp, who entered the game as Wofford's leading scorer with 16.0 PPG, was limited to just seven points over the course of the evening. In Wofford's win last month in Spartanburg, Tripp scored 20 points. 

For the game, the Paladins connected from the field at a 46.7% (28-of-60) clip, while finishing the night connecting on 36.4% (12-of-33) from three-point range. Furman also shot 70% (14-of-20) from the charity stripe.

Wofford connected on 43.9% (25-of-57) from the field, which included a 42.9% (12-of-28) from three-point land in the game.

Furman finished with advantages in points from turnovers (11-5) and fast-break points (9-6). Wofford finished holding statistical advantages in points in the paint (26-24), total assists (16-14), total rebounds (39-33), second chance points (18-8) and bench points (27-13).

How It Happened:

In the opening half, both teams played especially connected on the offensive end of the floor, with Wofford connecting on eight of their 12 long-distance efforts in the opening half alone, as the long ball accounted for 24 of the team's 39 first-half points, as Wofford trailed by just five (44-39) to the Paladins at the half. 

Wofford used a 9-2 spurt late in the half to take a 37-36 lead when Chase Cormier knocked down a long three from the top of the key with 2:24 remaining in the half.

However, Furman responded by ending the half on an 8-2 run of its own to take the lead into the locker room, which began with a three-pointer made by Foster with 1:46 remaining in the opening half, while the run would also end with Foster points, as his three foul shots after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 28 seconds remaining provided the Paladins final points of the opening 20 minutes, and gave the 'Dins a five-point, 44-39, lead at the half.

Furman would start the second half strong, using a 13-5 run to take a 57-44 lead following threes by Foster on consecutive possessions heading into the first media timeout of the second half. 

The Paladins would see its lead grow to as much as 16 points when a pair of Tyrese Hughey foul shots made it a 71-55 game with 5:36 left, however, the Terriers wouldn't go quietly. A 7-0 spurt, which was capped by a Dillion Bailey triple, as he shushed the Paladin student section brought Wofford to within nine, at 71-62, with 4:08 left. 

Furman, however, would close the door shut shortly after, as the Paladins connected on threes on successive possessions, as PJay Smith Jr. and Foster helped end any hopes of a Terrier comeback, restoring a 15-point, 77-62, lead for Furman with 3:10 left. The Paladins held Wofford without a field goal for the final 3:42 of the game to close out a solid 15-point win. 

The Paladins will begin their final week of Southern Conference action on the road at Western Carolina (20-9, 9-7 SoCon) Wednesday night at the Liston B. Ramsey Center, with tip-off for that contest set for 7 p.m. EST. Wofford  returns home to take on 2023-24 SoCon regular-season champion Samford (25-4, 14-2 SoCon) in a 7 p.m. EST contest at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

Post-game press conference: 

Head Coach Bob Richey--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxbaIqqwT6U

Players JP Pegues and PJay Smith Jr.--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qlsTw7pLzw