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| Furman true freshman point guard Alex Wilkins finished with 15 points and five assists |
SPARTANBURG, S.C.--Great rivalries are defined by the mutual hate felt by each fanbase for the other. In that hate, there is also a certain amount of respect, especially when speaking of hating in a more loosely attached part of the meaning and its application to sport.
A month ago, Wofford left Furman with a hard-fought 74-70 win. There was some respect from neutral and Furman fans alike for a young Wofford team under a new head coach that was able to overcome a double-digit, second half deficit to steal a 74-70 win over Furman.
There was also some hate, which mostly extended from the aftermath of that win, as Wofford players and fans alike extending the ring finger the capacity mostly partisan Furman crowd on-hand at the new Timmons Arena, as a reminder to what had happened the previous March in Asheville in the championship tilt at the Harrah's Cherokee Center--a 92-85 win by the underdog Terriers--which similarly overcame a late-game deficit to garner the banner-raising win.
Some 34 days after that four-point loss to Wofford at Timmons Arena, Furman returned the favor to gain a share of the seasonal spoils on the penultimate Saturday evening of the SoCon regular-season, as the Paladins held off Wofford, 76-67, inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium before an electric, capacity crowd of 3,181 fans.
Furman had a full roster of revenge ready for its next opportunity to have its say of the rivalry, and after the buzzer sounded, the Paladins said plenty, both with their actions on the floor, as well as with their own words on the way to the locker room to celebrate afterwards. At least two of those players--Tom House and Cooper Bowser--who missed the first clash between the two due to injury, had been waiting since last March.
The two programs though, are respectful of one another. Both acknowledge the other as the other as two of the top current programs in the SoCon. That's part of what has built the rivalry.
For Wofford head coach Kevin Giltner, he's both a piece of the foundation that helped build Wofford into the successful program it is today, as he contributed to five of the six crowns won by the Terriers in its Southern Conference history, and now as head coach in his first season, is trying to make it six out of seven after taking over just a month prior to the season.
He's not only sustained Wofford's success from a year ago, but he's also elevated it and it's easy to see that when you watch players like Kahmare Holmes, Cayden Vasko and Nils Machowski.
For Furman's head coach Bob Richey, who is inching ever closer to win 200 (199 with a win over Wofford) in his nine seasons, he's been the one that finally help Furman's program back to the mountaintop of tournament champion for the first time in 43 years back in 2023.
The Paladins now have 241 wins in the past 11 seasons, which is more than any other current league member. It was also the Paladins seventh road win of the season, as well as their 81st true road triumph since the start of the 2015-16 season.
Add to that both Wofford and Furman are the only current SoCon members with an NCAA Tournament win this millennium and you have the makings of a bitter rivalry that continues to only get bitterer--if that's a word or even possible.
It was a 40-minute battle of pure electricity and emotion. If East Tennessee State and Chattanooga is the old money rivalry between the two most successful programs of the current membership, then Wofford and Furman should be considered the new money rivalry.
If you've ever watched Scottish Soccer and follow the Scottish Premier League, the rivalry between Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic is referred to as the "Old Firm Rivalry", while Aberdeen and Dundee UTD, who started to become the two clubs in that league in the early-mid 1980s to start and experience some success other than the two in the Old Firm Derby, it would gain the reference as the "New Firm" Rivalry. Circling back to Furman-Wofford, it's become the "New Firm Rivalry" of the SoCon hardwood.
Whatever side you are on, this rivalry is SoCon hoops at its finest. And while other rivalries in the league wax and wane so to speak, like the one between UNC Greensboro and East Tennessee State, the rivalry between a Furman and Wofford will stand the test of time mostly because of the fact that no matter how good, or how bad either team is, the respectful hatred is always full throttle.
With the win, Furman improved to 18-11 overall and 9-7 in Southern Conference action, while Wofford fell to an identical 18-11 overall and 9-7 in SoCon play.
Furman improved to 24-36 against the Terriers since Wofford joined the Southern Conference as a member in 1997-98, while the Paladins also improved to 94-66 in the all-time series. Saturday's contest marked the 160th all-time series meeting between the two I-85 rivals. Will there be another one in Asheville? Only time will tell, but it could make for another outstanding battle should that be the case.
It marks the third-straight season that the two teams have split the regular-season spoils, including the second-straight in which both won the matchup on the opposition's home floor.
Wofford of course claimed a third matchup last season at the Harrah's Cherokee in Asheville, coming from behind late in that contest to claim what was a 92-85 win to punch its sixth NCAA Tournament ticket in the past 15 years.
