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| Furman redshirt sophomore wing Asa Thomas |
Furman 79, Ohio Christian 44
GREENVILLE, S.C.--Furman got a career-high 22 points from redshirt sophomore Asa Thomas, as the Paladins used offensive efficiency in the second half to join the defensive intensity the team had from the outset, in garnering a 79-44 win over NAIA Ohio Christian Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.
The win sees the Paladins improve to 2-3 on the young season, while the game counts as just an exhibition for the Trailblazers, as they remain 5-1. Wednesday night's game against a non-Division I foe marks the second of three that Furman will play this season, with the final one coming up on Dec. 9 against Bob Jones. Furman already defeated Columbia International (89-59) for its first victory of the 2025-26 season just last week.
Thomas finished the night connecting on 9-of-16 shots from the field, including going 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, while adding seven rebounds, three assists and one steal in just over 29 minutes of playing time for the evening.
Thomas was joined in double figures by Charles Johnston, who notched his fourth double-double of the season, with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and added two blocks, while Alex Wilkins finished his evening finishing in double figures for a fifth-consecutive game as a true freshman, as he posted 10 points in the Paladin win. For Johnston, his 11 rebounds marked his fifth double-digit rebounding performance of the season and also his fifth time out of five opportunities leading the Paladins on the glass.
Not to be overlooked was another extremely efficient offensive performance turned in by Cooper Bowser, who finished with eight points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort, which all game on dunks, as the 6-11 junior forward also added eight boards, four assists and a steal to the cause.
Furman was without senior forward and main "glue guy" Ben Vander Wal, who missed the game with a minor injury and is expected to return Sunday when the Paladins face Queens as a part of the SoCon-A-SUN Challenge.
The Trailblazers, which hung in the game throughout much of the opening half of play, were led by 5-10 guard Parker Penrod, who finished with 13 points and four assists. Penrod connected on 5-of-12 shots from the field and was 3-for-6 from long-range.
Furman finished the night with its best shooting effort of the season, connecting on 52.5% (32-of-61) from the field, which included a 29.0% (9-of-31) clip from three-point range. After starting the game 2-for-16 from three-point range, the Paladins would knock down 7-of-15 shots from long-range in the second half for what was a much-improved performance from long range. Furman did not shoot the ball well from the charity stripe, finishing the game with just 40% (6-of-15).
The Paladins played good defense throughout the game, making open looks for the visiting Trailblazers hard to come by, as Furman held its lower division opposition to just 29.6% (16-of-54) for the game, including just 29.2% (7-of-24) from three-point range. The Trailblazers also finished the contest connecting on 45.5% (5-of-11) from the charity stripe.
The Paladins finished the night holding substantial advantages in points in the paint (46-12), total rebounds (53-23), total assists (24-10), and second-chance points (19-2). Furman also finished the game with advantages in points off turnovers (14-8), fast-break points (6-5), bench scoring (20-13), and outscored the Trailblazers from the line (6-5) on four more attempts (15-11).
How It Happened:
The Paladins struggled to take care of the basketball early on in the contest, and Furman got only four shots on its first eight possessions of the night, as both the Paladins and Trailblazers went to the first media timeout of the night tied, 2-2, on baskets by Alex Wilkins for Furman and Parker Penrod for Ohio Christian. The Paladins had five turnovers before the first media timeout.
A scary moment occurred just after the first, as Trailblazers forward Landon Elmore stopped, pump faked and as he planted to go up for a shot against a defending Alex Wilkins on a breakaway layup attempt, suffered what appeared to be a non-contact, knee injury as he planted to go up for his shot attempt, and the 6-7 senior aspiring preacher from Elizabethtown, KY., suffered what appeared to be an unfortunate career-ending knee injury.
He was writhing in pain in agony and went down immediately, falling with the ball out-of-bounds to turn the ball over to Furman in the process, with 14:39 remaining in the opening half. In case you were wondering, as I was sitting there not far from the Ohio Christian bench, I heard him tell one of the Furman game operations staff, who was helping him, that he loved basketball, but his real future was in his chosen profession of being a preacher.
Thoughts and prayers certainly extended by me, as well as the entire Furman team, including head coach Bob Richey and staff, which made a nice gesture of coming over to check on the young man after the conclusion of the game.
