Cole Bowser Sheds Redshirt and Helps Lead Furman to Key SoCon Road Win at Chattanooga

 

Furman true freshman wing forward Cole Bowser

For the first time since the 2021-22 season, Bob Richey made a judgement call about when to pull a redshirt off a player, and just like the last time he did it back in Dec. of 2021 against Presbyterian when the redshirt was removed from Tyrese Hughey in a home win over the Blue Hose, his decision to introduce the same type of energy more than five years later into a team in desperate need of such a boost, proved to be just the type of thing to jumpstart Furman's men's basketball team following Saturday's rare home SoCon loss in overtime to Western Carolina (L, 77-80). 

The Paladins responded to Cole Bowser's inclusion into the team rotation with a big, 78-67, road win over reigning SoCon regular-season and NIT Champion Chattanooga.

The last time head coach Bob Richey removed a redshirt from a player in-season came back on Dec. 21, 2021 in the final non-conference game of the season against Presbyterian. In very similar fashion to Bowser's performance against Chattanooga, Hughey brought the overall team energy up and like Bowser, his first collegiate points came on a dunk and finished the night with an identical six points in his debut. 

Cole Bowser's impact was most noticeable on the defensive end and on the boards, while he also provided some key buckets in big moments, with none bigger than his steal and powerful dunk near the end of the opening half of play, which proved to be one of the biggest plays of the evening for the Paladins in their 11-point road win. 

"Cole [Bowser] had a huge piece in the game tonight...six points and he had 10 rebounds and played tremendous defense and just did an unbelievable job of doing some of the gritty things that we felt like we were missing on Saturday and that all went into this decision to play him and we've got to try to continue to win these games and build our team and we're not going to make any excuses and we're not going to talk about who's out...we're going to talk about who's in," Bob Richey said after his team's 78-67 road win at Chattanooga.

"I thought Mason Smith came in and helped us some tonight...Cole Bowser came in and obviously helped us a ton and I thought Ed's [Bronson] big three right there in the first half was huge and I thought Owen [Ritger] did some good things in the first half and Abijah [Franklin] came out and hit that three at the top there and we've got to trust our depth and that's always been part of our secret here...in terms of...well it's not really a secret but more part of our overall formula and we've just got to trust our depth," Richey added.

Another key baseline layup late in the game, which helped extend Furman's lead back out to nine (65-56) with a little over five minutes remaining, and despite being the last man down the floor due to being undercut on his way to the layup by a Mocs player, still managed to secure the rebound by hustling all the way to the other end, preventing another Mocs opportunity from an offensive rebound in an especially key stretch. That key defensive rebound eventually led to a dagger three from Tom House with 4:02 left, which was essentially game over.

It marked just Furman's 13th all-time win inside the facility since it opened in 1982, while also marking the first by a Furman team since the 2022-23 season, when the Paladins captured what was a 77-69 road win over the Mocs en route to winning a SoCon title. With the win, Furman improved to 13-33 all-time at the Roundhouse.  

In similar fashion to Wednesday night's win over the Mocs, which saw Furman follow up an overtime home loss to Western Carolina by winning at the Roundhouse in its latest win in the facility, the last time the Paladins had a victorious outcome at McKenzie Arena followed a similar sequence of events, as Furman rebounded from an 88-80 home overtime loss to UNC Greensboro in its previous outing back in 2023.

While Bowser's impact couldn't help but be noticed, as a byproduct of his introduction into the mix in Wednesday night's game, it raised the level of play for the entire team as a result. 

Furman's play in several areas was most notable, included its re-dedication to dominance on the glass and the overall improvement at shooting free throws and the overall offensive aggression to  create plenty of opportunities to garner free scoring opportunities from the charity stripe. 

Bowser's collection of 10 caroms led Furman's efforts on the glass, while both guard Asa Thomas and and Charles Johnston added eight apiece, highlighting Furman's most notable performances on the backboards in the contest. All told, the trio accounted for 26 of the team's 39 total rebounds. They affected the game with their energy. 

