VanderWal's career night leads Furman past VMI

Furman sophomore forward Ben VanderWal (photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/Furman athletics)

Paladins use 21-1 second half run to pull away from Keydets

Ben VanderWal posted career highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Furman grabbed 50+ rebounds for the third time this season, owning a 51-39 on the glass, as the Paladins were able to grind out a 75-62 home win over VMI.

The win sees the Paladins improve to 14-12 overall and 8-5 in Southern Conference action, while VMI falls to 4-22 overall and 1-12 in Southern Conference play. The win gives the Paladins the season sweep of VMI, as the Paladins won the earlier meeting this season 100-60 at Cameron Hall in Lexington, VA, in what was the first game back in the lineup for Paladin leading scorer Marcus Foster. 

The win over the Keydets sees the Paladins remain tied with Wofford (15-11, 8-5) for fourth in the Southern Conference standings, while both the Terriers and Paladins move ahead of Western Carolina (18-8, 7-6 SoCon), who dropped an 88-62 decision on the road at league-leading Samford (23-3, 12-1 SoCon), as the Catamounts fall into sixth in the league's standings. Wofford remained tied with Furman in the SoCon standings as a result of the Terriers' 73-60 win at Mercer.

The Paladins, who out-rebounded the Keydets by 12 (51-39), recorded 50 or more rebounds in a game for the third time this season, as Furman also grabbed 50+ rebounds in wins over Bob Jones (52 rebs) and Belmont (51 rebs) back in non-conference play. Furman used 14 offensive rebounds, which led directly to 14 second-chance points. 

The two teams were a little short-handed in the contest, as Furman played without its third-leading scorer, in Alex Williams (15.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG), who was suspended for the mid-week league clash, while the Keydets were without their leading scorer Brennan Watkins (15.2 PPG , 2.1 RPG) for a second-straight contest, as he was out with an injury. 

The win wasn't pretty for a second-straight game, however, it's a results oriented business, and for a second-straight game, the Paladins were able to overcome 19 points surrendered offof turnovers, as the Keydets owned a 19-6 advantage in points off 14 Paladin turnovers, while ETSU turned 11 Paladin turnovers into a 19-2 edge in points off turnovers, however, the Paladins have played pretty good defensively to do enough to overcome those large deficit in that category each of the last two outings.

That said, the 2023-24 Paladins are becoming a tougher team in-season than maybe have in past seasons simply because they have had to. Several of Furman's wins this season haven't come in the fashion many who have watched Furman win games over the past seven seasons under head coach Bob Richey aren't accustomed to. That could be a harbinger of good things to come in Asheville, but there's much basketball to be played until that point.

VanderWal scored his team-leading 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including hitting his lone three-point field goal attempt. The sophomore forward also finished the night 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. VanderWal grabbed five of the team's 14 offensive rebounds in the contest, while collecting eight caroms on the defensive glass.

VanderWal was joined in double figures for the Paladins by JP Pegues and Marcus Foster, who added 14 and 13 points, respectively, to round out the Paladins in double figures in the contest. Pegues finished the contest by connecting on 5-of-14 shots from the field, which included finishing 4-for-11 from three-point land. Pegues also dished out a team-leading eight assists, grabbed three rebounds and recorded a steal.

Foster finished the night connecting on 4-of-14 shots from the field and went 2-for-8 from three-point land. The redshirt senior guard also finished 3-of-4 at the free throw line, and added seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Garrett Hien finished just out of double figures, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds and a steal, while Carter Whitt completed his night with eight points and seven assists.

For a second-straight game, Cooper Bowser was big off the bench for the Paladins, as he finished with five points, four boards and blocked a pair of shots in 15:42 minutes of court time.

VMI ended the night with two players in double figures, led by Taeshaud Jackson II, who added a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. It marked the sophomore forward's 13th-career double-double, including his eighth of the 2023-24 season. Jackson finished the contest connecting on 5-of-12 shots from the field, including missing his only three-point shot, while making 4-of-7 from the charity shot.

Highly-touted recruit Maurice Wright Jr. had a career night for the Keydets, as he posted a career-best 13 points and registered three of the team's 10 steals in the contest. Stephen Olowoniyi and DJ Nussbaum finished just out of double figures, adding nine and eight points, respectively, in the losing effort. 

The Paladins remained second in overall wins since the start of the 2015-16 season, improving to 195-94 overall during that span, which includes a 111-43 in league games, which is also second to only UNCG over that span, as the Spartans are 112-45 over that same span in league play.

Additionally, the Paladins improved to improved to 107-18 at Timmons Arena since the start of the 2015-16 campaign, which includes a 61-19 mark against Southern Conference foes.

Furman finished the night connecting on 42.4% (28-of-66) from the field, including shooting 29.0% (9-of-31) from three-point land. The Paladins also finished the night shooting the ball at a 62.5% (10-of-16) clip from the free throw line.

VMI finished the game connecting on 35.3% (24-of-68) from the field, which included a 22.2% (4-of-18) shooting effort from long-range. The Keydets connected on 66.7% (10-of-15) from the free throw line. 

The Paladins finished the night with advantages in total rebounds (51-39), second chance points (14-10), total assists (18-6), points in the paint (38-32), fast-break scoring (12-2) and free throw attempts (16-15). 

VMI finished the game owning advantages in bench scoring (29-28) and points from turnovers (19-6).

How It Happened:

After owning as much as a 12-point lead in the opening half of play, which included some spectacular plays on a Ben VanderWal dunk off a feed from Carter Whitt, as well as a JP Pegues alley-oop to Cooper Bowser en route to building a 37-25 first half lead with 4:32 remaining in the frame, however, the Keydets closed the half in strong fashion with a 9-2 run to get to within 39-34 at the halftime break. 

VMI opened the second half strong, using a 12-7 run, which was highlighted by a pair of Stephen Olowoniyi buckets and steal and layup by Maurice Wright Jr. to tie the basketball game, 46-46, with 14:42 remaining in the contest. 

Furman responded with a 21-1 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes, however, to put the game away, star junior guard JP Pegues opened the Paladin run with a pair of threes on consecutive Furman possessions, while Furman turned up the heat on the defensive end of the floor, holding VMI without a field goal for nearly a seven-minute span (14:42-7:53), allowing the Paladins to build a 20-point lead (67-47).

It allowed the Paladins to end the game in stark contrast from how it did in its road win at East Tennessee State, which saw Furman convert 12 of its final 13 field goal attempts, as the Paladins would close the game struggling from the field, and at one point missed seven-straight shots before JP Pegues converted a layup as time was winding down and VMI trying to steal the ball, after Pegues was trying to let all the time run off the clock. 

With its second win in a row, it sets up a huge game for Furman on Sunday when the Paladins will host red-hot Chattanooga (18-8, 10-3 SoCon) in a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network, with tip-off for that contest set for 2 p.m. EST on Sunday afternoon. 

The Mocs, who were powered by a career-high 31-point effort from Honor Huff in an 84-71 home win over East Tennessee State Wednesday night, handed Furman its worst Southern Conference loss since the 2018-19 season earlier this season by downing the Paladins 73-58 at McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga will come to Greenville on the strength of having won eight of their last nine games, including three-straight. The 18 wins matches last season's win total, which saw the Mocs fall 88-79 in the Southern Conference Tournament championship game to Furman.