Furman's slow start was compounded by the fact that the Paladins were without veteran Ben Vander Wal, who missed the game with a minor injury, and as a result, the Paladins looked a little out-of-sync early on. The Paladins got four points from Owen Ritger and a dunk from Cooper Bowser, but an acrobatic layup by DJ Bogay sent the two teams to the second media timeout tied, 9-9, at the second media timeout with 10:49 remaining in the half.
The Paladins would create a little distance on the scoreboard, utilizing their size, despite their shooting woes from deep, but back-to-back dunks by Bowser, as well as layups by Charles Johnston and Asa Thomas saw the Paladins create a little breathing room with a 19-15 lead at the third media timeout of the half with 6:28 to play in the first.
The Paladins would miss their first 13 shots from long range and 14 overall dating back to the UNI game before eventually making one, with Wilkins knocking down the first three at the 3:12 mark of the opening half to give the Paladins a 25-18 lead.
Furman's next three came from Tom House as time expired in the opening half to give the Paladins a 32-23 lead at the break, which was the most substantial lead of the night up to that point.
Furman would finally open up the game in the second half and its size, athleticism and talent would begin to take its toll on its undersized opposition early in the second half.
Furman, which made its final three of the opening half, to end a streak of 14-straight misses dating back to the UNI game, and a 4-of-44 effort from three over the course of 1.5 games and 17-of-91 over 2.5 games, finally seemed looked like the good shooting Furman teams that Bob Richey has normally fashioned throughout his previous eight seasons in-charge, as the Paladins knocked down their first five of six shot attempts from long-range in the second half.
That allowed the Paladins to take complete control of the game, and after Ohio Christian's Landon Brewer knocked down a three to cut Furman's lead to six, at 32-26, the Paladins commenced to go on a 22-3 run from that point, beginning with a Eddrin Bronson three from the top the key at the 18:39 mark and ending with an Abijah Franklin charity shot at the 9:41 mark, as Furman upped its lead to 25, at 54-29. Furman held the Trailblazers without a point for over seven minutes while pulling away in the process.
Furman returns to action on Sunday as part of a men's and women's basketball double-header, with the lady Paladins taking on Clemson in a game slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Timmons Arena, which will be followed by the men taking on Queens University as a part of the SoCon-A-Sun challenge, with tip-off set for approximately 5 p.m. EST.
Postgame Press Conference:
GREENVILLE, S.C.--Furman got a career-high 22 points from redshirt sophomore Asa Thomas, as the Paladins used offensive efficiency in the second half to join the defensive intensity the team had from the outset, in garnering a 79-44 win over NAIA Ohio Christian Wednesday night at Timmons Arena.
The win sees the Paladins improve to 2-3 on the young season, while the game counts as just an exhibition for the Trailblazers, as they remain 5-1. Wednesday night's game against a non-Division I foe marks the second of three that Furman will play this season, with the final one coming up on Dec. 9 against Bob Jones. Furman already defeated Columbia International (89-59) for its first victory of the 2025-26 season just last week.
Thomas finished the night connecting on 9-of-16 shots from the field, including going 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, while adding seven rebounds, three assists and one steal in just over 29 minutes of playing time for the evening.
Thomas was joined in double figures by Charles Johnston, who notched his fourth double-double of the season, with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and added two blocks, while Alex Wilkins finished his evening finishing in double figures for a fifth-consecutive game as a true freshman, as he posted 10 points in the Paladin win. For Johnston, his 11 rebounds marked his fifth double-digit rebounding performance of the season and also his fifth time out of five opportunities leading the Paladins on the glass.
Not to be overlooked was another extremely efficient offensive performance turned in by Cooper Bowser, who finished with eight points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort, which all game on dunks, as the 6-11 junior forward also added eight boards, four assists and a steal to the cause.
Furman was without senior forward and main "glue guy" Ben Vander Wal, who missed the game with a minor injury and is expected to return Sunday when the Paladins face Queens as a part of the SoCon-A-SUN Challenge.
The Trailblazers, which hung in the game throughout much of the opening half of play, were led by 5-10 guard Parker Penrod, who finished with 13 points and four assists. Penrod connected on 5-of-12 shots from the field and was 3-for-6 from long-range.
Furman finished the night with its best shooting effort of the season, connecting on 52.5% (32-of-61) from the field, which included a 29.0% (9-of-31) clip from three-point range. After starting the game 2-for-16 from three-point range, the Paladins would knock down 7-of-15 shots from long-range in the second half for what was a much-improved performance from long range. Furman did not shoot the ball well from the charity stripe, finishing the game with just 40% (6-of-15).
