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| Furman and The Citadel will be meeting for the 225th time Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena |
THE VENUE AND PLACE: TIMMONS ARENA (2,500)/GREENVILLE, S.C. (SENIOR NIGHT)
Setting The Scene:
Furman closes out the home regular-season slate on Wednesday evening by welcoming The Citadel into Timmons Arena for a game with plenty of importance attached to it. With a win in the regular-season home finale, Furman would more than likely lock up a Top 6 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament.
The Paladins and Bulldogs represent the oldest Southern Conference hardwood rivalry, with the clash between the two Wednesday night marking the 225th all-time clash between the two programs, with Furman holding the commanding 135-89 series edge against The Citadel.
A win by the Paladins would also mark the 200th-career win for head coach Bob Richey, which is yet another milestone for the program and personally for Richey himself, as his ninth year as the head coach draws to a close. Richey picked up win No. 100 as the Paladins head coach came on Jan. 8, 2022, as the Paladins knocked off Mercer, 81-66, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Win No. 150 came during the 2023-24 campaign, as the Paladins slid past eventual SoCon title winner Samford, scoring a 78-68 win over the Bucky McMillan-led Bulldogs.
The Paladins are coming off a big 76-67 win at Wofford this past Saturday night, however, the Paladins return to Timmons Arena with a bit of a peculiar dilemma, as the Paladins will look to put an end to what has become a two-game winning streak on its home floor.
In fact, Furman hasn't lost back-to-back league games at Timmons Arena since the 2014-15 season, as the Paladins suffered back-to-back setbacks to both vs. Mercer (L,68-74) and vs. The Citadel (L, 56-62), which coincidentally enough, also marks the last time a Bulldogs basketball team left Greenville with a win.
The Bulldogs come to Greenville having gone from being a team that looked like it might be in the mix to avoid Friday's play-in round two weeks ago to one being almost assured of it, as the Bulldogs will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when they take the floor on Wednesday evening to do battle with the 'Dins.
The Bulldogs' most recent loss came Saturday afternoon at home against Chattanooga, as the Mocs posted a relatively easy 92-73 win over the Bulldogs at McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs handed Furman one of its most demoralizing losses of the season back just a little over a month ago, as the Bulldogs overcame a 19-point second half deficit to post a 77-75 overtime win over the Paladins.
The key to that last month was The Citadel's effort and desire to win the game, while Furman's effort was maybe questionable down the stretch of that game for the first time since the season-opening 26-point loss to High Point.
Anatomy of The Citadel's Comeback in the Previous Meeting:
Four-straight points on a layup and alley-oop catch for a slam would extend Furman's lead to 19 with just under 13 minutes left, at 53-34.
With 9:58 remaining, Christian Moore connected on a three, which was the second in succession for the Bulldogs, cutting Furman's once 19-point lead to 13, at 55-42, prompting a Paladin timeout. Furman maintained a 12-point lead heading into the under eight media timeout, with the Bulldogs briefly cutting it to 11 on an alley-oop from Gonzales-to-Adebisi to make it a 55-44 game, however, Wilkins answered with a top of the key three on the next trip down to extend the lead back to 14 before Braxton Williams finished a layup on the other end to slice the lead back to 12.
After Franklin connected on a pair of free throws to get the Furman lead to 14, the Bulldogs hit back with five-straight to get within double digits, as Williams connected on a triple to make it a 60-51 game with 6:21 remaining. Following a bail out foul on Johnston against Gonzales going to the basket, the Paladin lead dwindled to seven with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, at 60-53, with the true freshman guard out of Chicago knocking down both charity shots.