"Rebounding has improved so much from the guys that are around me and that has been a big emphasis for us even since the last game against Western Carolina," said Furman senior big man Charles Johnston following Furman's 11-point road win at Chattanooga.

"It's really taken a lot of pressure off me and what about Asa [Thomas] getting on the boards...I think this is maybe his second game with eight rebounds this season or he's had seven a couple of times and it's just huge because he's doing so much on the offensive end of the floor and then he goes and gets eight defensive boards...it's just great for us," Johnston added. 

Notable Performers, Facts and Figures

Charles Johnston scored 21 points and posted eight rebounds, while Tom House added 17 points and Asa Thomas chipped in with 16 and eight boards of his own, as the trio fueled Furman's versatile offense and re-dedication to excellence on the glass in what was a 78-67 road win over SoCon defending regular-season champion Chattanooga Wednesday night before 3,847 SoCon action at McKenzie Arena.

With the win, the Paladins Improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference action, while Chattanooga falls to 6-10 overall and 0-3 in Southern Conference play. The Mocs fall to 0-3 in league for just the fifth time in its 48th season as a Southern Conference member, including the first since the 2017-18 season in what was Lamont Paris' first season as the head coach. That campaign would see the Mocs finish with just a 10-23 overall mark, including a 3-15 mark in league play.

Other 0-3 starts for Chattanooga in its rich basketball tradition include the 1989-90, 2006-07 and 2008-09 campaigns. The 2008-09 team went on to claim the Southern Conference Tournament title under then head coach John Shulman, while the 2006-07 team finished 15-18 and the 1989-90 team finished with a 14-14 overall mark.

Meanwhile, it marked Furman's third true road win of the season and 77th true road triumph in the past 11 seasons, which is tied for fourth-most in NCAA Division I college basketball. In addition to its first SoCon true road win of the season, the Paladins have also garnered true road wins at Elon and Manhattan in non-conference play. 

Wednesday night’s game also marked the first of six nationally-televised SoCon games by CBS Sports Network this season, and the first pitted the 2025 NIT Champion against a ’25 NIT participant that won 25 games and relegated the Mocs to the NIT last season after knocking UTC out of the Southern Conference Tournament with an 80-77 overtime win in the semifinals last March at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville. 

Furman will appear once more on the CBS Sports Network platform this season, when it hosts SoCon rival Samford on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2026, at the refurbished Timmons Arena, with tip-off for that contest slated also slated for 5 p.m. EST.

The Mocs claimed both regular-season against Furman last season, which included an 85-72 win in the Scenic City last season. With tonight’s win, the Paladins snapped a two-game skid in Chattanooga. UTC also claimed a 79-75 win at Furman last January in a game played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Paladins improved to 41-62 all-time against the Mocs. 

Johnston, a 6-11 senior big man from Sydney, Australia connected on 10-of-14 shots from the field, which included a 1-of-4 from long -range. He was also tied for second on the team with eight boards, as well as adding a steal and an assist to his overall totals.

Coach Bob Richey also introduced a new wrinkle into the mix in Wednesday’s contest, as he took the redshirt off of Cole Bowser, and the younger brother of Cooper Bowser didn’t disappoint, as he ended up leading the Paladins with 10 rebounds in a game and also added one of three blocks by Furman on the defensive end of the floor, as well as recording one of the team's six steals in the contest.

In keeping with the Bowser tradition established by his older brother Cooper throughout his Furman career, Cole Bowser was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field in his first game as an NCAA Division I basketball player.  He also added a pair of assists on the offensive end of the floor, while turning it over only once in his NCAA Division I college hoops debut.

It could be argued that Bowser’s steal and powerful dunk just before the half, which capped a 15-0 run to end the half and saw the Paladins head to the locker room with a 39-30 lead to the break, was a definable turning point for the Paladins. 

For Bowser, it was a fitting way that his first collegiate points should have come on a two-handed hammer dunk, which also kept with the theme of excited rim-rockers that have been provided by him throughout his Paladin career to this point.