The Paladins played good defense throughout the game, making open looks for the visiting Trailblazers hard to come by, as Furman held its lower division opposition to just 29.6% (16-of-54) for the game, including just 29.2% (7-of-24) from three-point range. The Trailblazers also finished the contest connecting on 45.5% (5-of-11) from the charity stripe.
The Paladins finished the night holding substantial advantages in points in the paint (46-12), total rebounds (53-23), total assists (24-10), and second-chance points (19-2). Furman also finished the game with advantages in points off turnovers (14-8), fast-break points (6-5), bench scoring (20-13), and outscored the Trailblazers from the line (6-5) on four more attempts (15-11).
How It Happened:
The Paladins struggled to take care of the basketball early on in the contest, and Furman got only four shots on its first eight possessions of the night, as both the Paladins and Trailblazers went to the first media timeout of the night tied, 2-2, on baskets by Alex Wilkins for Furman and Parker Penrod for Ohio Christian. The Paladins had five turnovers before the first media timeout.
A scary moment occurred just after the first, as Trailblazers forward Landon Elmore stopped, pump faked and as he planted to go up for a shot against a defending Alex Wilkins on a breakaway layup attempt, suffered what appeared to be a non-contact, knee injury as he planted to go up for his shot attempt, and the 6-7 senior aspiring preacher from Elizabethtown, KY., suffered what appeared to be an unfortunate career-ending knee injury.
He was writhing in pain in agony and went down immediately, falling with the ball out-of-bounds to turn the ball over to Furman in the process, with 14:39 remaining in the opening half. In case you were wondering, as I was sitting there not far from the Ohio Christian bench, I heard him tell one of the Furman game operations staff, who was helping him, that he loved basketball, but his real future was in his chosen profession of being a preacher.
Thoughts and prayers certainly extended by me, as well as the entire Furman team, including head coach Bob Richey and staff, which made a nice gesture of coming over to check on the young man after the conclusion of the game.
Furman's slow start was compounded by the fact that the Paladins were without veteran Ben Vander Wal, who missed the game with a minor injury, and as a result, the Paladins looked a little out-of-sync early on. The Paladins got four points from Owen Ritger and a dunk from Cooper Bowser, but an acrobatic layup by DJ Bogay sent the two teams to the second media timeout tied, 9-9, at the second media timeout with 10:49 remaining in the half.
The Paladins would create a little distance on the scoreboard, utilizing their size, despite their shooting woes from deep, but back-to-back dunks by Bowser, as well as layups by Charles Johnston and Asa Thomas saw the Paladins create a little breathing room with a 19-15 lead at the third media timeout of the half with 6:28 to play in the first.
The Paladins would miss their first 13 shots from long range and 14 overall dating back to the UNI game before eventually making one, with Wilkins knocking down the first three at the 3:12 mark of the opening half to give the Paladins a 25-18 lead.
Furman's next three came from Tom House as time expired in the opening half to give the Paladins a 32-23 lead at the break, which was the most substantial lead of the night up to that point.
Furman would finally open up the game in the second half and its size, athleticism and talent would begin to take its toll on its undersized opposition early in the second half.
Furman, which made its final three of the opening half, to end a streak of 14-straight misses dating back to the UNI game, and a 4-of-44 effort from three over the course of 1.5 games and 17-of-91 over 2.5 games, finally seemed looked like the good shooting Furman teams that Bob Richey has normally fashioned throughout his previous eight seasons in-charge, as the Paladins knocked down their first five of six shot attempts from long-range in the second half.
That allowed the Paladins to take complete control of the game, and after Ohio Christian's Landon Brewer knocked down a three to cut Furman's lead to six, at 32-26, the Paladins commenced to go on a 22-3 run from that point, beginning with a Eddrin Bronson three from the top the key at the 18:39 mark and ending with an Abijah Franklin charity shot at the 9:41 mark, as Furman upped its lead to 25, at 54-29. Furman held the Trailblazers without a point for over seven minutes while pulling away in the process.
Furman returns to action on Sunday as part of a men's and women's basketball double-header, with the lady Paladins taking on Clemson in a game slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Timmons Arena, which will be followed by the men taking on Queens University as a part of the SoCon-A-Sun challenge, with tip-off set for approximately 5 p.m. EST.
Postgame Press Conference:
Players: Cooper Bowser and Asa Thomas
Head Coach: Bob Richey
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