VMI heads to arch-rival The Citadel (9-17, 1-12 SoCon) on Saturday afternoon with tip-off set for 1 p.m. EST at McAlister Field House on Saturday. The Keydets won their lone league game of the season with a 70-63 win over the Bulldogs back on Jan. 20 in Lexington, VA. The Citadel dropped a 76-61 home tilt to UNC Greensboro Wednesday night in Charleston, as the Spartans secured the season sweep of the Bulldogs. 

Postgame Press Conference:

Head coach Bob Richey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0aoNv3Nmic

Players JP Pegues and Marcus Foster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m78OUqoJngA

Paladins use late rally to down East Tennessee State

Paladins dedicate win at ETSU to late football player Bryce Stanfield

It’s been a tough few days for Furman University for reasons you most likely know by now, having to overcome the death of a student-athlete. At a school as small as Furman, a death by someone so young seems to hit home all the more harder.

On Friday afternoon, defensive tackle Bryce Stanfield from the Furman football team passed away from a medical emergency he suffered at practice a couple of days earlier. He was just 21 years old. Furman's 65-53 road win over East Tennessee State was dedicated to No. 97 a little over 24 hours after the young man passed away at Memorial hospital in downtown Greenville.

Furman is a tight-knit community, with relationships that run deep between student-athletes, classmates, coaches, fans and even the media that cover the teams on a weekly basis, making it a unique place like so many are at the mid-major level.

Earlier this season, Furman head coach Bob Richey commented on how special it was for him to watch the Paladin football team's fight and how the team played for one another in what was an eventual 35-28 loss in the FCS Quarterfinal overtime loss to Montana. 

Richey  went on to comment on the similarities between the football team's run in the FCS Playoffs and Furman's NCAA Tournament experience and its win over Virginia last season. 

Two months later, that love and support for one another became a necessity for the entire athletics department as Furman sports teams took to trying to resume life as usual under the heaviness and heartbreak of a very unusual situation--a tragedy.

Furman's men's basketball team was just one of those many Paladin teams that played for something a little more than the result in a margin over the past few days. The road game wasn't easy to begin with. ETSU was hot and riding a three-game winning streak.

Most probably underestimate the impact of just one death of a student-athlete can have on one sports program at a large school, much less than the entire department. Take that same impact it has at say a big school like Clemson or South Carolina and magnify by much more at a school, like Furman

The Bucs were classy hosts, holding a moment of silence for Stanfield prior to the national anthem. Though the fans can be a hostile bunch to visiting foes, which is what makes ETSU's environment one of the best in mid-major basketball, there are simply things in life we all come together in agreement on, which is life is precious and the games we play are trivial by comparison to the competitions we attend.

Furman's 65-63 win over a trending ETSU team felt like more than just one win. It felt like a relief and something positive within a negative, dark week. Those two elements were emotions rolled into one for the Furman family all rolled into one. While the win won’t change the overall sadness felt by the Furman community during this difficult time, it was nice to see the school finally have something good to celebrate…A small victory…That’s how the healing process begins.

For Furman, it did nothing great in the game in particular over the course of 40 minutes of basketball. Some of that it executed well, however, when it came to crunch time, the Paladins were nearly flawless, as the Paladins went 12-of-13 from the field down the stretch to come up big when it counted the most in a gutsy two-point road win.

The victory sees the Paladins improve to 13-12 overall and 7-5 in Southern Conference play, while the loss sees the Bucs fall to 13-12 overall and 5-7 in league action, snapping what had been a three-game winning streak for the Bucs. The win snaps a two-game losing skid for the Paladins.

The Paladins now have 194 total wins, which includes 110 Southern Conference wins since the start of the 2015-16 season, and with UNC Greensboro's 89-61 home loss to Chattanooga, the Paladins now rank tops in the league in both categories during that span.

Furman has now won four-straight games in the series vs. ETSU and takes a 35-34 lead in the series following another memorable game in the series.

It's Furman's longest winning streak in the series with ETSU since winning five-straight against the Bucs in a span that stretched from the 1995-96 season until the 1999-2000 season. 

Along with its 70-56 win against the Bucs in Freedom Hall last season, Furman has now won in the facility for the first time ever in back-to-back seasons and it also marked the Paladins' third win at Freedom Hall since the Bucs re-joined the SoCon in the 2014-15 season. The Paladins also improved to 14-19 games played in Johnson City.

JP Pegues was key down the stretch for the Paladins, scoring seven of the final nine points of the game to close with a game-high 15 points, and came alive down the stretch, scoring nine points in the final 7:49 of the game to help spark the Paladins offensively.

Pegues finished the night connecting on 5-of-11 shots from the field, which included a 1-for-4 effort from three-point range, and hit 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to help the Paladins secure the win. In addition to his team-leading scoring performance, Pegues also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals to round out an all-around solid performance befitting of the player he is, which is one of the top players in the Southern Conference.

If it was Pegues that helped take over the game on the offensive end of the floor late in the contest, then it was Cooper Bowser, who was inserted into the lineup with 7:49 remaining and that would give the Paladins the rim protection it needed to comeback late and steal the road win.

With Furman trailing by eight points (57-49) with 5:50 remaining, it was Bowser that made the biggest play on the defensive end of the night when he blocked Ebby Asamoah's layup to give the Paladins momentum, and that was something the Paladins wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the evening. That set the stage for Pegues to get going on the other end.

Offensively, Bowser also played a role, as he took a lob from Pegues and slammed it home to tie the game, 61-61, with 2:12 remaining. For the game, Bowser posted four points, one rebound and one block in 9:22 of game action, and his presence absolutely made an impact on the result.

Prior to him coming into the game, ETSU had Furman's big men virtually gassed at that point in the game, and the Bucs were getting whatever they wanted around the basket, whether it was scoring from close range, or on the offensive glass.

On what was a challenging night for Furman to get its "big three" (JP Pegues, Marcus Foster, and Alex Williams) points, the only other Paladin to finish the night in double figures was Foster, who finished with 11 points to record his 15th double-figure scoring performance in 16 outings for the Paladins this season.

He was heavily guarded for much of the game, and had to work as he has had to all season to get shots up in the win. Foster finished the night 4-of-10 from the field and connected on 1-of-4 from three-point range. He also connected on both of his foul shots. Foster connected on a three with 4:17 remaining--his only one of the night--to get the Paladins within five (59-54) late. All told, Pegues and Foster scored 12 of Furman's final 16 points in the game, with dynamic scoring duo having combined for just 15 points (Pegues 8, Foster 7).

Also helping key the Furman road win over the Bucs was a solid supporting cast, which saw Tyrese Hughey and Ben VanderWal add eight points, while Carter Whitt and Garrett Hien both chipped in with six. 

ETSU placed five in double figures, with Quimari Peterson leading the way with 14 points after posting 16 for the Bucs in the first meeting with the Paladins earlier this season. Jadyn Parker just missed posting another double-double performance, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds, while also being a menace in the paint by swatting away five Paladin shots.

Jaden Seymour, who scored 23 points in the first meeting with the Paladins this season, added 12 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist to notch his 21st double-figure scoring performance of the season.

