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| Matt Rafferty vs. WCU in 2018 SoCon Tournament |
Furman (16-15, 10-8 SoCon) has had all kinds of hardships to deal with in the 2023-24 season, as the defending Southern Conference champion and the consensus preseason favorite to claim back-to-back league crowns has had injuries and the embarrassment of a home loss to a non-Division I program among among other things to navigate in 2023-24, however, there is still very much the feel that the Paladins will have a say so in what goes down in Asheville this weekend.
Marcus Foster (17.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG), JP Pegues (18.0 PPG, 4.9 APG) and Alex Williams (13.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG) are all healthy now, but the Paladins have been mostly inconsistent this season, with their normally efficient offense having been prone to scoring droughts at times this season.
The Paladins found themselves without the services of Foster, who is Furman’s second-leading scorer coming into the tournament, as he was sidelined for nine games with a lower body injury, and without him, the Paladins went 4-5, which included a loss to Division II Anderson University.
Injuries aside, there's been something notably missing for Furman's men's basketball team throughout the 2023-24 season. Outside the obvious of having graduated two of the best players in school history--Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell--the Paladins have just haven't been able to find sustained success other than one five-game winning streak in the middle of the season.
The reality is, Furman is one of the most talented teams in the Southern Conference from 1-10, and may actually may even be a tad deeper than the team that won it a year ago. While talent isn't the issue, it is true that it takes much more than talented players to turn the SoCon Tournament trick.
However, the failures on the defensive end of the floor at times this season have led to offensive inconsistencies, and those were the two primary ingredients teams like Mercer, Western Carolina and Samford used to to exploit the Paladins in recent games. There is also a lack of mature leadership on the floor at times this season, despite all the experience that returned to the fold off last season's title-winning team. Leadership is a developed trait even if one is born as a natural leader.
Pegues and Foster have both had to learn how to be floor leaders, which is always a process. Like Bothwell and Slawson before them, leadership wasn't a natural inclination for either, but rather a learned one through calloused hardships. For coach Richey and staff, those leadership growing pains can be both the most difficult traits to develop, nurture, harness in positivity and bring forth when needed as anything they do collectively as a staff. While it can be frustrating, the pay-off is well worth those headaches, as Furman was able to pull off last March.
On the court, Furman's lack of defense without a true rim protector has made foes less tentative when challenging the Paladins at the rim.
The Paladins, who head to Asheville as the defending champion and the No. 5 overall seed, have managed to regain their health.
The Paladins have missed all three of their top players at one point or another this season, and when head coach Bob Richey’s team took the floor for its first SoCon game of the 2023-24 season, it played without all three of its top scorers. It played a combined 14 different starting lineups throughout the non-conference and the early portions of league play.
Despite all of that, the Paladins head into the tournament losers of two straight and struggling in a major way on the defensive end of the floor. Furman represents a bit of a trend in the Southern Conference Tournament of late for defending champions, which is following up a championship won with mediocrity the ensuing season.
Since 2019, no defending champion has arrived in Asheville to defend their crown with more than 17 wins in the regular-season, however, two of those reached the championship game, and four of the five won at least one game in the tournament the following season, with only UNCG in 2022 being the one that failed to follow up a championship run with an opening game win the next season. The two defending champions that reached the championship game were both No. 7 seeds, with Wofford doing so in 2020 and Chattanooga doing so last season.
Richey’s Paladins haven’t had to defend a Southern Conference title in 43 years, and when Furman broke through and won the 103rd edition of the tournament, it was an ode to the overall offensive trend prevalent throughout college basketball over the past few years, with the Paladins becoming the first team scoring champion (80.9 PPG) to win the Southern Conference Tournament since Davidson claimed the crown back in 2013.
The Paladins will face No. 4 Western Carolina (22-9, 11-7 SoCon) in the last quarterfinal matchup of the opening round of the tournament, with tip-off slated for approximately 8:30 p.m. EST.
