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| Furman senior guard and Volunteer State native PJay Smith Jr. led the Paladins with 17 points and six rebounds in the loss to ETSU |
JOHNSON CITY, TN—East Tennessee State used stretches of 24-5 and 12-2 in the latter portions of both halves to overcome Furman leads and ended up claiming a 72-69 win over the Paladins before a season-best crowd of 5,211 fans Sunday afternoon at Freedom Hall in what was another outstanding college basketball game in the nation’s most-competitive NCAA Division I basketball conference.
ETSU saw its two stars shine the brightest in a contest, which featured arguably the league’s three top players, as Jaden Seymour and Quimari Peterson combined to score 39 of the Bucs' 72 points in the win, with Seymour leading four Bucs in double figures with 23 points following a performance in ETSU's 70-65 loss at UNC Greensboro, which saw him finish 0-of-12 from the field and just nine points.
Seymour finished 8-of-13 from the field, including going 1-for-3 from long-range and was 4-of-6 from the line to post what was his sixth game of 20 or more points this season, with four of those coming in the friendly confines of Freedom Hall.
Peterson finished off another strong performance by netting 16 points while adding three rebounds and two assists.
Karon Boyd posted perhaps the most impressive stat line of anyone who played in Saturday's game on either side of the floor, as he finished the contest with 12 points, 13 rebounds and posted a pair of steals. Boyd also didn't have a turnover, was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, and was a +11 in the +/- category in his 32 minutes of work. The 12 points and 13 rebounds marked his third-career double-double, while his 13 rebounds were a career high.
The Bucs got 11 points from John Buggs III, and Maki Johnson was solid off the bench for the Bucs, as he added seven points and five steals.
Furman had only one player finish in double figures, which marked just the second time that has happened this season, with the only other time being the UNC Greensboro game, which the Paladins dropped 84-67 last month for their first Southern Conference loss.
The lone Paladin to finish in double figures in Sunday's matinee' contest against ETSU was the same player that was the only one to score in double figures in the loss to the Spartans last month, as PJay Smith Jr. would lead the way for Furman by posting 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, with only one turnover in 33 minutes of floor time in Sunday's setback.
Smith finished the contest connecting on 5-of-10 shots from the field, which included a 3-for-7 performance from three-point range and finished 4-for-6 from the line. For Smith, who is a Volunteer State native from LaVergne, TN., it marked his 16th double-figure scoring performance in the 21 games he's played for the Paladins this season.
Cooper Bowser, who posted a career-high 21 points last time out against Samford, was the next closest to finishing in double figures by posting nine points to go with two rebounds and a block in 26 minutes of action in the loss.
Garrett Hien, Eddrin Bronson, and Nick Anderson added eight points apiece, with Ben VanderWal and PJay Smith Jr. tying for the team-high on the backboards, with each contributing six boards.
It was a game that saw both teams trade roles from the one played two
weeks ago in Greenville. The Paladins held the Bucs without a field goal for the
final six minutes to overturn a 67-60 deficit and outscore the Paladins 12-2 over
the final 3:36 to pull out the win. In Furman’s 73-70 win in Greenville 17 days
ago, the Paladins held the Bucs without a field goal for the final 6:45 and
held on for the three-point win after Eddrin Bronson’s halfcourt heave at the
buzzer clanged off the back rim. In Greenville, it was Peterson’s shot at the
horn that went of the back iron as time expired.
There is very little between the Bucs and Paladins this season, and it is
clear after witnessing two of the better teams in the SoCon go toe-to-toe twice
this season, that both will have their say in Asheville about who goes to the
Big Dance, After all, ETSU and Furman are the only teams to have defeated the
league’s top team and preseason favorite, Samford, with the Paladins holding off
the Bulldogs for a 72-70 win in Greenville, while ETSU snapped the Bulldogs’
28-game homecourt winning streak with a 65-60 win in the Pete Hanna Center two
days after the losing at Furman
As a result of the loss, Furman slipped to 17-6 overall and 5-5 in
Southern Conference play, while ETSU improved to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in
league play. The win by ETSU snatches a two-game in-season losing skid, while
also snapping a five-game losing streak to Furman.
