No. 1 East Tennessee State and Furman Advance to Monday Night's Championship Game

The 2026 Southern Conference title game is set, as No. 1 East Tennessee State (23-10) will battle No. 6 Furman (21-12) in the 106th edition of the tournament championship game.

Both ETSU and Furman reached the title game in a similar fashion, overcoming double-digit halftime deficits to get there. Both were able to do so in somewhat dramatic fashion. The Bucs had to overcome a psychological hurdle in their narrative, having lost nine of their previous 10 games in the series to the Catamounts. Furman had dropped five of its previous six meetings against UNCG but advanced to Monday night's championship game by scoring a whopping 54 second-half points, becoming the second team to do so.

For head coach Brooks Savage's Bucs, they had to overcome a Western Carolina team that had already defeated ETSU twice this season. Western Carolina appeared well on its way to a third win, leading 38-24 at the break. The Bucs' eventual 69-67 win improved their season record to 23-10, while Western Carolina's campaign ended with a 15-16 mark under second-year head coach Tim Craft. The win ended the Catamounts' seven-game winning streak.

Craft certainly has something brewing in the mountains of Western North Carolina, but this night belonged to Brooks Savage's ETSU Bucs. Early in the second half, the Bucs cut the Western Carolina lead to eight following a pair of Jaylen Smith free throws, making the score 48-40 in favor of the Catamounts with 15:47 remaining.

Western Carolina, buoyed by a boisterous following in last night's 77-73 win over Mercer, brought that same energy on Sunday evening hoping to see the Catamounts advance to the championship game. After Smith's two free throws, a quick response was in order: Marcus Kell connected on a pair of foul shots and then Julien Soumaoro hit a three, which quickly increased ETSU's deficit back to 13, at 53-40, with 15 minutes left.

The Bucs weren't going anywhere, however. With 9:09 left, Smith scored two more points on a jumper to get the Bucs back inside 10, at 56-49, as he converted a short jumper inside the paint to get the portion of the better than 5,200 fans in attendance actively involved in the game once again. Kell would convert a three-point play the old-fashioned way to push the lead back to 10, and then ETSU began its push.

Jordan McCullum started the Bucs run, connecting on a layup to get the Bucs to within eight. After a freshman guard Tahlan Pettway turned the ball over, the Bucs inched closer on a Blake Barkley free throw, cutting the Catamount lead to seven, at 59-52. Following a missed Kell three, the Bucs smelled blood in the water when Brian Taylor II found himself open in transition for a left-wing three that was nothing but net, whipping the crowd into a frenzy and bringing the Bucs to within four, at 59-55, with 6:46 left.

Much like had done at times in comeback wins for ETSU earlier this season, Barkley decided to take the comeback personally, putting together his own, personal 11-2 run that would ultimately prove to be a big reason as to why the Bucs would find themselves in Monday night's SoCon Championship game.

With the Catamounts leading 65-57 after a pair of Cord Stansberry free throws, Barkley made a hook shot in the lane to trim the Bucs margin to six (65-59) with 2:48 left. Tijdiane Dioumassi missed a short jumper on the other end, and the Bucs got within four again after Barkley was fouled on the rebound, sending him to the line for a pair of free throws with 2:16 remaining. He converted both, bringing the Bucs to within four again, at 65-61.

After Dioumassi was fouled on the other end, he connected on two free throws to push the Catamount lead to six (67-61) with 1:48 remaining. Little did anyone know that it would, in fact, be the final points of the night for the Catamounts.

Barkley made a driving layup to get the deficit to four. After two offensive rebounds by Maki Johnson and then Barkley kept an important late-game possession alive, Barkley eventually turned the opportunity into a golden one for ETSU, converting at the rim and bringing ETSU to within two with 66 seconds remaining.

Kell would be fouled by McCullum in the act of shooting on the other end, however, he missed both free throws. Barkley converted a layup in the paint and was fouled in the process by WCU's Samuel Dada, giving the Bucs a chance to take the lead. They would do so, as Barkley had ice in his veins on the free throw and his second free throw, which hit nothing but net, gave the Bucs a 68-67 lead with 38 seconds left. It was ETSU's first lead since leading 7-6 following a Brian Taylor II made layup with 15:23 remaining in the first half.