Though the Paladins are six games below .500 all-time in the SoCon Tournament (57-63), they have never lost to the Catamounts in the tournament (5-0), which includes an overtime, 83-80, win over the Catamounts in the SoCon semifinals last March.
It’s the first time the Paladins will head to the SoCon Tournament in Asheville lower than a No. 3 seed since 2015, which saw the Paladins reach the championship game for as a No. 10 seed, as they became the lowest seed to ever reach the title game.
In case you were wondering, the last true No. 5 seed to win the SoCon Tournament was Chattanooga, who defeated seventh-seeded VMI, 75-61, in the championship game in Asheville back in 1988. That’s a magical year for Paladin fans all over, with Furman claiming its greatest athletic achievement in that calendar year, winning the school’s only national title, with a 17-12 gridiron win over Georgia Southern in the Division I-AA national title game in Pocatello, Idaho.
If you’re looking for even more purple magic, here’s a nugget to file for the memory bank. The Paladins haven’t been a true No. 5 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament since 1971, which also just happened to be a lucky No. 5, as the Paladins went on to defeat No. 4 The Citadel (W, 95-82), No. 1 Davidson (W, 83-79) and No. 6 Richmond (W, 68-61) to claim the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.
All told, the SoCon charter member Furman has traditionally struggled in its first game in the conference tournament, sporting just a 38-41 record in either the first round or quarterfinals.
If Furman is going to re-create the magic of last March, it has to find some sort defensive presence, as it has been inconsistent in that area all season. It's a must.
In the final two regular-season games of the 2023-24 season against Western Carolina and Mercer, the Paladins gave up a total of 103 points (Western Carolina 55 pts and Mercer 48 pts) and saw those two teams teams combine to connect on 61.6% (37-of-60) from the field and 50% (13-of-26) from three-point range in a pair of second halves.
Another concerning trend is Furman’s struggles shooting the three-pointer. Just two years ago, the Paladins with a team connecting on 39% from long range for the season knocking down a single-season league record 402 triples, however, just two years later, the Paladins bring their worst shooting team from long range (32.4%) since 2001, when the Paladins were connecting on just 32.4% from long range and have totaled 298 threes coming to Asheville.
The 298 threes made through 31 games heading tp Asheville is two less than the 300 the Paladins had heading to Asheville last season, and the Paladins were shooting 35.1% (300-of-854) from long range going into the 2023 tournament.
Over the course of three games in Asheville in the 2023 SoCon Tournament, the Paladins didn't excel shooting the ball from long range, finishing by connecting on just 30% (24-of-80) from downtown, however, its execution from two-point range was elite, connecting at nearly 60% (50-of-84/59.5%) from two-point range over the course of three games in Asheville.
On the defensive end, the Paladins held foes to just 23.9% (17-of-71) from three-point range and a total combined 42.3% (78-of-184) from the field, and that was more than enough to ensure the Paladins got the job done for the first time in 43 years.
Depending on what Furman team shows up in Asheville, the Paladins have more than enough to win the tournament for a second-straight season, and much of that has to do with a team that, while wildly inconsistent, still has a player, in JP Pegues who has in recent games shown the ability to absolutely take over a basketball game.
In the stretch run in losses at both Samford and Western Carolina, Pegues scored 33 and 35 points, respectively, and scored 20 or more points in 14 games this past season, including five of the last six. Furman has lost three of four coming to Asheville, which is not a favorable trend this time of year.
We also of course know just how good of a player that Pegues can be in the clutch, connecting on three shots with less than a second remaining in a game to either give the Paladins a lead or tie the game late in regulation this season.
Pegues’ story really began down the stretch last season, as he was a big reason the Paladins won a school record 28 games, returned to the Big Dance for the first time in 43 years, and he was the primary reason the Paladins won their first NCAA Tournament game in 49 years, as his iconic three-point shot with 2.4 seconds remaining against Virginia helped the Paladins produce the first magic moment of the 2023 edition of March Madness.
If you’ll also remember, Pegues was named Southern Conference Tournament MVP after not having made any of the three SoCon all-league teams.
