Furman would also put together one of its best defensive performances of the Bob Richey era, holding VMI to 48 points and just 26.9% shooting for the game, as the Paladins went on to record a 69-48 Southern Conference win before 2,447 fans on hand for Legends Day at Timmons Arena.
Fans again showed up in anticipation, highlighted by the return of over 100 Paladin Basketball Legends hoping to see a better result a week after last week's 80-77 overtime home setback to Western Carolina.
On Saturday afternoon inside Timmons Arena, Paladin hoops legends and fans alike witnessed a complete team win, without needing any one legendary performance from one player, but good performances from all of its players. A whole is better than the sum of its parts type win. It was a showcase of the solid depth Furman has within its team. The anticipation of a Paladin win was a good vibe. That happened.
However, what fans and team alike didn't anticipate happening was Furman to lose two more of its starting five to injury--Tom House and Asa Thomas--in the opening 12 minutes of the game. Neither would return. It was also a sloppy, physical basketball game, as the two teams combined for 36 turnovers, including 20 by the Paladins, as well as four combined injuries, with two players from each team suffering injuries they wouldn't return from after exiting the lineup for their respective teams.
But that's okay, Furman didn't need a redshirt to be pulled off anyone this time out like it did by introducing difference-maker and game-changer Cole Bowser in Wednesday's road win over UTC, or even for Alex Wilkins or Charles Johnston to wear a cape and a mask. All they really needed was a little bit of trust from the coaching staff in guys like Eddrin Bronson, Mason Smith, Abijah Franklin, and Owen Riger. That also happened.
It was especially true of Bronson's performance, who scored a season-high 16 points, blocked two shots and grabbed four rebounds with only one turnover in Saturday's triumph. It was arguably his best all-around performance of the season, and best scoring performance since scoring 15 points in Furman's first NCAA Division I win of the season back on Nov. 23 vs. Queens.
With the win, the Paladins improved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in SoCon, while the Keydets fell to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
The Paladins had three players finish the afternoon in double figures, led by Alex Wilkins, who finished with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. His main struggle continues to be taking care of the basketball, but the good again far outweighed the bad in terms of what he gave the 'Dins over the course of the game.
The true freshman from Mattapan, MA., finished the contest connecting on 7-of-16 shots from the field, while knocking down 3-of-11 three-pointers in the game.
The Paladins were given a huge lift off the bench from Eddrin Bronson, who recorded 16 of the team's 26 bench points in the triumph over the Keydets. The sophomore guard from Tampa, FL, finished his night connecting on 5-of-11 shots from the field, which included a 4-of-7 effort from three-point range.
Always steady Ben Vander Wal rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Paladins, posting 11 points and six rebounds.
Charles Johnston delivered another elite performance, leading the Paladins with 15 rebounds, a team-leading five assists, two steals, and two blocks to go along with six points.
VMI had two players finish in double figures, as TJ Johnson finished his evening with 15 points, six steals' four rebounds and two assists. The only other player to end up reaching double figures for VMI was AJ Clark, who contributed 10 points off the bench.
Johnson finished the night connecting on 4-of-12 from the field, including a 3-for-10 performance from three-point range. Johnson entered the matchup ranking as the SoCon's second-leading scorer, averaging 19.3 PPG.
The Paladins recorded 10 kills in the game, which means there were 10 different occasions in which Furman recorded three-consecutive defensive stops, helping support that strong defensive effort, which was relentless all afternoon.
The Paladins held an NCAA Division I opponent to less than 50 points for the first time since limiting The Citadel to just 42 points in an 85-42 win over the Bulldogs last season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the last regular-season home game in that facility before returning to the refurbished Timmons Arena this season. The shooting percentage for the Keydets--26.9%--was also the lowest since holding The Citadel to 25% in that last regular-season game a year ago.
The 48 points by VMI equaled their lowest output of the season against an NCAA Division I foe, matching its points total in a loss to Bowling Green earlier in non-conference play.
The game wasn't without more adversity due to injury on both sides, with Furman losing both second-leading scorer Asa Thomas and Tom House for most of the game, losing House with roughly 11 minutes remaining in the opening half, while Asa Thomas exited the game following an apparent injury on a rebound heading into the under eight media timeout of the opening half.
He did not return. House's injury appeared to be a head injury, with it likely being concussion protocol, while Thomas exited with some kind of lower body injury and didn't return after the 7:19 mark of the opening half.