Delaware transfer guard Ebby Asamoah and Allen Strothers ended up rounding out the double figure scorers for the Bucs, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Though points were hard to come by for both teams, Furman shot the ball at a much higher clip than its hosts, operating as efficiently offensively as it has in a couple of weeks, despite being defended as hard as it has been in league play all season.

The Paladins shot the ball 50% (24-of-48) from the field in the game, including a 59.3% (19-of-32) clip from inside the arc. The Bucs did defend the three-point line tenaciously, as Furman connected on just 21.1% from beyond the arc in the contest, as the Paladins made just five of 16 shots from long range. The Paladins shot the ball at a 59.3% (13-of-22) from the field in the second half, which is one of its top shooting performances of the season.

ETSU finished the contest connecting on 39.7% (23-of-58) from the field and made just 4-of-19 shots (21.1%) from beyond the arc in the game. ETSU hit all four of its threes in the second half to run its streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer made to 1,149 games,

That streak was seemingly in jeopardy for at least a half, as the Bucs went 0-for-7 in the opening half of play. ETSU's streak of consecutive games with at least one three-pointer made in a game ranks as the third-longest streak in all of NCAA Division I men's college basketball, with only UNLV and Duke sporting longer streaks.

In terms of the categorical advantages, the Bucs held the edge in several, including total rebounds (34-33), second-chance points (14-4), points from turnovers (19-2), fast- break points (12-2), free throw attempts (22-19), points from the free throw line (13-12), and points in the paint (32-28). The Paladins had advantages in bench scoring (21-13), and total assists (13-6).

Though it struggled shooting the ball, the Bucs generated a great deal of their offensive output from Furman offensive miscues from live-ball turnovers, and Furman's 13 turnovers led directly to 19 ETSU points. By contrast, the Bucs took extreme care of the basketball, turning the ball over just eight times the entire night, with four of those coming before the first media timeout of the game.

How It Happened:

The pace started fast, and that was more to Furman's liking, however, both teams had trouble scoring on both ends in the opening minutes of play, with some of that being attributed to really good defense played on both ends of the floor, while some of it also being attributed to some very sloppy play on both ends of the floor.

Furman would take a 4-0 lead into the media timeout of the contest, as got a pair of buckets in Garrett Hien's first start for the Paladins since Jan. 6 at Chattanooga.

ETSU's first points of the game came on a three-point play the old fashioned way from Jaden Seymour with 15:26 left in the first half to get the Bucs within a point, at 4-3. The Paladins then reeled off six-straight to grab what would be its biggest lead of the night JP Pegues starting the run with a jumper in the paint, and that was followed by buckets by Ben VanderWal and Garrett Hien, as the Paladins were able to grab a sizable 10-3 lead with 13:23 remaining in the opening half.

It wouldn't last, however, as the Bucs reeled off 11-straight points to grab a 14-10 lead following a Jadyn Partker layup with 9:22 remaining in the half. The Paladins would eventually grab the lead back for the remainder of the half, at 19-17, following a Marcus Foster jumper. The lead would grow to as much as five late in the opening frame following a Pegues jumper, which gave the Paladins a 28-23 lead with two minutes left in the opening 20 minutes.

From there, the Bucs would cut Furman's lead to one on a pair of layups from Quimari Peterson, with the first of those coming on a second-chance opportunity. A VanderWal lead put the Paladin lead back at three (30-27) before Allen Strothers' jumper with two seconds remaining in the half cut Furman's l.ead to one, at 30-29, and that's what the score would remain as the two teams entered the halftime locker room.

In the second half, the Bucs seemingly looked as if they would take control of the game for good, using an 11-3 run out of the locker room to take a 40-33 lead following a Quimari Peterson with 13:28 left. The Bucs would continue to build on that over the next six minutes, using a Peterson one-handed runner in the lane to take their largest lead of the night of 11 points (56-45), bringing the crowd of nearly 5,000 to its highest decibel level of the night.

Following a Carter Whitt layup in the paint, which brought the Paladins to within three with just under 12 minutes left, the Bucs started to heat up to build that 11-point lead by making seven-straight shots, with one of its best offensive stretches in recent outings, and it started from Allen Strothers, who put together one of his best performances of the season for ETSU. The jumper by Strothers in the paint would ignite what was a 16-8 run to build the 56-45 advantage.

However, that's where Furman would find its offensive rhythm and rim protection it needed over the final 7:49 of the game to make the comeback. Cooper Bowser made a big impact during that span, which would see his block of a Parker layup attempt with 5:50 left ignite a Paladin comeback, as Furman used a 20-7 run over the final portion of the game, which included connecting on 12 of its final 13 shots to shock the Bucs.

Furman would embark on its comeback trail with back-to-back jumpers from Pegues and PJay Smith Jr., which started with the Nashville product's bucket with just over six minutes remaining. After the Bucs pushed the margin back to eight point on a Seymour layup, Furman's Foster came up with five-straight points, including a pivotal three with 4:17 remaining and after Karon Boyd missed a three, Foster converted a layup at the 3:40 mark to get Furman to within three, at 59-56.

Ebby Asamoah knocked down an elbow jumper to get ETSU's lead back to five with 3:08 left, however, by now Furman had gained all the confidence it needed to get all the way back into the contest. For the second time in three possessions, Furman connected on one of its five threes for the game, as Mr. Clutch Pegues dialed long distance with 2:55 left. The pass came from Bowser.

After Seymour missed a three for the Bucs, Pegues returned the favor to Bowser from the previous possession, tossing a high lob for the freshman center and he threw it down to emphatically tie the game, 61-61, with 2:12 left.

ETSU capitalized on an errant inbounds pass from Tyrese Hughey, as Jaden Seymour collected the loose ball and went in for the dunk on the other end to give the Bucs a 63-61 lead with 1:03 remaining.

On the next possession, Pegues drew a foul with 43.6 seconds left shooting a three from the top of the key and he converted the latter two of the three foul shots to tie the game, 63-63. After Seymour's right baseline shot was no good, the Paladins got the ball to Pegues once again, as he tried for his fourth game-winner of the season, and while he wouldn't make the short jumper from the right side, he would do enough to draw the two-shot foul with 1.8 seconds left. He connected on both shots to give the Paladins a 65-63 lead.

The Bucs threw the ensuing inbounds pass out of bounds without anyone touching the ball, and when Furman tossed the inbounds pass, Pegues was immediately fouled. He missed the front end of the 1-and-1, however, the Bucs called a timeout with 1.1 seconds left. Following its second inbounds pass attempt, Bowser intercepted the pass and the game was over, and the Paladins went home with their fourth true road win of the season.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday night, with Furman hosting VMI (4-21, 1-11 SoCon) at Timmons Arena for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off, while ETSU goes on the road to face bitter rival Chattanooga (17-8, 9-3 SoCon), looking to avenge an 81-74 loss at Freedom Hall earlier this season, while posting its second win in the Scenic City. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. EST at McKenzie Arena.