While Richey will put his eggs in the basket of having two of the league’s top players and scorers in general, the Paladins have missed the defensive presence of Sacramento Kings draft pick Jalen Slawson, and that has shown when teams are much more willing to attack the rim against the ‘Dins this season. When 6-11 freshman Cooper Bowser (3.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 73% FG) is in the game, however, that desire to attack the Paladins at the basket goes way down.
Furman’s struggles this season can be summed up in this little factoid, as the 2023-24 season marks the first time Furman has finished lower than third in the league standings since finishing 10th in the 2014-15 season, which is also the same season the Paladins got it all started with a run to the championship game before losing to top-seeded Wofford. That’s what allowed Furman to capture lightning in a bottle and never looked back.
A Look at the Catamounts:
The fourth-seeded Catamounts will likely come to Asheville with the Southern Conference Player of the Year, in Vonterius Woolbright (21.4 PPG, 5.4 APG, 12.1 RPG). That should serve as a great omen for Catamount fans, as the past three league champions have had the league's player of the Year. His nine Player of the Week citations are a league record, as his ninth award of the season helped him surpass SoCon legend and future NBA Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry, who won eight at Davidson during the 2008-09 campaign.
He has simply been sensational this season, posting one of the greatest individual seasons in league history and has a nation-leading five triple-doubles this season, while leading the league in scoring (21.4 PPG) and nation in rebounding (12.1 RPG).
Another good omen for the Catamounts and seemingly one of the recent harbingers of success when it comes to winning the tournament in Asheville is the ability to be consistent on the defensive end of the floor.
The Catamounts will enter the tournament with the league's top scoring defense (68.4 PPG), which has also been the case for five out of the past 10 teams that ended up cutting down the nets at the end of the tournament in Asheville. The last team to lead the conference in scoring defense and go on to win the title was East Tennessee State in 2020.
Western Carolina also enters the tournament leading the league in field goal percentage defense (40.6%), while ranking third in the SoCon in three-point field goal percentage defense (36.5%)
The Catamounts' 22 wins match a school record and are a regular-season record in Western Carolina's Division I hoops era. The last time the Catamounts finished a season with 22 victories was the 2008-09 campaign, which saw the Catamounts finish the campaign with 22 wins, losing in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament to former SoCon member Marshall.
The 2023-24 season marks just the second 20-win season in school history for the Catamounts, while the only NCAA Tournament appearance for the Catamounts came some 28 years ago, when the Catamounts defeated Davidson, 69-60, in Asheville to claim the school's first and only ticket to March Madness.
What Woolbright has done this season is nothing short of remarkable, and he continues to be the one player in the SoCon that has seemingly been unstoppable this season.
Just last week, Woolbright and Pegues treated us to performances on the court that none of us will soon forget, with Woolbright notching his fourth of five total triple-doubles this season, as he finished the contest against Furman with 15 points, 11 assists and pulled down 10 rebounds, as he helped the Catamounts post an 85-77 win over the Paladins on Senior Night at the Ramsey Center.
In the losing effort for Furman, Pegues was sensational for the Paladins, scoring a career-high 35 points, which included a 6-for-13 performance from three-point range, as well as going a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.
While Woolbright is no doubt one of the best players we've seen come through the league in recent memory, he follows in a long line of elite guards that have been a part of the Western Carolina hoops tradition, which includes the late Henry Logan, 14-year NBA veteran Kevin Martin, Ronnie Carr (made first three-point shot in college hoops history), Frankie King, Trey Sumler, Jarvis Hayes and Anquell McCollum. All scored the ball well, but perhaps no guard in Catamount hoops history has been as versatile as Woolbright.
The good news for WCU fans is that he has help, as the Catamounts have arguably the most elite backcourt in the Southern Conference, with Russell Jones Jr. (12.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG), Tre Jackson (13.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG) and DJ Campbell (11.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG) all giving Woolbright the needed scoring support. Even Mercer transfer Kamar Robertson has elevated his overall production of late adding needed depth to the backcourt.