Furman's midweek loss to East Tennessee State was in many ways frustrating because of the Paladins' shooting struggles from beyond the arc, as the Paladins were only able to connect on 18.2% (6-of-33) from three-point range, while seeing eventual 2026 SoCon Champion East Tennessee State connect on 12-of-24 shots from beyond the three-point line.
However, in the opening half of Saturday night's nine-point win over arch-rival Wofford, the Paladins seemingly couldn't miss, connecting on 8-of-10 from long-range, which included an 8-of-9 combined from both Asa Thomas and Abijah Franklin. The Paladins finished the game 9-of-17 from long range, which is good for 52.9% for the game.
While the perimeter shooting and defending were a big reason the Paladins were able to emerge from Spartanburg and the JRIS with a fourth win in five seasons, it wasn't the only reason. As important to that winning formula was the Paladins' play on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Terriers to a tie for their lowest scoring total in SoCon play this season, with the 67 points matching the total the Terriers scored in 76-67 home loss to Chattanooga.
Thomas, who finished with 18 points, connected on his first six first shots from long-range, and finished the game with a team-high 18 points, as he did not score in the second half only taking two more shots. All told, the redshirt sophomore transfer from from Clemson finished the game 6-of-9 from the field, which included a 6-for-7 effort from three-point land.
Additionally, Thomas added one rebound and one steal in 28 minutes of action. Thomas was joined in double figures by Alex Wilkins, who added 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and one steal.
Thomas' shooting effort in one half are similar to several witnessed over the years by Furman players, with the most obvious being Jordan Lyons' performance of hitting nine in the opening half in a game against North Greenville back in 2018. He would go on to tie the NCAA record with 15 threes, but his nine in the opening half of that game came on 16 attempts.
Another that comes to mind was Eric Webb connecting on six threes in the opening half against East Tennessee State in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Southern Conference Tournament, as the Paladins would eventually lose in a thriller, 94-84, to the top-seeded Bucs.
ETSU went on to win the 2004 SoCon Tournament title. Just earlier this season, Tom House knocked down his first five threes in the opening half, going 5-of-6 from long-range, as the Paladins claimed an 89-66 road win at UNCG earlier this season.
“I’ve been doing this my whole life...Seeing a couple go down as a shooter is probably one of the best feelings in the world...It builds confidence for our whole team....Everyone started hitting shots and getting stops, and it was a good win for us," Furman redshirt sophomore Asa Thomas said.
"Obviously, there’s bad blood between these schools. It’s my first year here (at Furman), but I’m already feeling it. I’m glad we came out, fought for the victory and were the tougher team tonight," Thomas added.
With his 15-point effort, the freshman guard from Mattapan, MA., got him over the 500-point plateau for the season, becoming just the Paladin to ever score 500 points as a freshman, joining two-time SoCon Player of the Year Jonathan Moore, who holds the school record for points scored by a Paladin rookie with 561 points during the 1976-77 season.
With his performance, Wilkins now has 514 points with two games remaining in the regular-season. He needs just 48 more points in the two regular-season and tournament game(s) to set a new Furman freshman standard. It marked the 24th time in 29 games that Wilkins has posted a double figures scoring performance.
"You guys are forgetting that boy's [Alex Wilkins] a freshman.... It's a sellout crowd and they're yelling expletives at him, and you know this is first time in here and everything's a first for him...He's one of the highest usage players in the country, which means he has the ball in his hand as much as anybody in the country and he just continues to grow and to be able to not play his best in the first half and to be able to come out and really hit one of the biggest shots of the game when we were down four to cut it to one right there in the second half and I thought he kept his composure and I thought he kept his face and I didn't think he lost his face," head coach Bob Richey said of Alex Wilkins and how he handled the hostile road environment.
Both Cooper Bowser and Charles Johnston were effective on the interior by combining to score 26 points on the interior, with each scoring 13 points. Bowser added seven rebounds, a steal and an assist, and was 5-of-6 from the field. Johnston finished the game 5-of-7 from the field and added five rebounds and a pair of important blocks.
Bowser missed the first 10 games of SoCon play due to a lower body injury, but it was his three-point play the old-fashioned way with 12:39 remaining that helped collectively fuel Furman after a strong start to the second half to Wofford.
That was the first sense that you felt Furman might actually be able to stop Wofford's overwhelming momentum it had garnered at the end of the first half and into the opening seven minutes of the second.
