Furman Needs Overtime Again in Charleston to Dispatch The Citadel

 

Furman win over the Bulldogs Wednesday night marked the Paladins' 12 in its last 13 meetings against the Bulldogs and Furman now holds a narrow 52-51 series edge in games played in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C.—It seems like Furman has played basketball away from wherever it has called home for the better part of the 2024-25 season, and it was only made tougher by the fact that the final game of a second four-game road trip to start the season just happened to come against an arch-rival The Citadel, which was still smarting from an overtime loss to the Paladins last season in a game that the Bulldogs outplayed Furman for nearly the entire night a year ago.

In similar fashion to last season's win, the Paladins once again found their magic mojo down the stretch in in one of the SoCon's most hostile road venues--McAlister Field House--which housed a rowdy crowd of 4,117 fans that was made up mostly by cadets dressed in military fatigues, but Furman's defense and rebounding traveled to the Low Country, and those two areas translated in a major way to help the Paladins pull out a tough 67-63 SoCon road win. 

As head coach Bob Richey noted postgame, the Paladins might be the only team in the country that had to play eight of their last 11 on the road. Furman is the only team in the Southern Conference to have had to go on the road for their first three league tilts.

With the win, the Paladins improved to 14-2 overall and 2-1 in SoCon play, while the Bulldogs fell to 5-9 overall and 0-3 Southern Conference play. The win was Furman’s 71st true road win since the start of the 2016-17 season, as well as being the sixth true road win of the 2024-25 campaign, including being the seventh away from Greenville. The Paladins have now won 20 of the past 24 meetings with the Bulldogs and ran their series tally lead to 134-88 following the 222nd meeting in the oldest and most-played Southern Conference Hoops rivalry.

In case you were wondering about the 2024 clash between the Paladins and Bulldogs at McAlister Field House, Furman had to overcome a big deficit in the opening half, and would eventually force overtime on a three-pointer by JP Pegues with eight-tenths of a second left to tie the game, 72-72, as Furman found its second wind and were able to close out the win, 82-79.

There were some similarities to last season’s win by the Paladins in the Port City and the game on Jan. 8, 2025, with the most obvious being both needed an extra five minutes of basketball to decide a victor. However, unlike last year’s clash in Charleston, this one was a struggle on both ends to consistently make shots for both teams. In the Jan. 31, 2024 meeting, Furman benefitted from a couple of late misses at the line in overtime 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. The past three meetings in Charleston have not been decided by more than four points.

The main difference this time around was Furman held a 30-19 lead at the break, holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 4:52 of the opening 20 minutes and were seemingly in complete control of the proceedings. However, the Bulldogs put together some of their best work on the offensive end of the floor over the first 11:44 of the second half, however, the remaining 8:16 saw the Paladins do some of their best work on the defensive end by limiting the Bulldogs to just seven points the remainder of the game and a drought of 6:40, as the Paladins went to a 1-3-1 zone and started to apply full-court pressure to force the tempo.

All seven points by the Bulldogs came on three-straight trips over the final 1:36, as he scored a tip-in, connected on a three-pointer and converted a layup to account for the final seven points of the game, and eventually, was enough to help the Bulldogs make it to overtime.

Furman wouldn’t issue the final verdict once again this season until the end of five minutes of extra basketball, and the game-winning shot wasn’t delivered by a JP Pegues or PJay Smith Jr. that delivered the most devastating blow of the night, but rather the red-headed Garrett Hien, who broke in a new haircut in an appropriate venue for short hair, as his left wing three-pointer gave with 1:10 remaining gave the Paladins a 65-60 lead and finally some breathing room on a night that had been tenuous throughout, especially in the second half.

Hien’s triple would be his lone points of the night, however, his shot was no doubt the most clutch one of the night with 1:10 left in OT, extending the Paladin lead to two possessions. The senior from Charlotte, N.C., connected on just 1-of-5 from the field for the game, including 1-for-3 from long range. Hien filled out a solid night of work on the final stats sheet, posting six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

“This year I’ve put so much more work into my three-pointer and with coach Khyle [Marshall] shooting and even when I have missed some shots this season my teammates just keep encouraging me by saying ‘keep shooting…keep shooting’ …and so it’s been different this season because I’ve worked on it constantly where as in past seasons I would be in the gym one day and not be in the gym one day and so I am in the gym every day and I know they are going to start falling eventually and they have confidence in me to take shots so it’s all thanks to them for believing in me to make that,” Garrett Hien said of his game-changing triple with just over a minute left.