Offensively, the Catamounts rank sixth in the SoCon in team field goal percentage (45.8%), while ranking third overall in the league in three-point field goal percentage (36.5%). Russell Jones Jr. put together an especially strong performance by scoring 20 points against the Paladins in the recent meeting between the two. Jackson, Woolbright and Jones Jr. have all scored 1,000 points in their respective careers.
Jones Jr. is one of the reasons the Catamounts are such a proficient perimeter shooting team, as he ranks fourth overall in the SoCon, connecting on 41.8% from long range this season.
Jackson, meanwhile has knocked down 94 triples this season, which is second to only Chattanooga's Honor Huff, who has knocked down 104 trifectas.
The one real question mark for the Catamounts heading into the SoCon Tournament remains the frontcourt offensive production between Charles Lampten (1.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG,, 49 blks), Colin Grainger (2.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG), Corneilous Williams (3.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG) and Bernard Pelote (6.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG).
Furman and Western Carolina split the regular-season series for the second-straight season. Back on Jan. 20, JP Pegues hit a top of the key three with less than a second left to secure a 65-62 win in Greenville.
Other than the 2023 semifinal meeting in the tournament, the Paladins other four wins over the Catamounts in the SoCon postseason came in the 2018 quarterfinals (W, 97-73), 2004 first round (W, 73-68), 2002 first round (W, 65-61) and 1984 first round (W, 71-67).
The matchup between the Paladins and Catamounts figures to be one of the more enthralling battles of the opening two days of the men's tournament, with the only problem being that we have to wait for the very last quarterfinal game to tip-off at approximately 8:30 to witness it in front of what should be the best crowd of the opening two days of the tournament.
Below is a brief look back at the past tournament clashes between the Furman and Western Carolina
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| Furman guard Anthony Thomas in '02 |
--Furman finished with four in double figures, as George Singleton led the way with 19 points, while Noel Gilliard added a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Paladins power past the Catamounts in an opening round matchup in the Southern Conference Tournament. The win by the Paladins came despite a strong performance from Catamount guard Quinton Lytle, who played all 40 minutes and poured in a game-high 23 points and ripped down five boards in the losing effort. He was one of two WCU players in double figures in the contest, as Quentin Moore added 12 points in the losing effort for the Catamounts. Furman would go on to lose 70-57 to the Gerald Wilkins-led Chattanooga Mocs in the semifinals.
2002: Furman 65, Western Carolina 61 (Mar. 2, 2002/First Round/North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston S.C.)
--Veteran Furman guard Anthony Thomas helped power a key 7-0 second half run, which allowed the Paladins turn a one-point lead (51-50) into an eight-point cushion (58-50) at a key juncture of the second half, and it was the senior guard Thomas who scored five of those seven points to spark the run, finishing the contest with 16 points. The Paladin run sparked by Thomas came just after Catamount guard Colin Largent brought Western Carolina to within a point following a three-pointer with just 3:25 left in the game. Thomas was able to also connect on seven free throws inside the final 1:43 to help the Paladins close out a four-point, 65-61, win, which also ensured Furman first winning season since 1992-93. The win by the Paladins came despite the fact that WCU had one of the premier guards in all of college basketball, In Zanesville, OH., product and future NBA talent and Catamount Hall-of-Famer Kevin Martin, who came into the contest ranking 10th nationally in scoring, averaging 22.3 PPG. The Paladins were able to limit the sensational freshman performer to just 18, which also led the Catamounts. For Furman, it was led by Anthony Thomas' 16 points, while Guilherme Da Luz added 12 points and six boards, and Karim Souchu chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds, as the Paladins embarked on a run that would eventually end up in the championship game, as the Paladins finally ran out of gas with a 62-57 loss to Davidson.
2004: Furman 73, Western Carolina 68 (Mar 3, 2004/First Round/North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, S.C.)