VMI wasn't without its own adversity in the game, too, as already down the preseason league Player of the Year, the Keydets would lose talented freshman forward Alexander Daushvili early in the game, while talented point guard Tan Yildizoglu went out at about the eight minute mark of the second half following one of two Eddrin Bronson blocks. He appeared to suffer some kind of lower body injury as well, exiting the arena floor and yelling out in frustration as he left momentarily.
Furman's injury situation has already seen it lose one double figure scorer, in Cooper Bowser, as well as one of the top freshman players in the SoCon, in Collin O'Neal, with both expected to return at some point. Without Thomas and House, the Paladins were down two of their top three scorers for and a top freshman performer, as well as having lost glue guy Davis Molnar prior to the season.
With all that said, the Paladins weren't phased and played some of their best team basketball of the season, and while it wasn't pretty on the offensive end at times, the Paladins turned in a defensive masterpiece.
For the game, Furman shot the ball at a 42.9% (24-of-56) clip, which included a 33.3% (11-of-33) effort from three-point range, and a 55.6% (10-of-18) clip at the charity stripe.
VMI finished the afternoon connecting on just 26.9% (15-of-56) from the field and just 13 field goals. Only the 20% (10-of-50) field goal percentage and 10 field goals against Bowling Green earlier this season rank as lower totals. The Keydets connected at a slightly higher rate from three-point range, connecting on 29.0% (9-of-31) from three-point land and 69.2% (9-of-13) from the charity stripe.
The Paladins finished the game holding advantages in points in the paint (22-10), second-chance points (18-12), total rebounds (48-32), total assists (14-9), and bench points (26-15). VMI's lone statistical advantages on the day were fast-break points and points from turnovers (25-21), outpacing the Paladins by five (12-7).
Furman's 20 turnovers marked the second time this season the Paladins have surrendered 20 or more possessions in a game, with the only other time being in the season-opening loss to High Point.
It was just the eighth time in 279 games under head coach Bob Richey that the Paladins have committed that many turnovers, improving to 3-5 in such games. The last time the Paladins won a game when turning it over 20 or more times in a game was on Dec. 3, 2022, defeating South Carolina State (W, 88-76).
How It Happened:
VMI came out and took the initiative early in the contest, taking a 6-5 lead into the first media timeout at the 16-minute mark. Furman’s first points from the field didn’t come until nearly four minutes into the contest, as Asa Thomas knocked down an uncontested three from the left elbow at the 16:15 mark, cutting the Keydets lead to two.
How It Happened:
VMI came out and took the initiative early in the contest, taking a 6-5 lead into the first media timeout at the 16-minute mark. Furman’s first points from the field didn’t come until nearly four minutes into the contest, as Asa Thomas knocked down an uncontested three from the left elbow at the 16:15 mark, cutting the Keydets lead to two.
Clark had both steals and a dunk and a layup and two TJ Johnson foul shots accounted for VMI’s first points of the day. Ben Vander Wal picked up two fouls before the first media timeout, forcing the Paladins to put Cole Bowser a little earlier than expected.
Furman had gained the advantage in the game heading to the second media timeout of the game, highlighted by an 8-0 run, which started with that Thomas three that got the Paladins on the board from the field just prior to the first media, and just after the first media, another three by Thomas and one by Wilkins along with another short jumper in the paint by the true freshman accounted for the eight quick ones.
Furman had gained the advantage in the game heading to the second media timeout of the game, highlighted by an 8-0 run, which started with that Thomas three that got the Paladins on the board from the field just prior to the first media, and just after the first media, another three by Thomas and one by Wilkins along with another short jumper in the paint by the true freshman accounted for the eight quick ones.
The Keydets got threes from freshman guard Mario Tatum Jr. and Walker Andrews to make it a 13-12 game as the two teams headed to the second timeout of the half at the 11:49 mark.
Furman had assumed a 17-14 lead shortly after a Tom House triple and on the next time down the floor, he was involved in a tough collision at midcourt with Stuckey and exited the lineup. Following an injury to House after a short stoppage in play, the Paladins would then get an offensive rebound and basket from Cole Bowser, who cleaned up after a missed jumper by Wilkins to give the Paladins a 19-14 lead.
VMI responded with threes on consecutive trips by Tan Yildizoglu and Linus Holmstrom, and Clark’s third steal and second dunk of the half all of the sudden had put the Keydets up three, 22-19. It would be their final lead of the game.