Furman set to tangle with East Tennessee State Saturday on CBS Sports Network

      

Furman and ETSU square off with both teams headed in polar opposite directions

Furman (12-12, 6-5 SoCon at East Tennessee State(13-11, 5-6 SoCon)

Feb. 10, 2024/Johnson City, TN

Freedom Hall (6,149), 6 p.m. EST/CBS Sports Network

Series: Furman and East Tennessee State will be squaring off on the hardwood against each other for the 69th time in series history, with the series all tied following Furman's nine-point win at Timmons Arena back in early January. The Paladins have won three-straight against the Bucs, including getting the rare season sweep of ETSU last season. That season sweep by the Paladins marked the first time Furman had swept the season series against ETSU since the 1986-87 season. The Paladins are riding a three-game winning streak in the series—it’s longest in the series since winning five-straight in the series between 1996 and 2001. 

Coaches: Furman--Bob Richey (151-67/7th season)/ETSU--Brooks Savage (13-11/1st season at ETSU)

Preview: Furman and East Tennessee will do battle for a second time this season, with the Paladins claiming what was an 82-73 back in early January. A lot has changed for both sides since that meeting last month, with the two teams now seemingly headed in opposite directions, with the Bucs being one of the hottest teams in the Southern Conference, having won three-straight games, while the Paladins, who are the defensive Southern Conference champions, have lost three of their last four games, including a 78-69 contest at Mercer last time out, since becoming the only team to defeat league-leading Samford (21-3, 10-1 SoCon), 78-68, two-and-a-half weeks ago. 

In the first matchup between the two earlier this season in Greenville, the Paladins were still regaining their overall team health, with both teams missing key players in the first clash. The Paladins were without Marcus Foster (19.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG)who was still working his way back from a lower body injury, as was ETSU's defensive and rebounding specialist, Karon Boyd (8.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG) who has recently returned to the lineup, and with him back on the floor, the Bucs have have posted a 3-1 mark since his return, including three-straight wins. 

The only loss during that stretch since Boyd's return came in heartbreaking fashion, as league-leading Samford posted a 75-72 win at Freedom Hall to hand the Bucs their third home loss of the season, with Western Carolina's 80-66 win earlier in league play snapping what had been a 10-game home winning streak for ETSU. 

The Bucs also dropped an 81-74 contest to Chattanooga on the home hardwood back on Jan. 21. It was part of a 1-5 start to league play, which included a five-game losing streak after an 80-69 win over Mercer to open up league play inside the friendly confines. 

The Bucs played most of those games without Boyd in the lineup. ETSU has won three-straight entering Saturday's contest against Furman, having won at Mercer (W, 55-49), vs. The Citadel (W, 62-60) and vs. Wofford (57-50), as the Bucs have found a gritty edge on the defensive end of the floor to get each of those wins. The Bucs also got a blocked shot from center and rim protector Jadyn Parker to secure a 74-73 win on the road at VMI in, which was really the start of the strong play on that end of the floor in league games.

Boyd had a major impact in ETSU's seven-point win last time out against Wofford,  as he posted 14 points, eight rebounds, and had three steals, ending with a +6 on the stats sheet by the end of the game, bolstering the Bucs on both ends in the seven-point home win last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Foster will playing his eighth game since missing nine games due to a lower body injured, which he suffered at Princeton in early December in what was a heartbreaking 70-69 loss. During that nine-game stretch without Foster, the Paladins were 4-5 in that stretch, which included an embarrassing, 79-74 loss to Division II Anderson University to close out the non-league portion of the slate. 

With him back in the lineup, Furman has been okay, but there have been some concerting performances, as well was a couple of what could be some of the Paladins' best basketball of the season. Since his return against VMI, the Paladins have posted a 4-3 mark after starting 3-0 in his first three games back. The Paladins knocked off VMI (100-60), Western Carolina (W, 65-62),and Samford (W, 78-68) in his first three games back. 

The Paladins then promptly suffered losses in three out their last four, starting with a setback at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium to Wofford (L, 67-77), which was followed by an overtime win at The Citadel (W, 82-79) to complete the season sweep of the Bulldogs. Since that win at The Citadel, in which Furman had to battle back from as much as an 18-point deficit, including a 12-point margin at the break, the Paladins have lost back-to-back games against UNC Greensboro (L, 87-89) in a rare loss at Timmons Arena, as well as a nine-point loss at Mercer (L, 69-78) last time out in what was arguably one of Furman's worst performances of the season.

Foster himself, though, has been on a tear. In the eight games since he's returned to the lineup for the Paladins, Foster has posted a scoring average of 19.7 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 2.9 APG. In all eight games Foster has found his way into double figures, including having posted five double-doubles in those eight games back. Prior to his current string of five double-doubles in eight games, Foster had only three total double-doubles in his Paladin career.

With his 19-point effort last time out in the loss at Mercer, Foster crossed a career milestone, becoming the 51st player in Furman history to cross the 1,000-point plateau, as he now has 1,012 points in his Furman career. Foster has three games of 20 or more points since his return, and has scored in double figures in 14 of his 15 outings for the Paladins this season, which includes back-to-back 30-point efforts in the Myrtle Beach Invitational en route to setting a tournament record with 78 points in three games. 

With his 30-point effort in consecutive games against Liberty and Coastal Carolina, Foster became the first Paladin to record back-to-back 30-point scoring games since Karim Souchu recorded back-to-back performances of 32 points vs ETSU (Feb. 25, 2003) and 31 points vs UNC Greensboro (Feb. 27, 2003) in a pair of Paladin wins. Foster has scored 20 or points six times this season. 

The Paladins haven't fared all that well away from Timmons Arena this season, having posted just a 3-10 record in true road games. 

Since the 2015-16 season, Furman and East Tennessee State have been two of the most successful teams in the Southern Conference, the Paladins have won 193 games overall, while ETSU has 183 games. In terms of Southern Conference wins, the Paladins are second to UNCG (110 wins) in total Southern Conference wins over that span, having won 109 SoCon games. ETSU is just behind those two in third with 99 league wins. 

A Look at the Paladins: In Bob Richey's seven seasons as the head coach of the Furman basketball program, perhaps no team has struggled to shoot the ball consistently well from the field, and in particular, from three-point range. In its five of its six Southern Conference road games, that has especially been true. 

The only game in which the Paladins shot the ball well from both two-point range and three-point range came in the Paladins' 100-60 win over VMI. In that contest, the Paladins matched a season-high with 18 three-point field goals made, shooting them at a 48.6% (18-of-37) clip for the game. The Paladins were also able to connect on 48.0% (36-of-75) shots from the field for the game in the win.  

In road games against Mercer, The Citadel, Wofford, Chattanooga and UNC Greensboro, the Paladins are 25.3% (39-of-154) from long range.  Meanwhile, from 2-point range, the Paladins have also struggled, which is not a good sign either. The Paladins have also connected on 111-of-310 from the field in all conference road games excluding the VMI contest, which converts to 35.8% from the field.

When the Paladins connected on just seven field goals in their 77-67 loss to Wofford last month, which was its lowest total in a game since 2012. In that game, the Terriers would out-score the Paladins in the paint an astounding 46-14.

Furman is averaging 80.8 PPG in all games this season, which ranks second overall in the Southern Conference behind only Samford. In league games this season, however, the Paladins rank fourth in the SoCon in scoring offense, averaging 76.9 PPG. 