--Furman forward and Dakar Senegal native Malaye Ndoye poured in a game-high 25 points, as Furman knocked off Western Carolina, 73-68, in the opening game of the 2004 Mountain Dew Southern Conference Tournament at the North Charleston Coliseum in the second meeting in the previous three tournaments between the two. Ndoye's strong afternoon, especially in the latter portions of the first half, which carried over to the second half, helped the Paladins build as much as an 18-point lead (60-42) with 9:16 left to play in the contest. The Catamounts proved to have nine lives, however, battling back into the game through Turkish-born and sharp-shooting guard Emre Atsur, along with junior guard Kevin Martin, and Canadian-born high-riser Corey Muirhead. Martin sparked a Catamount run by scoring five-straight points, while Muirhead scored nine of his 15 points down the stretch, and suddenly the Catamounts found themselves back in the game, and got the crowd involved in the contest with a pair a pair of alley-oop dunks in the process. A Muirhead jumper tied the score, 64-64, with 4:12 remaining, as the Catamounts completed a furious 22-4 run to tie the game inside the final five minutes. The score would remain that way for the next 3:26 before Robby Bostain gave the Paladins the lead for good with a jumper at the 1:38 mark to give the Paladins the 66-64 lead. Over the final four minutes and change, the Paladins finished the contest on a 9-4 run to close out the opening round win. Also in double figures for the Paladins were guard Eric Webb, who scored 13 points and dished out four helpers, while 2003-04 SoCon Freshman of the Year Quan Prowell added 10. Kevin Martin led four Catamounts in double figures with 18 points, while Muirhead and Atsur added 15 and 13 points, respectively. It would turn out to be Martin's final game in a Catamount uniform, declaring for the NBA Draft shortly after his junior season.
2018: Furman 97, Western Carolina 73 (Mar. 3, 2018/Quarterfinals/Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville, N.C.)
--The Catamounts would play well in the opening moments of the game, and even took their first lead of the season against the Paladins, 13-12, following a Devin Peterson jumper. However, that would be about the only drama that the Catamounts would provide for the rest of the night, as Furman went on to cruise to a 97-73 win. Furman used an early 14-0 run to take a commanding 26-13 lead, following a Clay Mounce follow-up dunk with 9:13 remaining in the first half. A Geoff Beans four-point play started the run with 13:18 remaining in the half. From that point, the Catamount deficit never got them inside double digits again, and the Paladins’ led by as many as 29 point. The Paladins had five players in double figures and shot 55.6 percent from the field for the game. Senior swingman Daniel Fowler led the way with 18 points, which included going 6-of-7 from the field. The Paladins connected on 64.3 percent of their shots in the opening half to take a 50-31 lead into the halftime locker room. Fowler was joined in double figures by Jordan Lyons (15 pts), Matt Rafferty (14 pts, 9 rebs, 5 stls, 5 asts), John Davis III (12 pts, 5 asts), and Alex Hunter (10 pts). The Catamounts were paced by Marcus Thomas, who came off the bench to score 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field.
2023: Furman 83, Western Carolina 80 (OT) (Mar. 5, 2023/Semfinals/Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville, N.C.)
2023 SoCon Semifinals: No. 1 Furman 83, No. 4 Western Carolina 80
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| Russell Jones Jr. is guarded by Furman’s JP Pegues in last year’s SoCon Tournament semifinal in Asheville |
Despite holding as much as a 20-point second half lead, Furman nearly squandered the opportunity to make it back to the championship game and subsequently forfeit a chance to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 43 years, as Western Carolina made the penultimate stage a difficult hurdle for the Paladins to traverse, however, Furman proved to be a team “calloused” for such moments, as it was able to hold off the feisty Catamounts, 83-80, in overtime to advance to the championship game of the Ingles Southern Conference Tournament for a second-straight season.
One of the interesting storylines coming into Sunday night’s classic semifinal clash at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center, which was played before a raucous crowd fit for a championship Monday was the fact that the two teams sported a combined 70 years of NCAA Tournament drought, with Furman having not qualified for the postseason since 1980 (43 years) and Western Carolina’s last appearance in the Big Dance coming in 1996 (27 years).