Trailing by one, the Catamounts' Dioumassi missed a three. Barkley got the rebound and quickly passed to Taylor, whom Dioumassi immediately fouled. He would head to the charity stripe with 19 seconds remaining for two free throws. Taylor missed the first shot but made the second, pushing the Bucs' lead to two, at 69-67.

WCU's ensuing possession would see McCullum block Stansberry's jump-hook attempt off the blind side with 12 seconds remaining. The ETSU defense converged on Stansberry before he could adjust, allowing Maki Johnson to secure the basketball and immediately draw a foul from Dioumassi. Johnson missed both free throws, leaving the door open for the Catamounts to tie the game or potentially win the game.

On WCU's next possession, the Catamounts got two chances at a game-winning three-pointer. Tahlan Pettway got a good look from the top of the key, but the shot caromed off to the side and long towards the far sideline. Just before the ball went out, Kell lunged, turned, and shot the ball as time expired. The ball rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded and WCU survived to advance to Monday night's championship game.

In the opening half, the Catamounts garnered a 38-24 halftime lead by shooting 50% (14-of-28) from the field, while limiting ETSU to just 33.3% (9-of-27) in the first 20 minutes of play. The Bucs outscored WCU 45-29 in the second half to complete a dramatic come-from-behind win. This victory mirrored No. 7 ETSU's 85-84 come-from-behind win over No. 3 Chattanooga in the semifinals. In that epic semifinal tilt a couple of years ago, the Bucs overcame a second-half deficit of as much as 19 points against the Mocs. The Bucs trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half against the Catamounts.

ETSU's defense was elite in the second half, holding Western Carolina to just six field goals and keeping them scoreless from the field for the final 8:50 of the game.

ETSU was led by Brian Taylor II's game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 4-for-9 effort from three-point range and a 2-for-3 performance from the free-throw line. This marked his eighth game this season with 20 or more points. Barkley scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Bucs, delivering another heroic performance similar to his showing earlier this season in a come-from-behind win over Furman in early February. SoCon Sixth Man of the Year Jaylen Smith posted 13 points and three assists off the bench.

Kell led the Catamounts with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field but was 0-for-6 from three-point land in the setback. He also added three rebounds, one steal and one assist.

Saturday night's result was a heartbreaking end for WCU and a moment of sheer joy and relief for the Bucs. ETSU will play for its first SoCon title since 2024, when the Bucs reached the title game in Brooks Savage's first season as the head coach, dropping a 76-69 contest as the No. 7 seed to top-seeded Samford. The Bucs last won the Southern Conference Tournament in 2020, winning 30 games under then head coach Steve Forbes. The Bucs won the title game, 72-58, against No. 7 seeded Wofford.

However, the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bucs have won the SoCon twice since returning to the SoCon in 2015. As the No. 3 seed in the 2017 SoCon Tournament, ETSU knocked off No. 1 UNC Greensboro, 79-74, in Asheville to claim the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bucs went on to play No. 4 seed Florida in the East Regional First Round, losing an 80-65 contest to the Gators.

The Bucs will play in the Southern Conference Tournament game for the 14th time in program's history, posting an 8-5 record all-time in tournament championship games.

The game weighed heavily on head coach Brooks Savage, who was a bit emotional thinking about the game afterwards, and also considering the "bigger picture" of all this and he made a special effort to convey that in the postgame press conference.

"Can I jump in here real quick...This has been on my heart for a while...I just wanted to say before but didn't get a chance...This team is a really faith-based team and I think that has really united us from a chemistry standpoint and I know it's made me a better person just being around these guys and how spiritual and...what believers we are in Christ and I think that's been really cool to see and it just kind of came out there at the end and I am proud of them but this has really been heavy on my heart and they've left such a great impression on me just as a person...I love coming to work everyday to coach these guy... But the way that God is working in these guys' lives is really fun to watch and it gets me choked up because I care so much about them and that's been really important to us this year...Earl our team chaplain has been with us at every practive and every game and without that I don't think we're able to come back," ETSU head coach Brooks Savage said after ETSU's dramatic semifinal win over WCU.

Meanwhile, Furman faced psychological struggles against the UNC Greensboro Spartans in recent history, having lost five of the previous six games between the two teams dating back to the 2023-24 season. This included the most recent meeting, where the Spartans claimed a 67-64 win over the Paladins in early February at Timmons Arena.

Like ETSU, the Paladins trailed 38-27 at the break, struggling to generate any offensive momentum. However, the Paladins found an offensive groove, similar to their performance earlier this season in an 89-66 win at UNCG, when the Paladins scored 54 points en route to one of their best offensive performances of the season.