The Paladins have normally been sound in terms of offensive efficiency in terms of field goal percentage. However, this season Furman ranks seventh in the SoCon in team field goal percentage (44.6%) and in league-only games, the Paladins rank ninth in team field goal percentage (41.9%). 

With that said, it's on the defensive end that Furman's struggles are most profound, and that has been glaringly clear over the past couple of games in losses to UNC Greensboro and Mercer, with both of those teams shooting better than 50% for the game, with the Spartans shooting a sizzling 59% from three-point range. 

In league only games, the Paladins rank eighth in field goal percentage defense (46.2%) and sixth in scoring defense (63.3 PPG). The Paladins are doing a better job of defending the three since entering league play, holding teams to 32.9% from the field from long-range, ranking fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense.

While Marcus Foster is a key component to Furman on the offensive end of the floor as noted above, he is also very important on the defensive end of the floor, as he is the team's best on-ball defender. He will likely draw the unenviable task of trying to slow Jaden Seymour. 

Foster is joined in the backcourt by JP Pegues (16.4 PPG, 4.9 APG) and Carter Whitt (8.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG), who are both projected as starters in Saturday evening's contest. Part of Furman's struggles in their last contest in a loss at Mercer could be directly tied to Pegues, who got in foul trouble, committing his fourth foul early in the second half and never got in a good rhythm, finishing with a season-low four points.

Pegues shoots the ball well in clutch situations, as folks around the college basketball world well know after he has now hit three shots this season with under a second left to either tie or give the Paladins a win. He has nine games this season in which he has scored 20 or more points.  He flirted with a triple-double earlier this season with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 23-point (99-76) win over Belmont at Timmons Arena.

In fact, Pegues is shooting just 33.8% from three-point land (175-of-517) and only 29.4% (51-of-151) in conference games this season. He has to produce for Furman to be successful. That's the bottom line. His 4.9 assists-per-game ranks him fourth overall in the league, and his 87.6% clip from the charity stripe ranks first in the SoCon. Pegues tied for team-high scoring honors with 20 points in Furman's win last month.

Whitt, who once played for ETSU head coach Brooks Savage during his time at Wake Forest, had one of his best games of the season against the Bucs, efficiently managing the Paladin offensive attack in that 82-73 earlier this season, as he finished with 14 points, five assists, five rebounds, four steals and blocked a shot, as he was the Paladins' best defender in the contest. 

Rounding out the starting five for the Paladins are forwards Alex Williams (15.7 PPG, 4.9 PPG) and Tyrese Hughey (5.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG), who provide both rebounding and scoring in the paint, with Williams using his strength at 6-5, 235 lbs. 

Williams is Furman's top three-point shooter, connecting on 40.6% (52-of-128) from long range this season, and his 15.7 PPG ranks third on the team. He has 52 threes made this season, which is second on the team. 

Off the bench, the Paladins have a solid scoring presence, in guard PJay Smith Jr., (10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG), who like Williams, is a proficient long-range shooter.  His 53 triples in the 2023-24 season leads the Paladins. Smith Jr. transferred into Furman from Lee University where he played for former Paladin standout Bubba Smith. 

Garrett Hien (7.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 57 assists) and Ben VanderWal (5.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG) have been effective at times off the bench, with Hien having begun the season as a regular starter, logging 14 starting assignments, while VanderWal has started three. Hien has to produce offensively off the bench, as Furman struggles when he struggles. He scored 10-straight points off the bench in the first meeting between the Paladins and Bucs earlier this season. 

Furman's best offense this season has, at times, been from the charity stripe where the the Paladins rank tops in the league in free throws made (357) and free throw attempts (491) as a team.

A Look at the Bucs: ETSU has hung its hat on the defensive end of the floor this season, and while it's noted above how much having Karon Boyd (8.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG) in the lineup has made them even better on the defensive end of the floor, it's also been his offensive rebounding and ability to score in the paint on the offensive end has also been key. 

With the Bucs’ three-straight wins, it’s their longest SoCon winning streak since the 2020-21 season, which snapped from Jan. 18-21.

ETSU enters the contest leading the SoCon in scoring defense (68.5 PPG), and over the past five games, which has seen the Bucs win four of them, ETSU is scoring 63.8 PPG, but holding foes to a meager 61.4 PPG. The Bucs also are a +11.0 (41.0-30.0) in rebounding margin during that stretch as well.  In fact, the Bucs rank 17th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.75) and 28th blocks per game (5.0 BPG). 

In the backcourt, the Bucs start a talented trio, with Ebby Asamoah (15.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG), Jaden Seymour (15.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG) and Quimari Peterson (12.9 PPG, 3.4 APG) leading the way. Now healthy, both Allen Strothers (2.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG) and Justice Smith (4.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG) have been solid compliments to the scoring of the aforementioned trio. In fact, Strothers has found himself back in the starting five for ETSU as of late. 

Seymour, however, is ETSU's most athletic and most talented player. In my opinion, if he stays at ETSU for his senior season, he could be a player that gets some NBA looks. 

Locking down opponents in the paint and rim protection of been a couple of hallmarks for the Bucs in Brook Savage's first season at the helm. and that has especially been true in the recent three-game winning streak. Keying that defensive prowess in the paint for the Bucs have been 6-11 Jadyn Parker (6.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG) and Karon Boyd (8.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG). Parker and Seymour have keyed a pair of SoCon wins this season with blocked shots against VMI and The Citadel, respectively. 

The Bucs also have good depth in the backcourt, with Gabe Sisk (4.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG) able to cause matchup problems on the defensive end of the floor with his size. William & Mary transfer Tyler Rice (3.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG) has also added some leadership off the bench. Sisk, who hails from Louisville, KY., was one of the top recruits in the SoCon coming into the season.

ETSU is 1-6 in league games when surrendering 70 or more points this season, however, are 4-0 when holding league opponents to less than 70.

Last Time the Bucs and Paladins met:

Furman 82, East Tennessee State 73 (Jan. 13, 2024)

Furman got a combined 40 points from Alex Williams (20 pts) and JP Pegues (20 pts), as the Paladins were able to win their second-straight game in league play, with an 82-73 win over East Tennessee State.

The win marked Furman’s third-straight over the Bucs, marking its first three-game winning streak in the series since winning five-straight in the series between 1996 and 2001. 

Also helping key Furman’s home win over the Bucs last month was the play of sophomore guard Carter Whitt, who contributed 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block. Garrett Hien provided 10 points off the bench for the Paladins, scoring all 10 of those points in succession. 

ETSU also had four players in double figures, which was led by Jaden Seymour's 23 points and four rebounds, while Quimari Peterson added 16 points, with 14 of those coming in the opening nine minutes of the game. Peterson also added seven rebounds and three assists, but also turned it over six times.

Seymour scored his game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 effort from three-point range. He also finished with four rebounds. 

Ebby Asamoah and Jadyn Parker rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Parker narrowly missed a double-double, ripping down nine boards. 

The Paladins finished the night connecting on 44.1% (26-of-59) for the game, while finishing the contest by connecting on 35.0% (7-of-20). The Paladins also had one of their best efforts from the charity stripe this season, knocking down 23-of-26 shots from the charity stripe.