With the win, Furman won its school-record 26th game and improved to 26-7 overall, while Western Carolina concluded its season with an 18-15 record. The Paladins will face Chattanooga (18-16) in Monday night’s Southern Conference Tournament championship game. The 26th win by Furman eclipses the 25 wins achieved two other times in school history, which happened in consecutive seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20). Tip-off between the Paladins and Mocs for the Southern Conference title game is set for 7 p.m. EST and will be nationally televised on ESPN. It marks the first time the Paladins have advanced to consecutive championship games in back-to-back seasons since 1979 and ’80.
The Paladins were led in scoring in the contest by four players in double figures, with Mike Bothwell’s 26 points leading the charge, while point guard JP Pegues added 24. Jalen Slawson narrowly missed a double-double, with 15 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with two minutes left in regulation, and Garrett Hien finished with 12.
Bothwell’s stellar performance saw him connect on 7-of-15 shots from the field, including 2-for-7 from three-point range and he went 10-of-16 from the line. He also added three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Vonterius Woolbright’s 30 points led all scorers in the contest, while backcourt mate Tre Jackson added 22 points. Tyzhaun Claude closed out his night with 15 points and 11 boards, as he fouled out with 1:06 left in overtime.
Western Carolina finished the contest connecting on 44.1% (30-of-68) shots from the field, while shooting just 23.8% (5-of-21) from the three-point line. The Catamounts did make the most of their charity shots, connecting on 15-of-19 for the contest, which converts to a 78.9% clip. However, the Catamounts shot 27 less free throws than the Paladins in the contest.
The Paladins on the other hand, connected on just 39.0% (23-of-59) of their shots from the field, including just a 29.2% (7-of-24) clip in the second half. The Paladins did not make a three-pointer in the second half (0-for-11) and finished the game shooting just 22.6% (7-of-31) from long range. However, Furman got the line 46 times, making 30 and ended up with a 15-point advantage in foul shots made as a result. The 46 free throws shot and the 30 made were both season highs for the Paladins.
Western Carolina finished the night with advantages in total rebounds (46-36), points in the paint (46-30), second-chance points (18-12), fast-break points (7-5) and bench points (9-5). Furman owned a 12-6 edge in points from turnovers, and the two teams tied with 11 assists apiece.
Furman came out of the gates quickly, running to a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout, highlighted by a three by JP Pegues, as well as an acrobatic layup from Mike Bothwell and an alley-oop dunk to Jalen Slawson from Bothwell, bringing the Furman faithful to its collective feet. However, Western responded out of the first media timeout with a three-pointer from Russell Jones Jr. and layups by Vonterius Woolbright and Tre Jackson, allowing the Catamounts to assume their first lead of the night, at 13-12. That would remain the score as the two teams headed to the second media timeout of the opening half.
The two teams would battle back and forth over the next four minutes, but a three by Slawson and a layup by Hien as well as a jumper by Pegues gave the Paladins a 25-20 lead following a mini 13-7 spurt. The Paladins would see their lead grow to as many as 16 points in the opening half of play, as Bothwell scored on a second-chance opportunity in the paint, as his layup gave Furman a 42-26 lead with 2:39 left in the half. The Paladins would finish the half with 45, with a Ben VanderWal foul shot and a layup by JP Pegues helping the Paladins close out the half, taking a 15-point, 45-30 lead to the break.
Furman entered the night 23-2 when leading the game at the break, with one of those losses coming in Cullowhee to the Catamounts, and Western Carolina would very nearly turn the trick again, fighting their way back into the game. After falling behind by 20 following a pair of Bothwell free throws with 17:19 left gave the Paladins a 53-33 lead, the Catamounts would begin their slow but constant charge back into the game.
With just 38 seconds remaining, the Catamounts had surpassed the Paladins on the scoreboard, with Vonterius Woolbright’s layup off the right side, giving the Catamounts a 72-70 lead and sending the Catamount hue of Purple into delirium at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center. It was the first lead held by the Catamounts since they held a 15-14 advantage with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half following a Tyzhaun Claude jumper in the paint.
