MANHATTAN, N.Y.--Furman had four players finish the night in double figures, as senior Charles Johnston came up big down the stretch, notching his seventh double-double of the season, leading the Paladins to a 75-68 road win over Manhattan in the final non-conference road game of the year Thursday night at Draddy Gym.
With the win, the Paladins posted their seventh win in their last eight outings, including their fourth-straight, improving to 8-4 overall with one more non-conference game remaining, while Manhattan dropped to 4-8. The win came at the end of what had been a nine-day hiatus for the Paladins due to final exams for the first semester.
The game marked the sixth all-time clash between the two programs, but the first since 1974, as the Paladins improved to 4-2 all-time against the Jaspers. It was the first meeting between the Paladins and Jaspers in the Big Apple since 1954 and was Furman's first trip to the Empire State since taking on Fordham back on Dec. 4, 2013.
Johnston finished the evening with 11 points and 11 rebounds, with eight of those points coming in a key Paladin run down the stretch on a pair of three-pointers and a dunk in transition, which were part of a spurt that allowed the Paladins to take control of the game at just the right time in order to come away with the gritty road win. Those points also came at a time when Cooper Bowser, who finished his night with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal, was sidelined with some kind of lower extremity ailment.
The senior from Syndney, Australia finished his night connecting on 4-of-8 shots from the field, which included a 3-for-6 effort from three-point range in the win. Bowser, meanwhile, finished his contest by going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field in 27 minutes of action, which included seven dunks, as the nation's leader in field goal percentage took himself out of the game due to an apparent minor injury with just over six minutes left.
Leading the scoring efforts for the Paladins in the seven-point road win was freshman guard Alex Wilkins, who posted 18 points and seven assists to lead the way, while Asa Thomas rounded out the Paladin double-figure scorers with 12 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Jaspers finished the game with their two dynamic guards leading the way, as Jaden Winston and Devin Dinkins both scored 17 points apiece to lead the way for the hometown team.
Furman finished the game connecting on 50% (30-of-60) from the field, while connecting on 35.7% (10-of-28) from three-point range and 35.7% (5-of-14) from the charity stripe.
Manhattan finished its evening connecting on 39.1% (25-of-64) of its shots from the field, including 26.9% (7-of-26) from three-point range and 68.8% (11-of-16) from the free throw line.
The Paladins finished the game holding advantages in total rebounds (42-36), total assists (20-14), second-chance points (13-12), points in the paint (38-26), and fast-break points (19-17). The Jaspers held a slight edge in bench scoring (17-11), while the two teams tied in points off turnovers (14-14).
How It Happened:
In a game that featured eight lead changes, Furman found itself trailing the game 50-47 following a three-pointer by the Jaspers' Terrence Jones with 11:35 remaining in the contest, which capped an 8-0 run and seemingly gave the home team some good momentum approaching the midway point of the second half.
However, Furman would respond with baskets on consecutive trips by freshman point guard Alex Wilkins, and a three-pointer from the corner by Tom House, helping restore the Furman lead. Then, in the final five minutes of the contest, Johnston connected on a pair of threes sandwiched by a transition, two-handed flush, scoring eight-straight points as a part of his own personal flurry down the stretch, giving the Paladins a somewhat comfortable 69-62 lead with 2:24 remaining.
Furman would get one more push from the Jaspers late in the game, as the Paladins led by seven (71-64) with just under two minutes left, however, Jones connected on a jumper and Jaden Winston connected on a pair of free throws with 42 seconds remaining, slicing Furman's lead to one possession, at 71-68.
However, arguably Furman's biggest offensive rebound and putback of the night would be the only field goal of the night from sophomore guard Eddrin Bronson, who rebounded a Wilkins layup miss, that caromed high off the glass and his putback on a layup with the shot clock winding down restored Furman's two-possession lead, at 73-68, with just 13 seconds left.
Furman's defense forced a miss on the other end by the Jaspers, and Wilkins was immediately fouled and his two free throws on the other end following the two-shot bonus trip to the line provided the final margin of victory for Furman, which picked up its 76th true road win since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Furman returns to the floor for its final non-conference game of the 2025-26 season on Sunday afternoon, as the Paladins will host Charleston Southern (8-5) in a 2 p.m. EST contest at Timmons Arena.
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