In fact, the Paladins shot 72% (16-of-22) and scored 54 points in the second half, equaling that earlier performance in Furman's road win over the Spartans. The Paladins recorded an 81-75 win over UNCG in the most-recent clash between the two most successful SoCon programs over the last 11 seasons.

The semifinal win moved the Paladins into the SoCon title game for the fourth time in the past five seasons, including the second-straight season. The fifth-seeded Paladins lost 92-85 to No.6 seeded Wofford in the 2025 title game last season, but playing as the top seed in '23, claimed an 88-79 win over No. 7 seed Chattanooga to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 43 years.

Since making the 2015 title game as the No. 10 seed, the Paladins have now made five title game appearances in the past 11 years will be making their sixth championship game appearance this millenium, as the Paladins are just 1-4 in those championship game appearances, losing to the No. 1 seed on three of those occasions, and losing to the No. 6 seed last season, as Wofford became the first No. 6 seed to ever win the SoCon title in 2025, downing Furman, 92-85, at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

The Paladins got a record night from freshman guard Alex Wilkins, who scored a career-high 34 points, equaling the most ever scored by a Paladin freshman. This matches the 34 points scored by former two-time SoCon Player of the Year and 1976-77 SoCon Freshman of the Year Jonathan Moore against Georgia on Dec. 15, 1976. In the process of scoring those 34 points, the Mattapan, MA. The native also set a new Furman Freshman record for points scored in a season.

His latest scoring outburst brought him to 589 points in 33 games this season, shattering Moore's record of 561 points scored over five fewer games in 1976-77. Wilkins' 34 points also marked the most points scored in a SoCon Tournament game by a Furman player since 1972, when Roy Simpson posted 36 points in a championship game loss to East Carolina.

The native of Mattapan, MA, native finished the game connecting on 10-of-17 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. He also finished a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. His 34 points in a game also tied Jadin Booth's tournament high 34 points, which he scored for Samford in its loss to Furman in Saturday's quarterfinal. He now has 53 points in two tournament games. Wilkins also added five assists and one rebound to his overall stat line.

In addition to Wilkins' double-figure scoring performance, Cooper Bowser and Eddrin Bronson added double-digit scoring performances, finishing with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Senior forward Charles Johnston added another solid performance to follow up his 10-rebound performance in the tournament-opening win over No. 3 Samford, as he posted nine points, six rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Furman didn't look synched offensively for much of the opening 20 minutes of play, and UNCG took the game to the Paladins, as the Spartans, who had already knocked off VMI (W, 84-70) and Wofford (W, 75-72) in their first two games, looked like the better team and poised to make it three-in-a-row in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.

Furman stepped up its efficiency on the offensive end and locked down the Spartans on the other end over roughly the first eight minutes of the second half, as the Paladins their first lead at, 44-43, on an Asa Thomas top of the key three. Thomas' three was part of a 17-5 run to open the half and it would be the beginning of a game that would then settle into a back-and-forth affair, as the lead would change hands four times over the next five minutes. When Wilkins drove and double-clutched a layup off the glass, it gave the Paladins a 58-57 lead with 7:15 left.

Wilkins and the Paladin offensive efficiency was humming at optimum level at this point in the semifinal game, as the rookie guard's made layup was part of a string of eight-straight made shots by Furman, which helped Furman build a 66-60 lead following a Cole Bowser left wing three with just over five minutes remaining. Each time the Spartans found a way to cut the Paladin lead to one possession, both Wilkins and Bronson seemingly always had an answer, whether from the line or from the field, to push the Paladin lead back to two possessions.

Lillian Marville's third consecutive made three-pointer brought UNCG within two, at 77-75, with 14 seconds remaining. However, Bronson was fouled immediately after a Furman inbounds pass, making both ends of the one-and-one to stretch the lead back to four. After KJ Younger missed a three, Wilkins grabbed the rebound and made two more foul shots with 2.6 seconds remaining to seal Furman's 81-75 win.

Furman head coach Bob Richey spoke to the media after the game about his team's offensive struggles to start Sunday evening's game. He credited UNCG head coach Mike Jones for that but also noted that Furman had to change its approach in the second half in order to meet the challenge issued by the Spartans.