Johnston then turned it over and then picked up his fourth foul with 5:16 left. With just under five minutes left, the Bulldogs continued to chip away, and a three-point play the old-fashioned way, following a rebound and putback by Williams with 4:50 remaining got the Bulldogs to within two possessions, at 60-56, which was as close as the Bulldogs had been on the scoreboard since the 8:03 mark of the opening half, trailing just 25-22 at that particular point in the contest. Williams' three-point play completed what had been a 10-0 spurt for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs were able to trim Furman's lead to one over three times over the next 7:53 of the game before eventually pulling even. The points that allowed the Bulldogs to finally pull even and force overtime came, fittingly, on an effort play, which saw the Bulldogs out-work the Paladins by coming up with an offensive rebound and then converting it into points and were rewarded for their hard work by a Furman foul, which allowed for the completion of a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 10 seconds remaining.
It appeared Furman might survive when Cole Bowser converted a layup in the paint to give the Paladins a 67-64 lead with 1:14 remaining. However, a costly offensive rebound allowed by the Paladins would lead to a three-point play from The Citadel's Sola Adebisi with 10 seconds remaining, which tied the game 67-67, with Wilkins missing a jumper at the buzzer as the two teams headed for an extra five minutes of basketball for a third-straight season in Charleston.
In overtime, a foul by Cole Bowser as Williams drove to the basket put the Valdosta State grad transfer at the line for a pair of free throws. He would connect on a pair of charity shots 30 seconds into the extra five minutes of basketball to give The Citadel a 69-67 lead, which was its first lead since a 20-19 advantage at the 9:51 mark of the opening half.
After a Charles Johnston dunk tied it off a hook-pass alley-oop from Wilkins, the Bulldogs answered with a Moore triple to take a 72-69 lead with 3:11 remaining. Furman got within one when Wilkins was fouled and then proceeded to knock down both one-and-one free throws to trim The Citadel's lead to one, at 72-71.
Williams and Vander Wal traded layups to leave the margin at one, and after Gonzales missed a three for the Bulldogs, Wilkins would be fouled going to the basket once again, and this time the freshman from Mattapan, MA., knocked down both of the two-shot bonus free throws to give Furman a 75-74 lead with 1:21 left.
Furman couldn't defend without fouling the rest of the way, and the Bulldogs were able to convert 3-of-4 foul shots over the final minute, with Adebisi and Williams combining for the final three points of the game from the line, giving the Bulldogs a 77-75 lead and ultimately the win. Furman had one last chance with 3.3 seconds remaining, but Wilkins' desperation mid-court heave at the buzzer was too strong and off the backboard, as the Bulldogs held on for a thrilling win in overtime.
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| The Citadel senior forward Sola Adebisi |
Previewing the Bulldogs:
The Citadel comes to Greenville looking to put an end to a four-game losing skid when it takes the floor for Wednesday night's Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week.
The Bulldogs have three core scoring leaders that will have fueled their resurgence this season. Those three performers have been Florida State transfer Sola Adebisi (8.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG), Valdosta State transfer Braxton Williams (13.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG) and veteran guard Christian Moore (11.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG), and as that three-pronged scoring attack goes, so goes The Citadel.
In the first game against Furman, it was Adebisi's 22 points and eight rebounds that gave the Paladins the most issues. In fact, he's been a problem for the Paladins dating back to last season, as he posted a double-double in last season's overtime loss by the Bulldogs in Charleston, posting 16 points and 11 rebounds in the overtime loss to the Paladins.
He comes in shooting 58.1% (86-of-148) from the field so far through the first 29 games this season, and his athleticism is some of why the Bulldogs have been decent on the backboards throughout the season. That athleticism has also helped him overwhelmingly lead the team in blocks this season, having posted 27 swats so far this season.
He connected on 9-of-10 shots from the field in the first meeting between Furman and The Citadel this season, and three of his eight offensive rebounds were offensive, which helped lead to the Bulldogs' 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.
Williams has been the alpha leader of this Bulldogs team this season, and he's been a prized get from the transfer portal by head coach Ed Conroy. In the first meeting against Furman this season last month, Williams was the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer, posting 18 points, however, had to do so on 18 shots, as he finished 5-of-18 shots from the field. He was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in that game, which was part of a 23-of-30 effort from the charity stripe for the Bulldogs in that 77-75 overtime win.