Last Time in Johnson City:  Furman 70, East Tennessee State 55 (Jan. 8, 2023)

https://thespreadfootball.wordpress.com/2023/01/08/furman-wins-at-etsu-for-the-first-time-in-five-years/

What's At Stake Saturday:

A win for ETSU would tie the Bucs with the Paladins in the league standings, at 6-6. A win by the Paladins would see the Paladins post their fourth road win of the season and improve to 7-5 on the season, helping continue to position itself for March in Asheville. 

Furman drops its first game to Mercer since 2016

  Mercer snaps Furman’s 18-game winning streak

Fresh off a career-high matching 30-point performance last time out against VMI, Mercer's Jayln McCreary posted 28 points to lead the Bears to a 78-69 win over Furman in Southern Conference hoops action Wednesday night at Hawkins Arena. 

The win by the Bears snapped what had been an 18-game winning streak in the series by the Paladins, and sees the Bears improve to 11-13 overall and 4-7 in league action, while Furman falls to 6-5 in league play. It was Furman's third loss in its last four games, which comes on the heels of a season-best five-game winning streak, which culminated with a 78-68 win over league-leading Samford just two weeks ago at Timmons Arena. 

The Paladins also fell to 3-10 away from Timmons Arena in true road games this season, which includes a 2-4 mark away from the friendly confines in league play. 

McCreary finished his night by connecting on 13-of-21 shots from the field and was 2-for-3 at the charity stripe. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. 

For head coach Greg Gary, it was his first win over Furman in this his fifth season as the head coach of the Bears, as he improved to 1-13 all-time against the Paladins. It was Mercer's first win over the Paladins since Stephen Croone and Devin Sibley suited up for the Paladins back in the 2015-16 season, as Mercer claimed a 69-65 win over Furman on Jan. 14, 2016, at Hawkins Arena. 

The Bears completely shut down the Paladins in the second half, and in particular, the final 4:18 of the contest, which saw the Paladins go scoreless. In fact, watching the game it seemed as if Furman turned the ball over more than shots aimed towards the basket during that timeframe, and it was a reminder of just how Furman basketball has been at times when it has got in a rut. When it's bad, it's really bad.

In the second half of Wednesday night's first of two meetings with Mercer, the Bears wanted it more. Furman looked less like a defending champion than it had in its previous loss. It looked like a team just there playing a game for no real reason at all. 

Defending champs normally have swagger...Defending champs act like they are defending something. Defending champs have to be hungrier than they were the year before. None of those attributes could have been said of the Paladins on Wednesday night in Macon, as they weren't discernible in any form...Even to the keenest of attentive eyes.

Playing its first road game in the final month of league play, it would have caught most who didn't know by surprise that Furman was the defending Southern Conference basketball champions. Mercer played the second half as the aggressor from start-to-finish, and looked more the part of defending champs by comparison. 

It comes as little surprise then, that the  Bears were easily able to overcome its halftime deficit of 40-34 and outscore the Paladins 44-29 in the second half en route to what was one of Mercer's best halves of basketball all season.

A 19-5 second half run by the Bears was a big key, which was super charged by supplemental scoring from Caleb Hunter, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to supplement the work already being done in the paint by McCreary.

Both teams shot the ball pretty well in the opening 20 minutes of basketball, with Furman connecting at a 50% (13-of-26) clip, while Mercer connected on 47.1% (16-of-34), as the Paladins would carry a 40-34 lead into the halftime break. However, for the second-straight game and for just the third time this season, the Paladins could hold it together in the second half.

In terms of three-point shooting, the Paladins finished the night connecting on just 27.3% (6-of-22) from three-point land, while the Paladins continued their stellar shooting from the free throw line of late, connecting on 82.6% (19-of-23) from the charity stripe.  Following the 50% shooting effort in the opening half, the Paladins could only muster a 34.6% (9-for-26) in the second half. It led to a final shooting clip of 42.3% (22-of-52) from the field for the game. 

Mercer came out and blistered the nets at a 56.6% (17-of-30) clip in the second half and held the Paladins to just a 34.6% (22-of-52) shooting clip from the field, to outscore the Paladins by 15 points en route to what was seemingly a pretty easy victory. The Bears finished the night of totals of 51.6% (33-of-64) shooting from the field, while connecting on just 22.2% (2-of-9) from three-point land.  The Bears also connected on 66.7% (10-of-15) shots from the charity stripe. 

Like his 25-point performance in Macon last season, Marcus Foster would lead the way scoring-wise for the Paladins in the loss, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds, as he just missed his sixth double-double in what was his seventh game back from injury. 

With his 19 point scoring effort, Foster now has 1,012 points in his Furman career, surpassing the 1,000-point milestone in the opening half of play. The Peach State product finished the night connecting on 6-of-15 shots from the field, which included going 1-for-5 from three-point range. 

The senior guard also finished the game connecting on 6-of-7 foul shots and was one of three Paladins in double figures in the loss. Foster is the 51st player in program history to cross the 1,000-point plateau in a career.

Foster would finish the contest joined in double figures by Alex Williams, who finished with 15 points, while junior forward Tyrese Hughey chipped in with 10. 

On a night When Furman once again struggled to shoot the three, Alex Williams and Tyrese Hughey proved to be the most effective long-range options for the Paladins, as the duo connected on a combined 4-of-9 from three-point range in the game, however, the rest of the team finished just 2-for-13 from long range.

It was a particularly tough night for Furman junior guard JP Pegues, who finished the night with a season-low four points and took only five shots, finishing 2-of-5 from the field. The four points by Pegues was the lowest point total of the season, and was the lowest since the second game of the 2022-23 season, as Pegues scored just two points in an 89-74 home win over Belmont (11/11/2022). 

It was just the third time this season that junior point guard from Nashville has failed to find his way into double figures, with only UAB (6 pts) and VMI (8 pts) managing to hold the junior out of the double figures scoring category. 

Pegues added four rebounds, two assists, and had three of Furman's 14 turnovers in the contest. 

One of the few bright spots for the Paladins was Garrett Hien, who added eight points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench for the Paladins. 

All told, the Bears held advantages in total rebounds (35-32), points in the paint (48-32), second-chance points (11-2), points from turnovers (14-8) and bench points (22-17). The Paladins held the edge in total assists (12-8) and the two teams were tied in fast-break scoring (7-7).

The Paladins fell to 10-3 in games they have led at the half this season, including for the second-straight outing. Furman also held a lead against UNCG (51-47) last time out at Timmons Arena before eventually dropping what was an 89-87 contest before a national television audience this past Sunday. 

How It Happened:

Furman opened the game in solid fashion, shooting 50% (13-of-26) from the field and converted 11-of-13 shots from the charity stripe, as the Paladins went into the halftime locker room with a 40-34 lead and appeared to be on their way to fashioning a 19th-straight win over Mercer.

However, in the second half, the Bears came out red-hot shooting the basketball and took the game to Furman, as the Bears shot 56.7% in the second half, while holding the Paladins to just 34.6% and allowed the Bears to win the second half by 15 points, outscoring the Paladins 44-29 in the latter 20 minutes to get the streak-stopping win. 