Furman’s shots were falling with relative ease through the first 14 games of the season, however, over the final two games of this current road stretch, the Paladins have seen their share of missed open looks, empty possessions, and turnovers. Evidence of the Paladins’ offensive struggles on the road at The Citadel can be found in one stat, which was that Furman finished the night with more turnovers (13) than it had assists (12).

However, the Paladins once again seemingly lived up to their calling card this season, which is “Find-a-way-Furman.” The Paladins connected on just 36.7% (22-of-60) of their shots from the field, including just 27.6% (8-of-29) from three-point range en route to picking up a big Southern Conference road win. Furman did manage to limit the Bulldogs to just 39.6%(21-of-53) for the game, including only 31.6% (6-of-19) from three-point range.

There were so many storylines in Wednesday night’s clash between the Paladins and Bulldogs, and one those was that The Citadel came in as the worst foul shooting team in all of college basketball. The Bulldogs didn’t do anything to disparage that dubious distinction, as the Bulldogs finished the night going a collective 15-of-32 from the free throw line, which converts to 46.9% shooting from three throw line. That’s 11-percent lower than the 57% the Bulldogs came in shooting from the season from the line. Meanwhile, Ben VanderWal’s 6-for-6 effort at the line was paramount for his confidence, as well as the Paladins’ collective confidence at the stripe.

The junior and Furman’s “do-whatever-is-needed” forward came into the contest shooting 54.2% from the free throw line, however, the way his free throw and jump shot looked on Wednesday night inside McAlister Field House, it was evident just how much work that the Elmhurst, Ill., native has put in working on his free throw and shot overall. Even his jumper from about 15-feet out as time expired looked like it was going in before rolling around the rim and bouncing out to leave the game tied, 58-58, delivered a temporary cruel fate, as the Paladins would have delay winning celebrations for at least five more minutes. As a team, the Paladins came into the contest connecting on 68.0% (183-of-269) from the line and finished the win against the Bulldogs connecting 15-of-20 from the charity stripe, which computes to 75.0% as a team.

As important as VanderWal’s work was at the charity stripe, his work on the glass, and particularly the offensive glass (5 offensive rebounds) as well as his comprehensive work on the boards on both ends (9 total rebounds) were just as important, if not more important to Furman’s winning cause. Before fouling out in overtime, VanderWal posted eight points, with six points coming from the line and went 1-of-3 from the field. He ended the night a +11 in his impact when he was on the floor in the stat column, and he ended up being arguably The Citadel’s biggest problem for the entirety of the night, as his five offensive rebounds were absolutely vital to the Paladins picking up a monumental road league win.

“I’ve been working really hard on shooting free throws and just getting in the gym by myself and trying to create pressure situations and it was nice to kind of see that pay off,” VanderWal said of his foul shooting against the Bulldogs Wednesday evening.

“We knew this game was going to be an energy war  coming into it and we knew we had to play hard and we knew we had to get on the glass and I don’t know if we won the rebounds but we knew rebounds had to be a priority and we’ve played a lot of games on the road and we’ve now played I think eight of our last 11 games on the road and we’ve had some travel for Christmas and It’s just been a grind…And to add to that I am guarding a guy who is a great player like [Brody] Fox and so I tried to focus on those things right and just kind of focused on the things that I know I can do well,” VanderWal added.

Furman, which had only one player in double figures for the first time all season last time out in the 17-point, 84-67, loss to UNCG last time out, as PJay Smith Jr. was the lone Paladin to reach double figures in the loss. In Wednesday night’s road triumph, the Paladins were led in scoring by Nick Anderson, who scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field and was 3-fo-11 shooting from long-range. He connected on an important 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line. For Anderson, the performance was important, as he came in off a performance he’d most likely just as soon forget, as he went just 2-of-14 from the field and only 1-of-12 from three-point range in the loss to the Spartans. Anderson posted 15 of his 23 points in the opening half of play.