The loss from a Furman perspective felt different than the previous four
they had suffered in the league prior to Saturday’s setback, as Furman played
well enough to win the game, but being that it was on the road and in a hostile
environment, not to mention against a team that has arguably the top two
players in the league and one of the top tandems in all of college basketball,
in Quimari Peterson and Jaden Seymour, the Paladins still had a chance to win
the game, but it was bitten by poor free throw shooting and some live-ball
turnovers towards the end of the opening half, which proved costly in a game
between a pair of teams in which there isn’t much separation.
Combining the final 10 minutes of the opening half and the final six
minutes of the game, the Bucs posted half of their 72 points by outscoring
Furman 36-7 in those two stretches of game action combined, which proved to be
costly for a Furman team that had played arguably some of its best basketball
of the season away from Greenville, and in particular, in the opening 10
minutes of Sunday’s contest, taking a 27-13 lead after shooting a blistering 74%
from the field in the opening 10 minutes of the game, which helped the Paladins
build a 14-point lead.
The Bucs’ 24-5 run to close the final 10 minutes of the opening half, had
seen the Bucs force nine Paladin turnovers over eight steals, with live-ball
turnovers proving costly for the Paladins and it would energize the Bucs and
their large, impressive home crowd which played a factor in ETSU’s crucial home
league win before a national television audience on CBS Sports Network. The
live-ball turnovers towards the end of the opening half would lead to a
substantial edge for the Bucs in fast-break points (17-4).
The way Furman’s loss was rare enough that the Paladins fell to 16-2 this
season when dishing out more total assists (12-8) in a game and 12-2 when
out-rebounding (30-29) their opposition. The Paladins also fell to 7-2 this
season when allowing 70-79 points and 4-1 in games decided by three points or
less, and the Paladins also fell to 11-2 this season when leading with five minutes
to play in the game.
Despite such a poor ending the opening half, the Paladins still connected
on 53.8% (14-of-26) in the opening half, and held the Bucs to 46.2% (12-of-26),
but ETSU shot the ball at a slightly higher clip from three-point range in the opening
half, connecting on one more three than the Paladins in the first half, as ETSU
knocked down 45.7% (5-of-11) from long-range in the opening half.
Furman finished the game connecting on 49.1% (26-of-53) from the field, which included a 37.0% effort from three-point range (10-of-27) and just a 53.8% (7-of-13) effort from the free throw line.
The Paladins held advantages in total rebounds (30-29), total assists (12-9), points from turnovers (13-12), bench scoring (24-8) and second-chance points (8-7). ETSU finished with advantages in points in the paint (32-26) and fast-break points (23-5).
For a team that hasn't shot the ball well from the charity strip this season, ETSU turned that area into a major advantage in Saturday's win, as the Bucs knocked down 18 of 22 shots from the charity stripe, while Furman was only able to connect on 7-of-13 shots from the free throw line.
How It Happened:
It was the kind of game that CBS Sports Network had hoped to showcase between two of the SoCon's top basketball programs, and in that way, Sunday's matinee' between East Tennessee State and Furman lived up to its billing as the league's "standalone game" to cap the beginning second round of round robin play in league games.
It was a game that played out as one of massive runs on both sides, and for the opening 10 minutes of basketball, the Paladins displayed some of their best on both ends of the floor to run out to a pair of surprising double-digit leads in the opening half of the game, assuming a 20-7 lead after connecting on eight-straight shots to stun the 5,211 partisan Buccaneer fans. The Paladins would eventually settle for a 27-13 lead at the 10:08 mark of the opening frame after Nick Anderson converted a layup in the paint.