The Bears used a 13-1 run early in the second half allowed Mercer to take a 52-51  lead following a three-pointer from Mercer talented freshman guard David Thomas, and that would be followed by a Jah Quinones jumper in the paint with 12:49 left, giving the Bears the 54-51 lead.

Furman would re-take the lead moments later, as Marcus Foster scored on back-to-back layups to take a 55-54 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. It would turn out to be the final lead the Paladins would hold the remainder of the evening. 

The Bears would score the next six points to take control of the basketball game, as Jayln McCreary converted a running one-handed jump-shot in the lane, which was followed by a TJ Grant two-handed dunk off an assist from Robby Carmody, and then a David Thomas layup in the paint at the 9:25 mark gave the Bears a 60-55 lead. 

Foster would stop the bleeding momentarily, as he connected on one of Furman's three second half triples, getting the Paladins back to within two, at 60-58, with just over nine minutes left. A Robby Carmody three-point play the old-fashioned way on the other end took the Mercer lead immediately back to five, at 63-58, with 8:06 left, and a pair of free throws by Foster out of the under eight media timeout would get the Paladins to back to within one possession again, at 63-60 with 7:48 left.

Mercer would slowly gain control of the game from there, however, as the Paladins were never able to get within one possession the rest of the way. Furman cut it to four twice the rest of the way, with a Garrett Hien layup with 4:18 remaining being the last of those four-point deficits. Mercer would take as much as a 10-point lead with 26 seconds remaining on a pair of Jalen Cobb free throws, taking a 78-68 lead with 26 seconds remaining. Marcus Foster would score the final points of the evening, setting the final margin at nine.

Furman returns to action Saturday evening when it travels to Freedom Hall to take on suddenly hot East Tennessee State (13-11, 5-6 SoCon), who muzzled Wofford, 57-50, Wednesday evening to avenge what was a 75-73 loss to the Terriers just a couple of weeks ago at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Paladins claimed an 82-73 win over the Bucs earlier this season at Timmons Arena. Tip-off for that contest is slated for 6 p.m. EST and will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

Mercer returns to action Saturday, as they will be in Cullowhee to take on Western Carolina (17-7, 6-5 SoCon) at the Liston B. Ramsey Center, with tip-off for that contest set for 7 p.m. EST. Mercer will look to avenge what was a 64-52 loss at Hawkins Arena earlier in SoCon play.

Furman heads to Mercer for SoCon showdown Wednesday night

Paladins look to bounce back from rare home loss last Sunday 

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Furman (12-11, 6-4 SoCon at Mercer (10-13, 3-7 SoCon)

Feb. 7, 2024/Macon, GA

Hawkins Arena (4,500)

Series: Furman holds a 27-10 all-time series edge against the Bears and has won 18-straight games in the series; The Paladins claimed three wins over the Bears just last season, winning 84-66 last season at Hawkins Arena for their seventh-straight win in that SoCon road venue. The Paladins also had to fight hard to earn a 70-67 win In Greenville, while having to overcome a halftime deficit to upend the Bears, 73-58, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Southern Conference Tournament at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville.

Coaches: Furman--Bob Richey (151-66/7th season)/Mercer--Greg Gary (75-75/5th season at Mercer)

Preview: Defending Southern Conference champion Furman will hope to rebound from what was a heartbreaking, 89-87, home loss to UNC Greensboro in a nationally-televised matchup on ESPNU. The loss came despite stellar performances from both senior guard Marcus Foster and JP Pegues, who scored 26 and 25 points, respectively, to lead the Paladins in the losing effort. 

The defending champions looked the part in Sunday's loss, and it was a game that featured a couple of teams that might very well be in contention once again for a Southern Conference Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament bid.

That being said, the Paladins must put the heartbreak of that loss behind them and focus on another tough assignment, which comes against Mercer on the road. The Bears have a talented team and have been playing some of their best basketball of late, including a 90-69 win over VMI at home last time out this past Sunday, while having gone on the road to hand UNC Greensboro () one of its two losses in league action. 

The game will offer somewhat of a contrast in styles, with Furman favoring a more up-tempo pace, ranking second in the league in scoring output (81.3 PPG) , while Mercer comes in as one of the lowest scoring teams in the SoCon in terms of overall output, while the Bears rank last in the league in scoring offense (69.8 PPG). 

Though the Paladins have scored the ball well, they have struggled with some long scoring droughts at times this season. It has been particular evident at the start of games as of late, with slow starts at The Citadel, Wofford and Chattanooga on the road, losing two of those contests.

A Look at the Paladins: The Paladins continue to be a guard-heavy influenced team in many ways this season, and how they go is how the team usually goes this season. 

The Paladins have a scoring trio to rival any in the Southern Conference, with JP Pegues (17.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.9 APG), Marcus Foster (19.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG), and Alex Williams (15.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG) accounting for nearly 55 PPG this so far this season. Foster and Pegues alone accounted for 51 points in the previous outing against UNCG in what was 89-87 setback.

Pegues and Foster have had some outstanding outings in his career vs. the Bears, namely last season. In Furman's 84-66 win at Hawkins Arena last season, Marcus Foster posted a then career-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds and was one of three Paladins in double figures in the win. 

In Furman's narrow 70-67 win at Timmons Arena late last season, it was JP Pegues that had a strong game, as he listed 18 points and dished out five assists in the Paladins' narrow home win. 

In the Southern Conference Tournament, it was Pegues again that showed up big for the Paladins, as he scored a game-high 22 points, dished out four assists and grabbed four boards, leading the Paladins to the 15-point, 73-58, opening round win.

Pegues has been Furman's top player this season, and has scored 20 or more points on nine occasions, and has connected on a three-pointer to tie or give the Paladins the lead on three occasions so far this season, including twice in SoCon play, tying the game against The Citadel last week with 0.8 seconds left, while his three from the top of the key against Western Carolina would allow Furman to gut out a 65-62 triumph on its home floor just a couple of weeks ago.

The junior from Nashville has continued to rank among the league's top 10 in most categories. Pegues currently ranks third in the league in scoring (17.1 PPG), fourth in assists-per-game (4.9 APG), 10th in steals-per-game (1.3), second in free throw percentage (87.6%), and third in assist-turnover-ratio (2.4/3rd). 

While Furman's shooting has been less than spectacular from long range this season in comparison to some of Richey's other teams in recent memory, the Paladins have made up for it in other areas, including on the glass, as well as at the free throw line. 

The Paladins have attempted more free throws than any team in the SoCon and than any team in the SoCon (468), as well as free throws made (338). The other area in which the Paladins have excelled this season has been rebounding, as the Paladins currently rank third in the SoCon in total rebounds per game, pulling down 38.7 boards-per-game and finished with 11.7 offensive rebounds per game.

Foster has posted five double-doubles in his six games since returning from injury and has scored in double figures in all six. in fact, Foster has found his way into double figures in 13 out of the 14 games he's seen action in this season, with the only game in which he failed to reach double figures being the game that he suffered his injury against Princeton. Foster has a pair of 30-point outings this season, as he set the Myrtle Beach Invitational Tournament record with a total of 78 points in three games.

