Furman locks down Chattanooga

A Day fit for a 'King'

Jalen Slawson honored prior to Sunday's SoCon clash between Furman and Chattanooga (photo courtesy of Furman athletics/Jeremy Fleming)

Sacramento and Stockton Kings forward Jalen Slawson, who was the 54th pick of the NBA Draft last Summer, returned to Furman to be honored with his championship ring he helped the Paladins earn in Asheville last March. It was a ring that that was a small symbol of the culture he was a part of and also helped enhance during his five years of direct influence with the Furman men's basketball program from 2018-23. 

He was honored prior to tip-off for his efforts in helping Furman return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 43 years, scoring 20 points in the SoCon Tournament championship game in an 88-79 win over Chattanooga before dropping 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Paladins historic 68-67 first round win over Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. It was only the second NCAA Tournament win in school history and first in 49 years. 

While Slawson took in his first Furman game of the 2023-24 season, the fellowship of remaining Paladins went about trying to gather momentum to try and collectively defend the ring they helped Slawson earn last season.

It was a good start to final stretch run of the regular-season, as Furman's men's basketball team used a staunch defensive effort from the start to garner a season split with the Chattanooga, getting an 82-65 win over Mocs. 

Furman's win was its third in succession, improving to 15-12 overall and 9-5 in Southern Conference action, while the Mocs dip to 18-9 overall and 10-4 in league action. The loss snapped UTC's three-game winning streak and six-game road winning streak, which was its longest since the 1992-93 campaign.

The win also helped Furman cement itself in fourth place in the league standings with two weeks of basketball remaining before the 10 league members descend on Asheville for the 2024 Southern Conference Tournament. 

The win saw the Paladins notch their 196th victory overall since the start of the 2015-16 season, as well as their 112th Southern Conference win. Furman also improved to 108-18 at Timmons Arena since over that same span, as well as improving to 62-9 in Southern Conference games.

Additionally, Furman improved to 14-10 against Chattanooga in the series since the start of the 2013-14 season, including claiming what was its seventh win over that same span by double figures. It was Furman's seventh win in its last eight meetings between the two at Timmons Arena. 

The only blemish against the Mocs on for Furman over the last eight seasons came on Feb. 12, 2022, as Chattanooga would capture a 64-58 win at Timmons Arena. The Mocs went on to win the SoCon regular-season and tournament titles. Sunday's meeting marked the 99th clash of the two programs on the college basketball hardwood, with the Mocs now holding the 58-41 series edge. 

Needless to say, but the rivalry between the SoCon's most-decorated basketball tradition--Chattanooga (12 titles)--and a program that has become a regular league title contender over the past nine seasons--Furman--has become one of the more enthralling rivalries on the SoCon hardwood.

For the first 11 minutes of Sunday afternoon's Sunday matinee' Southern Conference basketball game on CBS Sports Network, Furman locked down Chattanooga's easy on the eyes offense and rendered one of the nation's most efficient offenses inept, holding the Mocs to just two field goals over the first 10:51 of the game to build a 19-10 lead. 

Chattanooga's first-half shooting struggles was reminiscent of those encountered by Furman to open the previous clash between the two last month in the Scenic City. In that contest, the Paladins missed 16-straight shots and went 13 minutes without scoring from the field, which allowed the Mocs to build a 23-point (43-20) halftime lead and all but decide the final outcome in the opening 20 minutes of basketball. 

Furman finished the opening half last month connecting on just 7-of-29 from the field (24.1%), which included a 1-for-14 (7.1%) effort from three-point range as the two teams entered the halftime locker room.

On Sunday, Chattanooga connected on just 6-of-29 (20.7%) from the field and were 4-for-16 (25.0%) from three-point range. It was almost an identical role reversal. 

Furman's 73-58 loss to the Mocs last month ended up being the Paladins' worst Southern Conference loss since December 29, 2019, as Furman dropped what was a 79-56 setback at East Tennessee State. 

Furman was once again without Alex Williams (15.1 PPG), who is the team's third-leading scorer, due to a suspension.  Williams posted 15 points in Furman's 15-point loss to Chattanooga back in January.

What was available Sunday were two of Furman's three-headed scoring monster that should find themselves in contention for all-league honors in the postseason. JP Pegues, who was the SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Performer last March en route to helping lead Furman to a SoCon title run over the course of three days in Asheville, led the way for the Paladins with 22 points.

The preseason All-SoCon selection and junior guard from Nashville, posted his 10th performance of 20 or more points this season by connecting on 7-of-17 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point land and the league's best free throw shooter was perfect from the line, finishing 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. 

In addition to his 22 points for the Paladins, Pegues also added three assists and five rebounds to his overall totals. 

