Furman's Furious Rally Comes up Just Short in Final Exhibition at Charleston

 

Furman sophomore guard Collin O'Neal

College of Charleston holds off Furman in Final Exhibition

Furman overcame as much as an 18-point deficit in the second half but was able to mount a furious second half rally to whittle the College of Charleston’s lead down to just two before falling 89-83 in the final exhibition game of the preseason. 

Trailing 77-60 with a little over six minutes left, the Paladins put together an impressive 22-7 run down the stretch, cutting the Cougars lead to just two after a pair of made free throws by Charles Johnston to make it an 84-82 Cougars lead with just 1:45 remaining. From there, the Paladins had a chance to take the lead on the next possession, however, Cameron Elwer’s three-point attempt was off the mark, and the Cougars got a running jumper in the lane from Kalu Martin on the other end to push the lead back to two possessions with just 52 seconds left. 

Collin O’Neal missed a three-pointer on the other end for the Paladins, and Martin collecting the rebound, forcing Furman to foul with 24.5 seconds remaining. After Martin missed the first two of the two shot foul, Martin corralled his own rebound on the second miss and Cam Elwer was forced to foul Martin again with just 19 seconds remaining. 

Martin made the first, but missed the second, leaving the Furman deficit at five before Abijah Franklin was fouled on a layup attempt on the other end, which caromed out and was nearly a three-point play opportunity with 15.6 seconds remaining. Nonetheless, Franklin made the first but missed the all-important second, leaving the deficit at two possessions for the Paladins. 

From there, the Paladins were forced to foul Tavari Johnson with 13 seconds remaining, and he made both free throws to set the final margin, at 89-83. The Cougars placed five players in double figures and ended the night shooting an impressive 52.5% (32-of-61) from the field, including 45.8% (11-of-24) from three-point range. CofC held a 52-39 lead on the strength of 61.5% (8-for-13) shooting from three. The Cougars struggled from the charity stripe in the win, however, connecting on just 58.3% (14-of-24) from the free throw line. 

College of Charleston built a double-digit lead over the final 10 minutes of the opening half and would eventually take a 52-39 lead into the halftime locker room. Following a layup by Charles Johnston, which got the Paladins to within 25-23 with 9:35 remaining in the opening half, Charleston proceeded to end the half on a 28-16 run to take the 13-point lead to the half. 

The Cougars built as much as an 18-point lead, at 48-30, when Xavier Abreu connected on a three-pointer with 4:22 remaining before the Paladins were able to cut it to 13 on a free throw by Charles Johnston with 28 seconds remaining in the half to set the halftime margin at 13

Leading the way for the Cougars was Ben Bradford, who had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, which included a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. 

Eli Ellis, who transferred in from South Carolina during the off-season and is a preseason first-team All-CAA pick, pitched in with 13 points, six rebounds, dished out five helpers and added a steal to the CofC cause. Max Green and Xavier Abreu each added 12 points apiece, while Villanova transfer Braden Pierce added 11 points, four rebounds and a block to round a solid afternoon. 

Furman had three players finish the game in double figures, with Abijah Franklin adding his third-straight 20-point scoring performance in exhibition play, as he finished with 21 points, four assists, four rebounds, and three steals, while Johnston added his second double-double in three preseason outings, adding 20 points, 12 rebounds, a block and an assist. 

Franklin finished 9-of-21 from the field and 3-for-6 from the line but struggled from three-point range for the second-straight game, missing all six of his long-range attempts. The sophomore out of Wren High School finished 3-of-6 from the charity stripe. 

Johnston finished his contest by connecting on 6-of-11 shots from the field and was 2-for-5 from three-point range, while connecting on 6-of-10 from the charity stripe. 

Marcus Kell made it three-for-three when it comes to exhibition games in a new uniform in double figures, as the Western Carolina grad transfer finished with 10 points, two rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes of action. 

Sophomore guard Collin O'Neal was solid on both ends all afternoon and finished just shy of double figures, finishing with nine points, while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Furman finished the game shooting 40% (28-of-70) from the field and were just 24.3% (9-of-37) from three-point range, while connecting on 62.1% (18-of-29) from the free throw line. The Cougars held slight advantages in points in the paint (40-38), total rebounds (42-39), total assists (19-10) and bench points (32-15). The Paladins finished holding advantages in points from turnovers (24-6) and second-chance points (21-20).

Next up for both teams will be the real thing, as Furman will take part in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center on Nov. 2, facing Bethune-Cookman in a 8 p.m. EST game. College of Charleston will open its season at home on Nov. 2, facing off against Southern Wesleyan in a 7:30 p.m. EST game at TD Arena.