 |
| Nick Anderson added 18 points to the Furman cause Wednesday night |
GREENVILLE, S.C. Head coach Bob Richey detailed that this was going to be a defensive team, and that in time he had to reflect after the Chattanooga game, he made the decision to work on that side of the ball heading into Furman's important Southern Conference game against Mercer, which would begin a stretch of four of six games down the stretch that the Paladins would have at home, as they look to finish in the top six of the Southern Conference standings and avoid the play-in round in Asheville next month.
On Wednesday night, Furman got off to an excellent start, naturally using a night that featured a season-high 18 threes and an offense that overwhelmed visiting Mercer en route to what was a 96-72 Southern Conference win over the Bears in front of 1,987 fans at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Coupled with its 79-74 win in Macon last month, Furman garnered the season sweep of the Bears and was Furman's 20th win its last 22 meetings against Mercer.
With the win, Furman improves to 19-7 overall and 7-6 in Southern Conference play, while Mercer dropped its fourth-straight contest, falling to 11-15 overall and 4-9 in league play. Furman's win coupled with VMI's 80-54 loss at UNC Greensboro (17-9, 10-3 SoCon) sees the Paladins move into sole possession of sixth-place in the Southern Conference standings. The Paladins will face the league-leading Spartans on Saturday afternoon with a noon tip-off at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in what is another extremely key Southern Conference tilt.
In Furman's 24-point win, which was its second-largest margin of victory in league play this season, the Paladins had five players notch double-figure scoring performances, led by Tom House, who posted a career-high 26 points in the win. House came off the Furman bench to connect on 8-of-13 shots from the field and connected on 6-of-9 from three-point range. House, a junior guard transfer from Florida State, also connected on 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. He also added seven rebounds and two assists in the win.
Nick Anderson was once again sensational for the Paladins, as he posted 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, which included a 6-for-9 shooting effort from three-point land. Anderson added one steal and one rebound in the win.
PJay Smith Jr. and Ben VanderWal both finished with 12 points apiece, with Smith adding eight assists, four rebounds and three steals to his overall impressive stat line, while VanderWal completed the game with seven rebounds and four assists, connected on 3-of-3 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Senior forward Garrett Hien rounded out the Paladins in double figures in the game, finishing with his 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and was 1-for-2 from three-point land. Hien also finished the night a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
Not to be overlooked was the effect that Cooper Bowser had on the defensive of the floor in the game for the Paladins, as he directly impacted nine Mercer possessions in the contest, which included a career-high five blocks to go along with four steals. The sophomore forward from Woodbridge, VA., also contributed six rebounds, five assists and just missed finding his way into double figures with nine points 3-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.
The Paladins finished the night connecting on an impressive 49.2% (31-of-63) from the field and finished by shooting an impressive 50% (18-of-36) from three-point land, as well finishing 80% (16-of-20) from the charity stripe.
Mercer also finished the night with five players in double figures, with Ahmad Robinson leading the Bears with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including 1-of-4 from three-point range and was 2-for-4 from the charity stripe. Additionally, Robinson also added six rebounds and dished out four assists but also turned it over seven times in the game.
Tyler "Chip" Johnson finished the night by contributing 16 points for Mercer, as he went 6-for-13 from the field and was 1-of-4 from three-point land and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Johnson also added one rebound.
Brady Shoulders, who didn't score in the initial meeting between these two teams back on Jan. 25, added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from three-point range and also added seven rebounds.
Rounding out the Bears in double figures in the setback were Geogia Southern transfer Cam Bryant, who finished with 10 points, while High Point transfer Alex Holt finished with 10 points and five rebounds in the loss.
Mercer finished the night connecting on 45.3% (29-of-64) from the field and 38.9% (7-of-18) from three-point range, while shooting just 58.3% (7-of-12) from the free throw line.
The Paladins finished the contest holding advantages in points off turnovers (14-12), total assists (23-14), total rebounds (38-35), bench points (35-8), and fast-break points (16-4). Mercer held advantages in points in the paint (32-20) and second-chance points (19-12). Furman forced 13 Mercer turnovers, while committing only 10 miscues.
How It Happened:
For the first time since the Southern Conference opener at Western
Carolina, Furman came out and established the order of how things would go and
using a three-point barrage, using 11 first-half threes at a 61.1% (11-of-18) clip to score
its most points in a half this season and took a 52-35 into the first-half
locker room.
The Paladins would end up leading by as much as 23 points in the opening half of play, as the Paladins connected on 56.7% (17-of-30) from the field in the opening half of play.
Furman assumed a 47-24 opening half lead when Nick Anderson connected on a three from the right corner with 3:39 remaining in the frame, however, the Bears would outscore the Paladins 11-5 over the final three minutes of the half to close within 17 at the half, trailing 52-35 at the break.
In the second half, Mercer would chip away at the Furman lead, eventually
cutting the Paladin lead to seven, at 61-54, when Cam Bryant connected on a
three with 13:18 remaining as a part of a 19-9 start to the second half before Eddrin Bronson matched with a
triple on the other end and Bob Richey called a timeout, with Furman up 10 with
12:43 remaining.
Mercer would trim the Paladin lead to seven once again at the 10:13 mark following a pair of Ahmad Robinson free throws, however, just as Bronson had done earlier, PJay Smith Jr. answered with a triple to push the lead back to 10. A reverse layup by Robinson and a jumper by Chip Johnson was sandwiched by a pair of VanderWal free throws to cut the Paladin lead to seven, at 71-64.
Cooper Bowser then converted 1-of-2 from the line before the Paladins pushed the lead back to 13 on a three by Smith and a pair of flagrant foul free throws from Ben VanderWal. It was part of what would end up being a 14-2 run for the Paladins, which helped push the Paladin lead back up to 19, at 85-66, when Tom House connected on his sixth three of the night with just under four minutes remaining.
The Paladins would never really be threatened again, as three House foul shots with 1:21 following being fouled on a three-point attempt from the right corner would put the Paladins up 22, at 94-72. A Bronson free throw line jumper with 16 seconds remaining proved to be the final points of the night, setting the final margin at 24.
Furman returns to action this Saturday when it hosts league co-leader UNC Greensboro (17-9, 10-3 SoCon) at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, with tip-off set for 12 p.m. EST. The Spartans have won the past three meetings with the Paladins, including an 84-67 win over Furman back in early January at the First Horizon Coliseum.
Mercer will be back in action Saturday afternoon to host VMI (12-14, 6-7 SoCon) in a key league tilt, with tip-off time set for 4:30 p.m. EST at Hawkins Arena.
Postgame Press Conference
Players Tom House and Nick Anderson
No comments:
Post a Comment