Also ending the night in double figures for the Paladins were both PJay Smith Jr. and Cooper Bowser, who posted 13 points apiece in the winning effort. Bowser posted his second double-double of the season, adding a career-standard of 14 rebounds to go along with those 13 points.  Bowser finished 6-of-9 from the field, but was just 1-for-4 from the free throw line. For Smith, it was his 11th double-figure scoring performance in 14 games for the Paladins this season. The LaVergne, TN., native also added three assists and recorded four steals.

The Citadel finished the contest with three players adding double-figure scoring performances, with Cam Glover’s 20-point night leading the way, while Sola Adebisi and Brody Fox added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Glover finished a strong scoring night by knocking down 6-of-14 shots from the field, which included going 3-of-6 from long-range and he finished 5-for-6 from the free throw line.

The Paladins ended up owning a huge advantage in the “points from turnovers” category, as the Paladins were a +12 (26-14) in that category. Furman also claimed advantages in the battle of the boards (45-38), total assists (13-10), and points in the paint (26-14). The Citadel claimed advantages in fast-break points (4-2), bench scoring (10-7) and second-chance points (14-11).

How It Happened:

The Paladins would break open what was a close game late in the opening half, as Sola Adebisi got the Bulldogs to within five, at 24-19, on a strong two-handed stuff off the baseline after receiving a pass from teammate Paxton Davidson, as The Citadel trimmed the Paladin lead to 24-19 with 4:52 remaining in the opening half.

Furman would end up putting the clamps down defensively from that point forward in the opening half of play, however, as Furman forced five straight empty possessions and came up with three of their to steals in the contest to close the final five minutes of the opening frame. Consecutive threes by PJay Smith Jr. and Nick Anderson would give the Paladins a 11-point, 30-19, halftime cushion.

The tables would turn fairly early in the second half, however, as the Bulldogs started to find some of their most consistent offensive success of the evening, using a 31-13 out of in the opening 11:44 of the second half to turn an 11-point halftime deficit (30-19) into an eight-point advantage (51-43) following a pair of Christian Moore free throws for the Bulld One of the notable things about Furman’s wins this season is that though Furman has gotten off to one of the best starts in the history of the program, it’s been notable that the way the Paladins have found themselves victorious in many of those games is that it has needed a spark, and at times it has been one guy, while at others, it has been a combination of players.

The Bulldogs came out and posted a 23-5 run in the opening eight minutes of the half to take a 42-35 lead following a bucket by Colby McAlister with 13 minutes left. A minute later, Cooper Bowser scored on a layup in the paint to end what had been a six-minute scoring drought for the Paladins. With just under 12 minutes left, head coach Bob Richey decided his team needed a little shot of adrenaline, and he called upon senior forward Tyrese Hughey, who hadn’t played in three contests, to try and inject some life on both the boards and defensively for the Paladins at a crucial point in the game. It would end up paying off, as Hughey would end up taking Furman’s energy up ever so slightly in the four minutes of time he would see on the floor.

With Furman trailing by five, Hughey first committed a foul and then his aggressive pressure would end up forcing a key Paxton Davidson turnover and the Paladins would then begin to chip away at the Bulldogs lead. Hughey was rewarded on a nice alley-oop assist from PJay Smith Jr., and Hughey put the ball softly off the window for two points, getting the Paladins to within a point, at 42-41. Hughey’s aggression saw him commit four fouls in just four minutes of court time, however, he helped set the tone for the way the Paladins would play for the remainder of the night even though the Bulldogs threatened to pull away once again, pushing their lead back to eight just before Hughey exited the lineup with 8:16 left.

“Tyrese [Hughey] has won a lot of games here,” head coach Bob Richey said of Hughey’s needed lift and experience he provided off the bench Wednesday night.

“Tyrese has been on a championship team and he’s played a lot of minutes in some big-time ball games and we felt like we should have played him a little bit in the UNC Greensboro game the other night and he’s got the ability to play that kind of enforcer role for us and brings some toughness and bring some edge and I thought he did that tonight, and unfortunately he got a little winded there towards the end and started fouling a little bit but yeah he did enough to bring some spark and energize us a little bit and then we went to the 1-3-1, which I also think changed the game a little bit.”