However, Eddrin Bronson helped convert a second chance opportunity off an offensive rebound with a right wing three to pull Furman even, 22-22, by the third media timeout of the half.
Bronson hit back with two foul shots and a three to go on his own personal 8-0 run and give the Paladins a 27-22 lead with 5: remaining in the half. Another Yildizoglu triple ended the scoring drought and got the Keydets to within 29-27 at the final media of the half with 3:14 left.
Furman would hold VMI scoreless the remainder of the half, getting two free throws from Charles Johnston and another from Ben Vander Wal, as well as a layup from Wilkins on Furman’s final possession of the half, as the Paladins held the Keydets scoreless over the final 3:21 of the half to take a 34-27 lead into the locker room.
Furman opened the second half on an 16-3 run, which allowed Furman to take its largest lead, at 50-30 following a combined four threes by Bronson (2) and Wilkins (2) and a layup by Vander Wal, while Johnston and Bronson combined for three free throws during the opening stretch of the second half.
Furman had assumed a 17-14 lead shortly after a Tom House triple and on the next time down the floor, he was involved in a tough collision at midcourt with Stuckey and exited the lineup. Following an injury to House after a short stoppage in play, the Paladins would then get an offensive rebound and basket from Cole Bowser, who cleaned up after a missed jumper by Wilkins to give the Paladins a 19-14 lead.
VMI responded with threes on consecutive trips by Tan Yildizoglu and Linus Holmstrom, and Clark’s third steal and second dunk of the half all of the sudden had put the Keydets up three, 22-19. It would be their final lead of the game.
However, Eddrin Bronson helped convert a second chance opportunity off an offensive rebound with a right wing three to pull Furman even, 22-22, by the third media timeout of the half.
Bronson hit back with two foul shots and a three to go on his own personal 8-0 run and give the Paladins a 27-22 lead with 5: remaining in the half. Another Yildizoglu triple ended the scoring drought and got the Keydets to within 29-27 at the final media of the half with 3:14 left.
Furman would hold VMI scoreless the remainder of the half, getting two free throws from Charles Johnston and another from Ben Vander Wal, as well as a layup from Wilkins on Furman’s final possession of the half, as the Paladins held the Keydets scoreless over the final 3:21 of the half to take a 34-27 lead into the locker room.
Furman opened the second half on an 16-3 run, which allowed Furman to take its largest lead, at 50-30 following a combined four threes by Bronson (2) and Wilkins (2) and a layup by Vander Wal, while Johnston and Bronson combined for three free throws during the opening stretch of the second half.
In the past two games against Chattanooga and VMI, Furman has had runs of 24-3 run spanning two halves last time out against the Mocs and posted a 16-3 run spanning roughly the final five minutes of the opening half and first 5-6 minutes of the second, posting a combined 40-6 run over a roughly a 10-15 minute span bridging two halves. Those stretches ultimately were the deciding factors for the game.
Alex Wilkins’ coast-to-coast layup in which he went behind the back twice in different directions to avoid two different Keydet defenders extended the Paladin lead to 22, at 59-37, with 9:29 remaining.
After VMI had briefly cut Furman’s lead to 16, a pair of Vander Wal buckets on a layup and a steal and dunk extended Furman’s lead back to 21, at 67-46 with 2:01 remaining. Abijah Franklin and TJ Johnson traded buckets to set the final margin at 21, with the Paladins claiming the 69-48 SoCon win.
Alex Wilkins’ coast-to-coast layup in which he went behind the back twice in different directions to avoid two different Keydet defenders extended the Paladin lead to 22, at 59-37, with 9:29 remaining.
After VMI had briefly cut Furman’s lead to 16, a pair of Vander Wal buckets on a layup and a steal and dunk extended Furman’s lead back to 21, at 67-46 with 2:01 remaining. Abijah Franklin and TJ Johnson traded buckets to set the final margin at 21, with the Paladins claiming the 69-48 SoCon win.
Furman returns to action Wednesday night with a trip to the Pete Hanna Center to face Samford (9-8, 2-2 SoCon) in a 7 p.m. EST tip-off time. VMI will host Mercer (10-7, 2-2 SoCon) Wednesday night in a 6 p.m. EST tip-off time at Cameron Hall.
Postgame Press Conference:
(Eddrin Bronson and Ben Vander Wal)
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