Following the layup conversion and prior to shooting hi "and-one" free throw, the normally stoic Bowser went over to the loud, boisterous Wofford student section and gave it a stare down, ala Jalen Slawson following a posterizing dunk in transition over Kyler Filewich in 2022. Just like that stare down from Slawson some four years ago sent a message, Bowser's grimace and piercing stare sent a similar one.
“I haven’t been able to play Wofford since the championship game last year...seeing them win on our home floor definitely lit a fire inside of me. We were challenged to play a complete game, especially defensively. I’m happy we were able to come out here and get a win," Furman junior forward Cooper Bowser said.
The Paladins finished the game connecting on 51.9% (27-of-52) from the field, including the aforementioned 52.9% (9-of-17) from three-point range. The Paladins were also an impressive 13-of-17 from the charity stripe, which converts to a 76.5% shooting clip.
Wofford got a game-high 20 points from Kahmare Holmes, who was back in his second game since returning from injury after almost a month hiatus, as he posted his 14th performance of 20 or more points this season.
He scored 13 of his 20 points in the opening 20 minutes of basketball. Holmes was efficient in his performance, finishing the contest 6-for-12 from the field, which included a 2-for-5 effort from three-point range. About the only area of struggle in the contest for Holmes was at the charity stripe, where he finished 6-of-13 for the game.
Holmes, a sophomore from Charlotte, led three Terriers that finished the contest in double figures and added five rebounds, three rebounds and a steal to Wofford's cause.
Cayden Vasko finished the contest with 13 points and 10 rebounds to finish the contest with a double-double. Vasko ended the game connecting on 5-of-13 from the field and was 3-for-10 from three-point land. Big man Rex Stirling finished the 10 points and four rebounds, as two players from a land down under finished in double figures from each team.
The Terriers finished the night shooting 43.9% (25-of-57) and struggled from three-point range, as Wofford was only able to connect at a 26.9% (7-of-26) from beyond the arc. However, perhaps the most surprising lack of performance at the charity stripe, where the Terriers finished just 52.6% (10-of-19).
Furman finished the game holding advantages in points in the paint (36-32), points off turnovers (11-7), total rebounds (35-30), total assists (14-12), free throw scoring (9-7) and bench scoring (13-8). Wofford with advantages in second-chance points (8-6) and free throw attempts (19-17). Both teams tied in the fast-break points category (10-10).
"Our bench was fantastic tonight...Ed [Bronson] is a plus thirteen...Tom [House] is a plus fifteen... Baba [Franklin] is a plus fourteen...and Cole [Bowser] is a plus seven...our bench was tremendous and it was a complete win...our teams are at their best when we're not depending on one or two guys...we had Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell out there together for a couple of years and the beauty of that was you didn't know which one was going to have the key night and when you can load up and pick on one you know it's different, but in the second half we played through Coop [Cooper Bowser] and we've got a bunch of good players out here and Alex [Wilkins] isn't our whole team," Bob Richey added.
There were key segments of the game absolutely back up the quote above. The two threes and a steal by Baba Franklin comes to mind, and the elite shooting by Asa in the first half. In the second half, it was Cooper Bowser's "and-one" that might have been a definable turning point, as well as a couple of driving layups and a huge block by Charles Johnston down the stretch.
Tom House's aggression on defense was noticeable, and Cole Bowser's defense around the rebounding and rim protection were also evident. Ben Vander Wal's driving layup with 4:19 left to give Furman a six-point lead, at 67-61, are all perfect examples of that.
Just as Cooper Bowser, Tom House and Asa Thomas were missing from the first matchup with Wofford, the Terriers were without one of their key cogs in the lineup that had such an impact in the first meeting, as Brian Sumpter played but not much, as he continues to recover from a bad flu bug that is going around right now.
Sumpter played only six minutes, with his lone points in the game being a dunk in the first half. He posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting between the two this season in the 74-70 Wofford win back on Jan. 17 at Timmons Arena.
How It Happened:
The story of the opening half was Furman’s shooting from long range, however, as the Paladins went 8-for-12 from downtown in the opening half of play, powered mostly by Asa Thomas, who connected on his first six and went 6-of-7 from long-range in the opening half.
The lead would change hands three more times before the second media timeout before took the lead for good. Cayden Vasko connected on a three with 11:53 remaining to give the Terriers a 54-53 lead. Holmes connected on a jumper to push the lead back to three before Wilkins sliced down the lane for a layup and after coming up with a steal on Wofford's ensuing possession, found Cooper Bowser on a lob from the top of the key and his slam and a 57-56 lead with 9:48 remaining and it would be one the Paladins would not relinquish this time around.
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