The Paladins teetered on the brink of going behind by more after Smith turned it over once again on the ensuing possession for the Paladins, the two teams would then trade turnovers over the next minute-and-a-half before Ben VanderWal was fouled on a break-a-way by Sola Adebisi, putting the junior forward at the line for a pair of free throws. With a clean looking, new and improved shooting motion, VanderWal’s charity shot attempts were both good, getting the ‘Dins back to within six (51-45) with just under seven minutes remaining.

Furman’s full-court pressure then forced a Bulldogs turnover, which was picked up and put in off the glass by Cooper Bowser to get Furman to within four with 6:20 left. The Paladin dedication on the defensive end of the floor continued to be impressive, as Nick Anderson came up with another steal and the ball would eventually find its way to PJay Smith Jr. for an open look from three, which he buried to get the Paladins to within a single point, at 51-50, with 5:47 left to go.

Over the next two-and-a-half minutes, both teams suffered a cold spell from the field until Anderson was fouled by The Citadel’s Cam Glover on a three-pointer with 3:07 left. Furman’s top foul shooter, who had only missed one free throw all season coming in (27-of-28), missed the first of a three-shot foul to leave the Paladins behind by just the single point. However, he would make the final two, allowing the Paladins to take a slight 52-51 lead. Anderson would add two more free throws after getting fouled going to the basket on Furman’s next trip down the floor, making it a 54-51 Paladin lead with just 2:02 left to go.

The Citadel would finally snap a near seven-minute scoring drought when Adibese tipped in a missed three-pointer from Moore, cutting Furman’s lead to one, 54-53, however, it would continue to be a strong showing down the stretch on the offensive end from Smith, who parted the lane and went strong to the bucket to give the Paladins the 56-53 lead with 1:28 left.

Just 18 seconds later, Adibese connected on a left wing three to tie the game, 56-56, with 1:10 to play. Furman continued to try and force the tempo, and following the triple by Adibese, Nick Anderson caught the Bulldogs flat-footed on the defensive end of the floor for the easy layup off the left side of the window to put the Paladins up a pair with just 58 seconds remaining.

Adibese continued to drive the Bulldogs offensively on the next possession, and his layup with 43 seconds left tied the game, 58-58. Following a turnover by Furman’s Smith after he had corralled an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer from Anderson, The Citadel raced quickly the other way, but Davidson missed a short free throw line jumper in the lane and then Moore grabbed the offensive rebound but somehow missed the wide-open follow-up attempt, and that would leave one last chance for the Paladins, and Tom House would throw a long pass down the floor to a wide open Ben VanderWal in the corner for a wide-open 18-foot jumper, which rimmed-in-and-out as the final buzzer sounded, leaving the score tied, 58-58, heading into overtime.

Though he might have missed the potential game-winning jumper to open the overtime session, VanderWal managed continued to be a constant problem for the Bulldogs, both on the boards and now drawing fouls and getting to the line. He converted four free throws on two trips to the stripe to account for the first four points of the extra session to give the Paladins a 62-58 lead with just 2:50 remaining. A Brody Fox layup in transition got the Bulldogs back to within two with 2:12 remaining, and that would set the stage for Hien’s late-game heroics.

An offensive rebound by Cooper Bowser after a missed long-range effort from Anderson allowed the Paladins a vital second bite at the cherry, and when the ball wove its way around the horn to the left wing to Hien, he didn’t hesitate or shy away from the big moment, and his quick, high-arching three hit nothing but net, and Hien erupted in excitement, as the Paladins grabbed the all important 65-60 lead with just 1:10 remaining.

Davidson missed a three on the other end and VanderWal grabbed the board, however, on Furman’s next possession, Smith turned the ball over in a well-devised trapping press by the Bulldogs, which would eventually lead to Smith having to commit an inadvertent foul on The Citadel’s Fox with just 24 ticks remaining. Fox made the first charity shot, but missed the second on the two-shot foul.

However, The Citadel’s Dante Kearse came away with the offensive rebound and he put the ball back in off the glass, cutting Furman’s lead to just two with 10 seconds to play. Smith was immediately fouled, and he would ice the game at the line, with a pair of free throws as the Paladins held off the Bulldogs, 67-63, avoiding a second-straight SoCon setback.

Furman will now have a few extra days to get some rest, with a snowstorm scheduled to hit Upstate S.C. region and that caused the postponement of Furman’s game with I-85 rival Wofford originally slated to tip Saturday at noon at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and has now been moved to Monday night at 7 p.m. EST.