Furman Avenges Last Season's Heartbreaker Against Tulane

Furman senior point guard PJay Smith Jr.

GREENVILLE, S.C.--While last year’s loss at Tulane wasn’t the worst loss in Bob Richey era, it was as he called it in the postgame press conference only to the championship loss to Chattanooga back in 2022, so Friday night’s win, which improved the Paladins to 4-0 for the first time since the 2020-21 season, offered a bit of sweet revenge, as the Paladins big nights from PJay Smith Jr and Nick Anderson en route to a big 75-67 win over Tulane in front of 2,867 fans on hand on Friday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.  

The loss was the first for the Green Wave this season, who fell to 3-1. The win helped the Paladins avenge what was a heartbreaking, 117-110, double-overtime defeat last season at Devlin Fieldhouse in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. In Friday night’s win, the Paladins never trailed.

The Paladins got another outstanding performance from reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week PJ Smith Jr., who paced all scorers with a game-high 29 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, which included 6-for-11 from three-point range, with his six triples in the contest representing a career-high. In scoring 29 points on the night for the Paladins, Smith surpassed 1,000 points for his career.

Smith was one of two Paladins in double figures in the win, with Nick Anderson joining his backcourt teammate in double figures, as he finished the night with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 shooting from three-point land. Anderson also finished the night with a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Smith and Anderson combined for 48 points and 11 of the team’s 13 three-pointers in the game.

Tulane finished the night with three in double figures, led by former VMI guard Asher Woods, who came off the bench to lead the Green Wave with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including shooting 2-of-4 from three-point range and like Anderson, was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Wood was joined in double figures by freshman guard Mari Jordan, who added 14 points and three rebounds, while former five-star recruit and Michigan transfer Gregg Glenn III, added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Paladins were again outstanding defensively for most of the night, holding the Green Wave to a season-low 67 points, while holding the Green Wave to just 42.9% (23-of-54) shooting for the game, which included a 33.3% (6-for-18) mark from three-point range. The Green Wave were strong from the charity stripe, connecting on 78.9% (15-of-19) from the charity stripe.

By contrast, the Paladins connected on a season-low 37.9% (22-of-58) from the field, but off-set that overall shooting mark by connecting on 36.3% (13-of-36) from three-point land. The Paladins also finished the shooting 81.8% (18-of-22) from the free throw line.

Furman has now hit 13 or more three-pointers in three of its four games to open the 2024-25 season. The Paladins have connected at a 43.2% (51-of-118) from three-point land through the first four games of the season. By contrast, Furman connected on just 30% (33-of-110) from three-point range through four games last season.

In 2021-22, which saw the Paladins set school and SoCon records with 401 three-pointers in a single-season, the Paladins connected on 45.1% (55-of-122) from three-point range through the first four games of the season.

Furman ended the night holding advantages in points off turnovers (13-10), total assists (19-13) and fast break scoring (16-10). Tulane finished the contest holding advantages in second-chance points (13-6), points in the paint (32-18), total rebounds (36-33) and bench scoring (22-17).

How it Happened:

For the third time in four games, the Paladins came out and enforced their will on the defensive end of the floor, and in true complimentary fashion, that led to positives on the offensive end, with the Paladins getting three three-pointers, and a Garrett Hien bucket underneath, as well as a pair of free throws from Cooper Bowser following a foul after an offensive rebound.

Furman was able to maintain its offensive flow for much of the opening half of play, however, later in the opening half a long three-point field goal by Kam Williams would cut the Paladin lead to six, at 21-15.

However, and offensive rebound and putback by Davis Molnar, and threes by Tom House and PJay Smith Jr. from opposing elbows staked the Paladins to their largest lead of the night, at 27-15, with 7:01 left in the opening half.

The Green Wave would eventually end the half on a 15-5 run over the final seven minutes, as the Paladins held a narrow 32-28 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Green Wave would trim the Paladin lead to just two points on a pair of foul shots from Tyler Ringgold free throws at the 19:06 mark of the second half. However, eight-straight points by Smith, which was part of a 17-7 run to start the second half, proved to be significant, as the Paladins assumed what was a 49-37 lead on a pair of made free throws by Cooper Bowser at the 12:29 mark of the second half.

Tulane would get as close as five on five occasions in the game, but could not get the score any closer, as the Paladins seemingly responded each time with a run of their own.

Furman will conclude its homestand on Wednesday night, as it heads to old West Greenville and Legacy Early College to take on Oglethorpe, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST. The Tulane Green Wave will return to NOLA to face Bethune-Cookman next Tuesday night, with tip-off for that contest slated for 7:30 p.m. EST at Devlin Fieldhouse.