Bowser’s performance on the boards and his defensive energy were a small sample size of-Furman’s overall sacrifice dedication in both areas was evident from the outset of the contest, as the Paladins posted a 39-32 edge on the glass after getting outrebounded 48-35 and held the Mocs to just 37.5% (24-of-64) from the field, as Furman posted one of its best all-around defensive performances of the season.

Equally important to the winning formula as both Johnston and the younger Bowser were both Paladin sharpshooters Tom House and Asa Thomas, who had their quiver full of accurate arrows that found their mark at the bottom of the Chattanooga’s net throughout the duration of the evening, as the two combined to knock down eight of the team’s 11 triples in the game.

House, who finished the night with 17 points, connected on 5-of-9 long-range efforts, scored 14 of his points in the opening half of play, while knocking down four of his five three-point field goals in the opening period. All told, House finished the night going 5-of-12 from the field and was also 2-for-2 at the line.

Thomas rebounded from his tough 1-for-8 shooting performance against Western Carolina to finish off a stellar night at Chattanooga, connecting on 3-of-7 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and was a near-flawless 7-for-8 at the charity stripe to equal his 16 points. His eight defensive rebounds, one block and three assists helped solidify one of his most comprehensive performances on both ends this season.

Chattanooga shot 34 threes in the game. The 14 shot in the first half, were shot in rhythm of good offense and looked more like the threes you most often saw out of Dan Earl’s teams over the years. The 20 long-range efforts in the second half, which the Mocs shot more than adequately by making eight, seemed more desperate, as the game slipped further from Chattanooga's collective grasp.

All told, the Mocs actually shot the ball better from long range than it did from the field over the course of the night, as UTC connected on 38.2% (13-of-34). While that was an adequate efficiency from long-range, it had a lot to do with the fact that the Paladins had made the paint non-negotiable for a large majority of the night and ended up outscoring the Mocs 30-20 for the game.

Chattanooga ended the night getting a game-high 25 points from Frison, as he finished 10-of-20 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-8 effort from three-point range. He also added four rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. 

Teddy Washington Jr. added 15 points and a pair of steals before fouling out of the game late, and Jikari Johnson rounded out the Mocs in double figures, adding 10 off the bench for Chattanooga. 

Other notable statistical categories won by the Paladins in the 11-point road triumph include: second-chance points (14-7), fast-break points (14-2), total assists (17-12), total free throw attempts (20-8), and total free throw points (15-6). Chattanooga claimed advantages in points from turnovers (15-14) and bench points (33-12). 

Furman, which missed nine free throws (8-of-17) against the Catamounts in last Saturday's overtime loss to Western Carolina and ranked No. 351 nationally of 361 teams coming into its clash with Chattanooga, looked nothing like a team that has struggled from the charity stripe the entire season, as the Paladins knocked down 75.0% (15-of-20) from the charity stripe over the course of the evening. 

How It Happened: 

Chattanooga came out and got into a rhythm early taking a seven-point lead after the first media timeout on a Billy Smith three-pointer, which gave the Mocs a 13-6 lead. 

However, freshman guard Abijah Franklin connected on the first of three-straight threes for Furman, as the final one by Tom House tied the game, 15-15, at the 11:57 mark of the opening half.

However, layups by Jikari Johnson on a backdoor cut and a Tate Darner steal led to a layup for Teddy Washington Jr. layup on the other end, giving Chattanooga a 19-15 lead and forcing a Paladin timeout at the 11:07 mark of the first half.

After Furman took its first lead since it was 2-0, at 22-21, on a three by Tom House with 7:22 left in the opening half, the Mocs answered with a quick 9-2 spurt, highlighted by a Frison runner in the lane and a four-point play from Jikari Johnson to take a 30-24 lead with 5:36 remaining in the half. 

Furman would hold the Mocs scoreless for the remainder of the half, capped by a steal and thunderous dunk from Cole Bowser at the 1:16 mark of the opening 20 minutes, as the Paladins took a 39-30 lead to the half. It was Bowser’s first bucket of his collegiate career, as his redshirt is now officially removed.