Furman would tie the game, 72-72, following a pair of foul shots from Mike Bothwell with 26 seconds remaining. Furman’s defense forced Russell Jones Jr.’s shot to be a fade-a-way from the corner as time expired, and the shot was no good and the two teams would play an extra five minutes of basketball.
When the two teams headed to the extra session, Furman would be without one of its leaders, as Jalen Slawson fouled out of the game with 2:02 remaining. It was not too much unlike the situation earlier this season at the Ramsey Center, when Slawson fouled out of the 12-point loss back on Dec. 31, 2022.
The Catamounts would lose Tyzhaun Claude, who played an outstanding game before fouling out in overtime with 1:30 remaining. Like the first matchup with the Paladins in on New Year’s Eve, Claude fouled out. He only had seven points in that game, while he didn’t even play in the clash between the two in Greenville, nursing a sprained ankle. In Sunday night’s classic, Claude finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Catamounts wasted little time in getting the extra five minutes off to a fast start. Western Carolina, which came into the matchup 3-0 in overtime games this season, got things off to a good start when Tre Jackson banged a three after the Catamounts corralled one of their 14 offensive rebounds to give the Catamounts a 75-72 lead with 4:22 remaining.
Furman wouldn’t score its first points of the extra session until the 2:29 mark, as Ben VanderWal knocked down a pair of foul shots to get the Paladins within one, however, Woolbright again got free in the paint and coasted in for a layup to give the Catamounts a three-point lead once again, at 77-74, with 2:07 left. On the next trip down the floor, the ball found its way to Bothwell at the left elbow and his three, which is arguably one of the biggest shots of his five years in a Paladin uniform, knotted the score, 77-77, with 1:06 remaining.
The Catamounts continued to play high-level basketball, utilizing excellent guard penetration, much like the Catamounts had done in their win in Cullowhee earlier this season.
To a certain extent, it was also something East Tennessee State was able to do well with DeAnthony Tipler and Jalen Haynes in the Bucs’ 83-79 loss in Greenville back on Feb. 19. Woolbright was versatile as a scorer and passer, and it’s something Furman had respect defensively, and it gave the Paladins problems for much of the second half and overtime and it’s how the Catamounts were able to get back into the contest, despite not shooting the ball well from deep. When Woolbright’s under-handed assist found its way to Claude with 1:30 remaining, he flushed it home with a monster dunk to give Western the lead once again, 79-77.
However, Mike Bothwell just wasn’t going to let the Paladins lose. It’s why he and Jalen Slawson came back, and with Slawson already gone, it was up to him to help the Paladins find a way after it had struggled to score points for much of the final 10 minutes and overtime to score points. Bothwell drove in for a layup and missed but drew Claude’s fifth foul with 1:06 to play. He would knock down a pair of free throws to tie the game.
Western Carolina’s Woolbright was fouled on the other end by Marcus Foster with 49 seconds left. He connected on 1-of-2 free throws to give the Catamounts the narrow 80-79 lead.
Furman’s player to be reckoned with for much of the first half and the tournament so far has been JP Pegues. Pegues was able to coax WCU’s Bernard Pelote off his feet and then proceeded to jump into him in the act of shooting a three-pointer to draw the foul and three-shot opportunity from the charity stripe. It was a tactic that former Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller used to utilize with plenty of success throughout his storied NBA career. Pegues made two of three free throws to put the Paladins back on top, 81-80, with 28 seconds to play.
Following a timeout by Western Carolina, the Paladins would force Jackson to take a contested jumper from just outside the paint, which was off the mark and rebounded by Marcus Foster and then quickly passed into the hands of Bothwell, who was immediately fouled with eight seconds to play. Bothwell made both foul shots to give Furman a three-point lead. Furman burned its final timeout and then survived Jackson’s three-point attempt at the buzzer to hold on for a heart-stopping 83-80 win.
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