In 12 games this season, Williams has finished the game as the Bulldogs' leading scorer, including each of the past three, which includes posting 20 or more points in each of the past two games. Williams posted a career-high 26 points in the loss to Chattanooga this past Saturday. He finished 8-of-23 from the field, including going 5-for-14 from three-point range in that contest, as well as going an uncharacteristic 5-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Williams has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and has found his way into double figures 18 times this season to lead the team. He is shooting just 39.1% (137-of-350) from the field this season, while connecting at a 33.9% (65-of-192) from three-point range. Williams has been solid from the charity stripe this season, connecting at a 78.0% (64-of-82) from the line, and up until last game against Chattanooga, which saw him go a shaky 5-for-11 from the stripe.
Moore rounds out the real scoring threats for the Bulldogs, and he posted 14 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs in that 77-75 overtime win back in January. The 6-6 junior wing is shooting a solid 39.1% () from three-point range this season for the Bulldogs, and he's a player that the Paladins will have to wary of from beyond the arc, as he went 4-for-7 from downtown in the previous clash with the Paladins this season. Moore has totaled 14 games in which he has scored in double figures this season and has three games of 20 or more points.
The Bulldogs were without shooting guard Carter Kingsbury (8.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG) the last time these two met, as he missed the game with an illness, and he was supplemented by Logan Applegate (6.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG), who was effective in Kingsbury's absence.
Kingsbury is a graduate transfer from the University of Iowa and he's started 26 of the 27 games he's played in so far for the Bulldogs. His best game of the season for the Bulldogs came in the 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina at McAlister Fieldhouse last month, as he posted a career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from three-point range. Kingsbury has totaled 10 double-figure scoring performances this season.
Applegate has been a key performer off the bench for the Bulldogs this season, and the graduate senior transfer from Drury posted one of his eight double-figure scoring this season against the Paladins, finishing with 10 points, doing half of his damage from the charity stripe in the game, as he finished 5-for-5 in that contest.
Point guard Eze Wali (6.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG) rounds out the projected starting five for the Bulldogs. Wali has been efficient running the Bulldogs' offense, and the sophomore from Providence, RI is now a veteran leading the Bulldogs as the floor general, having started 26 games at the point last season for The Citadel. His 66 assists ranks him 15th in the SoCon this season and he's taken pretty good care of the basketball with only 33 turnovers for a ratio of 2.0. Wali has started 28 of 29 games for the Bulldogs this season, and his best scoring performance in a game this season came against Southern Wesleyan, as he posted 17 points in a 98-73 win back on Dec. 9.
Off the bench, the Bulldogs will need to get some quality minutes out of USA Aiken transfer from 6-10 senior Simeon German (), who has at times provided good rim protection and rebounding for the Bulldogs, and against the much bigger Paladins, that could come in handy Wednesday evening. German isn't going to provide much in the way of scoring, however.
Rounding out the players that could provide minutes off the bench for the Bulldogs Wednesday night could be 6-5 wing guard Keynan Davis (4.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG) 6-4 forward Dante Kearse (3.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG), with both seeing action against the Paladins in the meeting back in January, combining for two points in a combined 10-and-a-half minutes off the bench. Aside from Moore, the Bulldogs' best player off the bench in that previous meeting was freshman guard Marcos Gonzalez (4.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG), who posted nine points on a season-high 29 minutes off the bench.
As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 69.4 PPG, while allowing 76.8 PPG. In its last four losses, the Bulldogs are losing by an average of 19.5 PPG, including a 38-point road loss at Western Carolina (L, 87-49) and a 21-point loss vs. Chattanooga (L, 93-72) on Senior Day.
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| Furman 2025 Senior center Garrett Hien |
Furman will recognize the accomplishments of four seniors prior to Wednesday night's contest against The Citadel, as forward Ben Vander Wal (7.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG), forward Charles Johnston (10.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG), guard Tom House (7.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 41 3pt FGs) and walk-on forward Thomas Tillman will also make their final appearances before the Paladin fanbase in a regular-season game.