In the second half, the Paladins picked up right where they left off in the opening half, getting four quick points from Charles Johnston on a half-hook in the lane, as well as a dunk off a feed from Alex Wilkins, while Wilkins also had a running one-hander off the glass, as the Paladins assumed the early 45-33 lead at the 17:45 mark of the second half, prompting an early Chattanooga timeout. 

Wilkins spent most of the night in foul trouble, picking up three of his four fouls in the opening half, and that floater in the lane turned out to be Furman's leading scorer's only points from the field all night, as he finished with eight points, but was just 1-for-10 from the field as a result of never finding an offensive rhythm, which was due in large part to that early foul trouble.  

Still, the talented freshman from Mattapan, MA., finished a solid 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and dished out seven of the team's 17 helpers along with recording a steal and a rebound in 22 minutes of floor time. 

A Johnston triple off another Wilkins feed gave the Paladins a brief 15-point lead, at 48-33, however, Jikari Johnson answered with a three for the Mocs, and Furman took a 48-36 lead to the first media timeout of the second half at the 15:53 mark.

Following back-to-back threes, the Mocs cut Furman’s lead to seven, however, a layup by Bowser and another three by House extended the Paladins’ lead back to 12, at 68-56.

 With 4:02 remaining. The Mocs called timeout, but not even some encouragement and coaching from Dan Earl could resuscitate the Mocs' early-game momentum, as the Paladins never let the Mocs get closer than three possessions for the remainder of the evening, getting as close as seven once inside the final four minutes when Frison connected on his fifth and final three of the night with 51 seconds remaining to trim Furman's lead to 74-67.

However, the Paladins closed out the final embers of the game by connecting on their final four free throws of the contest, as Thomas and Wilkins combined to finish the game 4-for-4 at the charity stripe, while the Paladins held the Mocs scoreless on the other end to close out the impressive 11-point road win.

As simple as it may sound, sometimes at the end of the day energy and what separates why some good teams take things to the next level, while others plateau has a lot to do with team personality and how much you enjoy it all. Smiles are a big indicator things are going to go well or are already going well for a team. In Wednesday night's road win, there were a lot of smiling faces for Furman, while Chattanooga's countenance was one of worried concern for much of the night. Some of that worry was Furman, but a lot of it was also about how things have gone and the overall direction things seem to be going.

Charles Johnston helps his teammate Asa Thomas up off the floor in Furman's 11-point win at Chattanooga

"Joy and urgency has always been our key and you've got to be able to combine them and I thought we were a little bit joy-less on Saturday and we got down and then faced a deficit and I thought we played hard, but I didn't think we played necessarily with great spirit and I think there's a difference...I think you can play hard but not have great spirit and for us we always want to play with joy and it was good to see tonight to not necessarily get off to a great start and it started to feel a little bit like last year in here and then we made a run, but our spirit was definitely better tonight and you could see it with the bench and you could see it with the teammates on the court and you could see it with the huddles and interactions," Bob Richey said.

In recent press conferences this season, Richey has stressed the importance of not losing sight of what this--collegiate athletics-- is all about amid the constant turmoil and change that is prevalent in NCAA Division I college athletics, and that in the middle of that tumultuous storm of the NIL/transfer portal era, the right types of values that college sports have always been about can still be found, but now you just have a look maybe a little harder than maybe you once had to.

"These kids get to play college basketball and they get to an institution like Furman and there's a lot of bad things being said about college sports right now, but there's still no better way for these young people to learn about life and to learn about adversity and to learn how to trust one another and to figure out an identity to win to and to play to and to depend on one another...We've always been big on our values as a program and that's been a big message for us the last 24 hours...We've got to trust the values and the biggest key to that is to trust each other and we did a much better job of that tonight," Richey added.

Furman returns to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon, as the Paladins will welcome VMI into Timmons Arena for a 2 p.m. EST contest with the Keydets. Chattanooga will look to recover from its third-straight SoCon loss when it welcomes Samford to the McKenzie Arena Saturday afternoon for a 4:30 p.m. EST contest, which is the Nexstar SoCon game of the week and will be televised on local affiliates within the SoCon's media footprint.