In the nine games in which Foster missed this season, which included the first four Southern Conference games and the final five non-conference games, the Paladins posted a 4-5 record. With him in the lineup this season, the Paladins have posted an 8-6 overall mark, including having gone 4-2 in league games. 

Foster has eight-career double-doubles entering Wednesday night's clash with the Bears, and is on the verge of a career milestone. Foster needs just seven more points to become the 50th player in program history to score 1,000 points in a career. He currently sits at 993 points and ranks as the league's third active career scorer. 

Alex Williams continues to be the steadying three-point threat for the Paladins so far in 2023-24. He has connected on 41.0% (50-of-122) from three-point land this season and ranks third on the team in three-pointers made behind only PJay Smith Jr. (52) and JP Pegues (51) in three-pointers made. That trio has connected on 153 of the team's 226 three-point field goals this season.

Williams has started 15 of the 18 games he's seen action in this season, registering a career high and Furman season standard 31 points in a win over Bob Jones earlier this season, while having scored 20 or more points on six occasions so far in 2023-24. 

Also slated to round out the starting lineup for Furman's midweek contest with the Bears are both guard Carter Whitt (9.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.9 APG) and Tyrese Hughey (5.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG). Whitt has transformed himself into one of Furman's most reliable ball-handlers this season. When Pegues, Foster and Williams all missed the first conference game on the road last month at UNC Greensboro, Whitt was forced to step up and be Furman's go-to-scorer, and he finished out that contest with a career-high 23 points. 

Whitt has two other 20-point scoring efforts this season, scoring all 20 of his points in the second half in an 89-80 win at Coastal Carolina, while posting 21 points in Furman's 100-60 win over VMI a few weeks back in Southern Conference play.

Hughey has provided solid minutes on the glass on both ends, as well as being a presence on the defensive end of the floor and ranks second on the team in blocks, having swatted away 10 shots so far this season.

Furman's two main performers off the bench are guard PJay Smith Jr (10.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 52 3pt field goals) and veteran post player Garrett Hien (7.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG). Smith Jr. has been an outstanding addition from the transfer portal, joining forces with good friends and AAU teammate JP Pegues this season following a couple of years at Lee University, which is a Division II member of the Gulf South Conference. He was the Gulf South Freshman of the Year a couple of years ago and garnered all-league honors last season before deciding to transfer to Furman. Smith was coached by former Furman standout Bubba Smith at Lee University before transferring to Furman. 

Smith Jr. is shooting better than 40% from three-point range in his collegiate career, and is leading the team in three-pointers made (52) this season, as well as connecting on 38.0% (52-of-137) from long range to this point this season. Smith Jr, enjoyed his best performance as a Paladin against Tulane in what was a 117-110 double overtime loss back in mid-December, as he posted 23 points. His overall career high as a Division I or II college basketball player came in his time at Lee University, tallying 32 points in a win over Auburn-Montgomery last season. 

Along with Foster, Hien is one of the veteran-most leaders on the Paladins roster, and he has struggled to find the type of consistency in his play on both ends that he provided much of his career prior to the 2023-24 season. That said, he's the one piece to the puzzle for this Paladin basketball team that, if he finds that level of play, which he enjoyed in so many big games last season and over the course of his career, could make the Paladins a dangerous team down the stretch and once again in March.

Ben VanderWal () and Cooper Bowser () round out the primary rotation for the Paladins, adding rebounding, cutting ability, as well an overall defensive presence. Bowser leads the team with 17 blocks this season, while VanderWal has been a menace on the offensive glass, as well as being one of the Paladins main "glue guys" off the bench. 

A Look at the Bears: Mercer enters Wednesday's contest playing some of its best basketball of the year, and that really dates back to a solid road performance at league-leading Samford, eventually dropping what was an 87-80 contest in a hard-fought loss.

Then came the forgettable performance against The Citadel, which saw the Bears blow a huge 18-point lead, and an 11 point lead in the final five minutes, eventually dropping what was a 68-66 contest to the Bulldogs. Then came maybe the Bears' best performance of the season, which was a 70-64 road win at UNC Greensboro before dropping a tough, 55-49, home contest to East Tennessee State.

The Bears rebounded last time out in a big way, posting a 90-69 win over VMI. Mercer head coach Greg Gary put together one of the top recruiting classes in the SoCon during the off-season, bringing in a freshman class that has come right in and been able to contribute, while also adding some talent from the transfer portal to help supplement the players he already had returning.

Mercer has one of the top front courts in the league, and though he doesn't start, it pretty much all begins and ends with Jayln McCreary (15.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 BPG), who is the only Bears player to average in double figures and is coming off a career-topping performance, pouring in 30 points in Mercer's latest win over VMI. He scored 20 of those points in the opening half of play. 

McCreary ended up being an all-conference addition last season, and he's one of the most efficient low-post scorers in the SoCon this season. He has scored 30 points on two occasions this season, and crossed the 1,000-point milestone earlier this season in Mercer's seven-point loss at Samford. McCreary's 52.3 field goal percentage mark ranks him fourth overall in the SoCon in that category this season. 

Also productive in the low-post this season for the Bears has been a player, in Jake Davis (9.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG), who was heavily recruited by both Mercer and Furman in the recruiting process, and as a 6-6 forward, gives the Bears a unique inside-outside threat. 

He boasts a team-leading 44 three-pointers made for the Bears this season, shooting them at a good 39.6% from long range on the season. In his first-career start against Georgia State earlier this season, Davis started his first game and proceeded to go out and score a career-high 26 points in leading the Bears to an important win. In that 26-point effort in the 64-60 win over the Panthers, Davis knocked down a career-best four three-pointers. 

Davis is set to start alongside 6-8 junior Alex Holt (6.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG). He is coming off a milestone performance last time out, posting a his first-career double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Bears' 21-point win over VMI. Holt also had a 14-point performance in a loss at Wofford earlier this season. 

The trio of guards that are slated to start this evening against the Paladins are Jah Quinones (6.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG), freshman Anthony Bernard (2.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG) and Jalen Cobb (5.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG). 

 

Quinones is a bigger, physical guard that had a pair of good outings against the Paladins last season. He finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists in the Bears' loss, 70-67, setback in Greenville last season. In the tournament loss, he posted seven points in four boards against Furman. 

Cobb, who transferred into Mercer from Fordham last season, spent most of last season recovering from an early-season knee injury, and that ended up costing the Bears depth-wise in the backcourt. He has recorded five double-figure scoring performances this season, highlighted by a 19-point effort in a 70-65 win over Florida Gulf Coast, connecting on 5-of-7 from three-point range in that win. 

Bernard is a freshman point guard from Grosse Point, MI. and is not a primary scorer. He did post his best performance as a Bear recently in a home loss to Chattanooga, finishing with 11 points, and also posted three steals in the loss earlier this season to the Mocs. 

Along with McCreary, the Bears have some decent depth off the bench--a place that, along with McCreary's 15.0 PPG this season, Mercer is 33.5 PPG from its bench this season.

The other performer coming off the bench that has a chance to garner SoCon All-Freshman Team accolades this season is 6-2 guard David Thomas (8.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG), and posted a season-high 20 points in Mercer's win at VMI early in league play. Notre Dame grad transfer Robby Carmody (7.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG) rounds out the notable performers off the bench for the Bears.