Over the final 10 minutes of the opening half, however, it would be all Bucs, as ETSU completely turned the game on its head and got the crowd right back into the game, and it began innocently enough with a pair of Quimari Peterson free throws to cut the Paladin lead to 12.
After Anderson missed a three on the other end for the Paladins, Peterson responded with a top-of-the-key three to cut Furman's lead to nine, at 27-18, with 8:45 left in the opening frame and all of the sudden, the ETSU crowd was right back into the game. After Anderson had the ball stolen by Karon Boyd, he converted the live-ball turnover into a layup on the other end, pulling ETSU to within seven with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening half, prompting Furman's Bob Richey to burn a 30-second timeout.
Another steal by the Bucs--one of eight thefts in the final 10 minutes of the opening half, which included five by Maki Johnson off the bench--would end up leading to another Peterson three in transition, and the Bucs had cut the Furman lead to just four, at 27-23, with 7:31 left in the frame.
Furman's Eddrin Bronson and ETSU's Allen Strothers would exchange missed shots, and after Bronson turned it over with just over six minutes left in the opening half, Peterson connected on another first-half triple to get the Bucs to within a point, at 27-26, with 5:42 left.
Bronson missed another contested jumper on the other end, and after Peterson missed a three on the other, Boyd came up with one of his signature offensive rebounds to give the Bucs a second-chance scoring opportunity, which Boyd converted into a layup with 4:22 left, giving the Bucs their first lead of the game, at 28-27, and the crowd reached its highest decibel level to that point in the game all afternoon.
On Furman's ensuing possession, Cooper Bowser turned his head for a split second, which was enough time for Johnson to sneak in and poke the ball away, running it down in the forecourt and go in for an uncontested dunk and give ETSU a 30-27 lead. Almost if it it was an exact replay, Johnson then took advantage of Garrett Hien turning his back to the play, poking the ball away from another Paladin big man in almost identical fashion, and this time, Johnson opted to lay the ball off the glass just ahead of a hard-charging Eddrin Bronson to give the Bucs a 32-27 lead with 3:31 left and all of the sudden it looked like Furman was getting ready to get run out of Freedom Hall.
And if the Paladins weren't turning it over, they were missing shots, which Anderson did on the other end, however, a key steal and corner three by Garrett Hien stopped the bleeding for the Paladins, ending almost an eight-minute scoring drought for the Paladins, making it a 32-30 Furman deficit with 2:28 remaining in the half.
The Bucs would close the half going 5-of-6 from the line, while the Paladins' final points of the half would come on a mid-range jumper with just over a minute remaining in the half, as ETSU headed to the locker room with a 37-32 lead, using a 24-5 run over the final 10 minutes to assume the five-point halftime edge.
After ETSU scored the first seven points of the second half, which was capped by a John Buggs III jumper in the paint at the 18:28 mark of the second half, as the Bucs took their largest lead of the game, at 44-32. All told, in the over roughly an eleven-and-a-half stretch of game action spanning two halves, the Bucs had outscored the Paladins 31-5.
Furman was either going to leave Johnson City with a blowout loss, or the Paladins were going to respond like a team that had won 17 games, including going 12-1 in the non-conference, and make Saturday's game worthy of being mentioned as one of the game's of the season in a league chocked full of competitive league contests already. Bob Richey's team would choose the latter.
Furman responded in the most difficult moment of the game and with everything against it, including a rowdy crowd of better than 5,000, by reeling off an 11-2 run to get right back into the contest, pulling to within a point of ETSU when PJay Smith Jr. knocked down a pair of foul shots to make it a 49-48 game.
With 8:34 remaining, the Paladins would pull even, at 56-56, following a beautiful feed from Tom House-to-center Cooper Bowser underneath the basketball, and when Bowser added his two-handed exclamation stuff to the Paladin possession, he roared in excitement almost as if to signal that the Paladins were there for the duration of this classic Southern Conference battle.