Over the past two seasons, the quartet has been a part of 43 wins, combined to score 731 points, grab 509 rebounds and dish out 168 assists. They quartet has also provided plenty of other intangibles that don't show up on a stats sheet.
If you think back to just last season and remember how special it was to see Garrett Hien score his 1,000th point in his final regular-season home game, it was an emotional night and a cause for celebration for what Hien was able to provide the program with over a four-year span, including being part of arguably the biggest sequence of events in program history in Furman's stunning win over Virginia in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Orlando.
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| Furman senior forward Ben Vander Wal (left) and 2025 senior guard Nick Anderson (right) |
Making the moment even more special when you really pause to think about it is the fact that players like Garrett Hien and Ben Vander Wal are a bit of a dying breed in today's college basketball landscape, which is dominated by the relationship between how much money you can make and what school will offer you the most for your playing services, which is also known as the NIL-transfer portal era of college basketball.
Hien and Vander Wal are very much throwback types. While Hien got his special moment by scoring his 1,000th point for the Paladins against the Bulldogs last season, Vander Wal will have a chance to be recognized Wednesday night and there will be a point in the game against the Bulldogs when Vander Wal no doubt provide a moment of inspiration or providing energy in some way, whether it be by taking a charge, getting a key rebound, making a key pass, or simply going to the basket for a thunderous dunk.
In fact, when I think back about Vander Wal's impact and career at Furman, his favorite highlight of mine is his baseline dunk against Winthrop during his freshman season back in 2022-23. He's provided winning plays like that over the Eagles four years ago. In fact, Vander Wal has been of a total of 88 wins, including a school-record 28, in that magical 2022-23 season. The Elmhurst, Illinois is slated to make his 129th appearance in a Furman uniform this evening, which will include making his 76th start.
Vander Wal is one of the two remaining pieces off that 2022-23 team, with injured forward Davis Molnar, who redshirted that season, being the other. Vander Wal was a key piece to that championship winning team, which broke through and won the SoCon Tournament for the first time in 43 years just three years ago.
In his four seasons as a Paladin starting forward, Vander Wal has established himself as a glue guy...aka doing the little things that don't show up on a stats sheet to help the team win. As coach Bob Richey has often said in his postgame pressers, "Vandy just has winning DNA".
His 129 games played are most among active players at the same school in the SoCon. The only other player that even comes close to that kind of loyalty is ETSU's Allen Strothers, who will be suiting up for the 110th time tonight for the Bucs against Wofford at Freedom Hall.
For his career as a Paladin, Vander Wal has scored 762 points, grabbed 602 rebounds, dished out 171 assists, record 78 steals and blocked 49 shots in his Furman career. He is averaging 6.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.3 APG over the course of his Furman career.
Both Johnston and House joined the Furman basketball program just prior to the 2024-25 season and both have had big impacts on what the Paladins have been able to achieve over the past couple of seasons. Both have joined Vander Wal in being key on-the-floor leaders during the 2025-26 campaign for the Paladins.
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| Furman senior forward Charles Johnston (right) and Furman redshirt sophomore guard Asa Thomas (ground) |
Johnston has come up big on the boards for the Paladins this season, and from the outset of his career, you knew the 6-11 native of Sydney, Australia was going to provide something unique for Furman basketball. His 25-point effort in Furman's win over Jacksonville in the SoCon-Atlantic Sun Challenge. But he had to play limited minutes during his initial season with the Paladins due to both back and knee issues.
Fully healthy this season, Johnston has been a transformative player for the Paladins, especially when Cooper Bowser was out of the lineup due to a lower body injury, which forced the junior to miss the first 10 games of SoCon play. A couple of memories come to mind on how Johnston came up for big during that stretch come to mind, which include the defensive performance and job he did overall on the glass in Furman's first matchup with Mercer this season in what was a 74-72 win at Timmons Arena.