Furman's other preseason All-SoCon performer--Marcus Foster--didn't play in the first meeting with the Mocs last month, but he had a substantial affect on Sunday's outcome before a national television audience. The redshirt senior from Atlanta finished as the Paladins' second-highest scorer, posting 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, which included a 3-of-6 shooting effort from three-point land. Foster was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added six rebounds, two assists and a block.

Rounding out the Paladins in double figures in the contest was Lee University transfer guard PJay Smith Jr. finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field for the game, which includes a 3-for-8 from three-point range and was 0-of-1 from the line. Smith also added three rebounds, three assists and blocked a shot.

Also of note was the performance of Ben VanderWal, who came into the contest off a career night against VMI last Wednesday by posting 15 points and 13 rebounds, followed that up against the Mocs with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block.

Freshman center Cooper Bowser added eight points and two rebounds off the bench, while Tyrese Hughey added seven points and Garrett Hien, who has been re-inserted into the starting five, finished with six points, seven rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.

Chattanooga has one of the most dynamic and diminutive backcourts in college basketball, in both Honor Huff and Trey Bonham, who had strung together a pair of 31-point performances in wins over East Tennessee State and UNC Greensboro coming into Sunday's showdown in Greenville. 

Unfortunately, the duo didn't finish the game together, as Bonham left early in the second half with an apparent ankle sprain and did not return. Bonham finished 0-of-6 from the field and had just two points.

Huff on the other hand, led all scorers with 26 points and was one of two Mocs in double figures, connecting on 6-of-14 shots from the field, which included a 3-for-8 effort from beyond the arc and went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. Huff also distributed three assists and registered three steals.

The only other Mocs player in double figures in the contest was freshman guard Noah Melson, who came off the bench to add 10 points and two boards in 19 minutes of court time. Melson finished the contest connecting on 3-of-4 shots from the field and was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. 

The Paladins finished the game shooting an impressive 48.3% (29-of-60) for the game, which included a 40.7% performance from three-point range (11-of-27), and connected at an 86.7% (13-of-15) clip from the foul line. 

Chattanooga finished the contest connecting on just 33.9% (19-of-56) from the field, which included a meager 28.9% (8-of-28) effort from three-point land. UTC's 33.9% effort from the field was its lowest since a 70-54 home loss to UNC Greensboro back on Jan. 13 at McKenzie Arena, which saw the Mocs convert at just a 30.9% (17-of-55) clip for the game. 

The Paladins finished the game holding advantages in points from turnovers (19-11), total rebounds (40-33), points in the paint (30-16), total assists (20-13) and fast-break points (13-11). The Mocs held the slight edge in bench scoring (20-19), while the two teams finished tied in second-chance points (12-12).

How It Happened:

Furman's tough defense in the early going was evident, and it was an 8-0 run, which was capped by a no-look feed from Carter Whitt-to-Ben VanderWal, who converted the reverse layup, giving the Paladins the 19-10 advantage with 9:16 remaining in the opening half.

Chattanooga started the contest by making only two field goals in the first 10:51 of game action, which came on a three-pointer from Myles Che and a short jumper  from Honor Huff, as the Mocs missed 17 out of their first 20 shots from the field. 

Following a triple from the left elbow from Tyler Millin that trimmed UTC's deficit to six, at 19-13, with a little over nine minutes left in the opening half, Furman put together a 15-0 run to take complete control of the game. 

The Paladins took a 21-point opening half lead, using back-to-back threes from JP Pegues and PJay Smith Jr., with 5:30 left in the frame to give Furman a 34-13 lead and bringing the sellout crowd of 2,377 fans to its collective feet. 

Furman's final points of the half, which came on a Garrett Hien layup in the paint following a Jan Zidek turnover, allowed Furman to take its largest lead of the afternoon, at 48-24, with 58 seconds left in the opening 20 minutes. The Paladins would settle for a 48-29 halftime lead. 

Furman would never really see the Mocs the margin inside double digits in the second half, getting as close as 11, at 59-48, when Honor Huff knocked down 2-of-3 free throws after having been fouled on a three-pointer with 11:06 left.

However, Furman's response would be a 14-3 run, highlighted by four three pointers from Pegues, Marcus Foster (2), and Tyrese Hughey, while another Pegues layup accounted for the totality of the 14 points during the run and Foster's two threes bookended the second half Paladin spurt to give Furman a 73-51 lead with 6:18 remaining. 

Both teams return to action Wednesday night, with Furman heading out on the SoCon road to league-leading Samford (23-4, 12-2 SoCon) for a 7:30 p.m. EST tip-off at the Pete Hanna Center, while Chattanooga will host Wofford (15-12, 8-6 SoCon)at McKenzie Arena with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. EST.

Post-game Press Conference

Head Coach Bob Richey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFqLb6_LUGc

Players Marcus Foster and Ben VanderWal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l564H1LCH18