"I just think Coach [Mike] Jones does a heck of job. And they beat us up in the first half pretty good. That was pretty clear. They were the aggressive from the jump of the game. … We had to play with a better spirit. We had to be the aggressor. And we couldn't go out there and have any self pity. We can't go out there and play passive. The game's not going to change. And to our credit, we went from one of the worst offensive first halves of the year to one of the best offensive halves. In the second half, I think we scored 54. We were just able to change the tone of the game a little bit," head coach Bob Richey said after his team's win over UNCG.

Brief Championship Game Preview: No. 1 East Tennessee State (23-10) vs. No. 6 Furman (21-12)

--No. 1 East Tennessee State claimed both regular-season meetings against the Paladins, winning 75-71 in overtime in Johnson City and taking a 78-69 victory at Timmons Arena in Greenville. With these wins, the Bucs posted their first regular-season sweep of Furman since 1993-94 and their first win at Timmons Arena since the 2017-18 campaign, which was also Bob Richey's first season as Furman's head basketball coach. ETSU is 48-26 all-time in the SoCon Tournament, including 8-5 in tournament championship games. ETSU's regular-season sweeps of both Furman and Chattanooga mark the first time the Bucs have achieved regular-season sweeps of both teams in the same season.

Meanwhile, Furman holds a 62-65 all-time record in the SoCon Tournament. Like ETSU, Furman will also be playing in its 14th championship game, having posted a 7-6 record all-time in title games. The Paladins will seek their eighth SoCon Tournament crown, while ETSU will pursue its ninth in two different stints as a SoCon member. The Bucs are also 47-27 all-time in their two different stints as a league member in the SoCon Tournament.

Furman and ETSU have two of the most successful young coaches in mid-major basketball. Richey is in his ninth season leading the Furman basketball program, having posted a . He notched his 200th win as the head coach of Furman in the penultimate game of the regular season when the Paladins defeated The Citadel, 72-51, on Senior Night at Timmons Arena.

With two wins over Samford and UNCG, Furman has now reached 20 or more wins in nine of the past 11 seasons. Richey's 202 wins are the most among current SoCon head coaches coaching at a SoCon school. In nine seasons under Richey, only one SoCon team has defeated Furman three times in the same season: Chattanooga in 2022. Chattanooga knocked off the No. 2 seeded Paladins, 64-63, in overtime that year, thanks to David Jean-Baptiste's epic, buzzer-beating 36-footer.

Under Brooks Savage, ETSU has risen in three seasons, returning the Bucs to their accustomed status as a perennial contender atop the SoCon. Savage has helped rekindle the fire that was started under Steve Forbes, who led ETSU to 130 wins and two tournament titles in five seasons as the head coach before leaving to become the head coach of Wake Forest in the spring 2020.

After two seasons well below ETSU's lofty program standards under Jason Shay and Desmond Oliver, respectively, the program fell into disarray. After achieving 61 wins in three seasons, including making a title game appearance and winning the 2026 regular-season title in the process, Savage has ETSU's program well on its way to the NCAA Tournament and perennial SoCon success.

Players to Watch:

ETSU--Blake Barkley (14.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG); Brian Thompson II (14.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG); Cam Morris III (13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG)

Furman--Alex Wilkins (17.8 PPG, 4.8 APG, 2.0 RPG); Asa Thomas (12.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 77 threes); Cooper Bowser (13.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 77.2 FG%)


ETSU vs. Furman in the SoCon Tournament: (ETSU Leads 5-1)

1980 No. 1 Furman 93, No. 4 ETSU 81 (Semifinals)
1983 No. 3 ETSU 81, No. 7 Furman 68 (Semifinals)
2004 No. 1 (North Div) ETSU 94, No. 4 (South Div) Furman 84 (Quarterfinals)
2005 No. 5 (North Div) ETSU 87, No. 4 (South Div) Furman 84 (First Round)
2016 No. 2 ETSU 84, No. 3 Furman 76 (Semifinals)
2018 No. 2 ETSU 63, No. 3 Furman 52 (Semifinals)
2026 ??????????????????????????????????????????

SoCon Basketball Combined Overall Records Since the Start of the 2015-16 Season:

1. Furman 244-120

2. UNC Greensboro 233-131

3. East Tennessee State 231-131

SoCon Basketball Combined League Records Since the Start of the 2015-16 Season:

1. UNC Greensboro 137-61

2. Furman 134-61

3. East Tennessee State 127-68