In that contest, Johnston posted nine points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the two-point win. More important to the cause was Johnston's performance on the defensive end of the floor, holding Mighty in-check for much of the afternoon, as the Bears big man had been averaging a double-double per game coming into the clash with the Paladins. However, Johnston matched Mighty's physicality, holding the Mercer big man to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting for the game.
The other memory that comes to mind for Johnston was what he provided offensively in Furman's 76-67 road win at Chattanooga in early January. In that contest, Johnston went 10-of-14 from the field for 21 points, while also grabbing eight rebounds, while also posting an assist and a steal. He enters his final home game in a Furman uniform with 10 double-doubles this season and 15 double-digit rebound performances this season and in combination with his two seasons spent at Cal State Bernadino prior to coming to Furman in 2024-25, he has 24-career double-doubles.
It's almost hard to believe that Johnston has only played basketball for five years and was an avid cricket player and fan before being convinced to pick up a basketball and give hoops a try by his childhood friend, former Duke star and current Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor.
In two seasons with the Paladins, Johnston has scored 461 points, grabbed 364 rebounds, dished out 74 assists, recorded 35 steals and blocked 29 shots. He has connected on 68 threes and has shot 46.5% in two seasons for the 'Dins. But I think more than anything, the picture above of the big 6-11 forward from a land down under speaks to the type of person I will always think of when I think of Johnston in that he is a tremendous teammate.
He's always happy and it has been a blessing to have gotten to know him the past couple of seasons. Charles Johnston has good, positive energy in him and that's something that this team has needed and will surely need again as the season winds down and the Paladins chase their goal of winning the Southern Conference Tournament. The world needs more Charles Johnstons in it.
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| Furman senior guard Tom House |
Tom House was originally sought after hard by Furman's coaching staff, but he opted to sign with Florida State out of Centerville High School in Dayton, OH. Over the past couple of seasons, he has come up big in several key games for the Paladins, including the Paladins most recent one--a 76-67 road win at Wofford--as he played some of his best defense of the season.
More often though, it's been House's offense and elite shooting over the course of his two seasons as a Paladin that has been more of a source for dinnertime conversations. Since his arrival at Furman prior to the 2024-25 season, House has caught fire in the month of February. His 26-point performance on an 8-for-13 shooting effort, which included a 6-for-9 effort from three-point range was evidence of that in what was a 96-72 win over Mercer.
House's strong shooting would continue in the Southern Conference Tournament against Samford, as he finished Furman lopsided, 95-78, win over Samford by going for 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, which included a 6-for-7 effort from three-point range.
His hot shooting started a week earlier this season, and his breakout performance would come in Furman's 89-66 win on the road at UNCG, as House lit the house named Bodford Arena on fire with his shooting, finishing the game with 25 points and that included a 7-for-10 shooting performance from three-point range in the game.
House, who was a preseason All-SoCon selection, has totaled 454 points, 95 made threes, 165 rebounds, 90 assists, 26 steals and six blocks in his two seasons with the Paladins. He has shot 35.2% from three-point range in his two seasons as a Paladin, including 40.6% from long range last season.
The final senior to be recognized on Wednesday evening is Thomas Tillman, who has been a key member of Furman's scout team over the past three seasons and is as important for what he has provided off the floor in terms of game preparation as any of what the three aforementioned players have provided on it this season and prior to the current campaign. He has seen action in four games this season, having gone 2-of-4 from the field. The 6-6 Tillman is native to the Palmetto State, hailing from Charleston, S.C., so it's most fitting in his last home game, the Paladins will be taking on The Citadel.
Furman's Probable Starting Five
G-Alex Wilkins
G-Tom House
F-Thomas Tillman
F-Ben Vander Wal
C-Charles Johnston
The Citadel's Probable Starting Five
G-Eze Wali
G-Carter Kingsbury
F-Sola Adebisi
F-Christian Moore
F-Braxton Williams
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