Then, following a Maki Johnson turnover for the Bucs, House found himself wide open on the left wing for and promptly connected on a three to give the Paladins their first lead since holding a 27-26 lead with four-and-half-minutes remaining in the opening frame, as his triple gave the 'Dins a 59-56 lead.
The struggles continued for ETSU, as Gabe Sisk missed a wide open three, and despite Boyd getting one of his three offensive rebounds in the contest, DJ Hughes would miss a layup and Bowser rebounded for the Paladins and eventually, a three by Smith on almost the exact same spot that House connected from to give the Paladins a lead 90 seconds earlier, Smith found his barring to connect on a three of his own to extend the Paladin lead to six, at 62-56, with 6:56 left.
Buggs would end a 3:37 scoring drought for the Bucs when he connected on a jumper to get the Bucs briefly back to within four. Nick Anderson's beautifully arched mid-range jumper on the other end with just over six minutes left pushed the Furman lead back to six, at 64-58.
Seymour dunked and Bowser and Anderson would go 3-of-4 from the line over the next two-and-a-half minutes to leave the Paladin lead at 67-60 with 3:36 remaining. In fact, Anderson's jumper at the 6:01 mark of the second half would prove to be Furman's final points from the field, as ETSU closed the game on a 12-2 run to post the 72-69 triumph.
The Bucs took the lead for good on a Peterson driving layup off the right side of the glass with 29 seconds remaining, as ETSU assumed a 69-67 lead. A big part of the 12-2 run over the final six minutes of the game was ETSU's performance at the charity stripe, which saw the Bucs go 7-of-8 from the stripe, while Peterson and Seymour contributed the lone points from the field during that stretch, and ETSU's defense at the end of a half proved important once again.
Trailing 71-68 after a pair of John Buggs III foul shots, the Paladins had a chance to go for a game-tying three with six seconds left, however, PJay Smith Jr. was fouled to go to the line for two shots with 4.8 seconds left and he the senior from LaVergne, TN., would make the first and intentionally missed the second, leaving ETSU ahead 71-69, however, the Paladins couldn't come up with the offensive rebound and Boyd was immediately fouled with 3.1 seconds left.
After making the first foul shot, Boyd missed his second free throw, which was one of only two missed foul shots in the second half (10-of-12) for the Bucs, leaving one last change for the Paladins to tie the game trailing 72-69, however, much like Peterson's miss in the first game between the two a couple of weeks earlier was on line but off the back of the iron as time expired to tie the game, Furman's Bronson launched a heave from just beyond midcourt as time expired and the shot was straight on-line, but just a bit too strong, as it hit off the iron as time expired.
Bronson's hail mary at the end nearly sent this SoCon classic to an extra five minutes of hoops in similar fashion to John Davis III's triple some eight years earlier in a game the Paladins would eventually fall in overtime (L, 81-93 OT) in another SoCon classic between the two rivals.
Furman will jump back into Southern Conference action on Wednesday night when the Paladins host Western Carolina (6-15, 2-8 SoCon) on the campus of Bob Jones University at Davis Fieldhouse, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST. It will mark the Paladins' second game at the facility this season, having posted a 100-75 win over Montreat at Davis Fieldhouse back on Dec. 18. The Paladins won the first matchup with the Catamounts this season, posting a 90-61 win in Cullowhee back on New Year's Day.
ETSU returns to action Wednesday evening, traveling to face off against upstart VMI (11-12, 5-5 SoCon), as the Keydets come into the 6 p.m. EST clash at Cameron Hall having won five of their last six games and squarely in the mix for a top six finish in the league, which would be enough to get the Keydets an opening round bye in the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville next month.
Postgame Audio (Furman Head Coach Bob Richey)
https://1drv.ms/u/c/a308fdf7e05a294e/EX4Zl7cTcPNNrgSmtkvzViQB1TiDjXuGKPpgORU9TcqQZg
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