Defense helps Paladins hand Richmond first loss

Asa Thomas had 20 points and a game-saving blocked shot with 11 seconds left
in Furman's 73-72 win over Richmond Thursday. Photo courtesy of Furman

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Furman's Thanksgiving recipe for defeating an unbeaten team wasn't exactly perfect, but the main ingredient kept everyone from leaving and going to Cracker Barrel. That ingredient was defense. After holding Richmond to its lowest scoring output in a half in the first half Thursday, the Paladins allowed even fewer in the second half. They somehow avoided a colossal collapse down the stretch to hang on for a 73-72 win in the Imagination Bracket of the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational at ESPN's Wide World of Sports at Disney World.

Furman's third consecutive win sends them into Friday's championship game against Illinois State at 3 p.m. It will be televised by ESPN2.

The Paladins (4-3) won despite having turnovers on each of its final five possessions, being outscored 7-0 over the final 2:45 and making just 9-of-21 free throws in the game. While Richmond did have that seven-point run to end the game, it also made just one of its last seven shots. Furman held the Spiders, who were averaging 90 points per game and had not scored fewer than 84 in any game this season, to 40.7 percent shooting.

"We're starting to figure some things out. We're not a finished product, but that's a heck of a win right there, versus a team that's really good," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "We've got to keep getting better, but man that was a fun day. The turkey's going to taste a whole lot better after that.

"We've got a lot of size and we have to find ways to utilize it. What we did today was mix in our man and our zone (defenses). In our man, we were a little bit more aggressive. We were hedging on the ball a little bit and I thought that affected their guards, who are lightning fast. They're really good with the ball in their hands and in getting to the paint. We really wanted to restrict paint because they shoot (an average of) 28 free throws per game. The reason I went to the zone was I was thinking, 'if we can eliminate the free throws, maybe we can get this win.' "

Richmond made 15-of-17 free throws Thursday.

The Spiders' Collin Tanner opened the game scoring on a three-pointer 20 seconds in. Nine seconds later, an Alex Wilkins' jumper got Furman on the board. At the 18:21 mark, Asa Thomas drilled a three off a feed from Wilkins and a tone was set for the day as the Paladins took a lead they never relinquished. Furman stretched its lead to as many as 15 with 8:26 left in the first half when a three-pointer by Wilkins capped a 12-2 run.

A late flurry by the Spiders cut the Furman lead to 43-38 at the half. Only one other team held Richmond to 38 in a half this season and that was VMI in the second half of the Spiders' 87-54 win.

"We really found a way today. Obviously in the first half we were hot there on offense and kind of stagnated in the end," Thomas said. "But our defense came through. We've been working on that in practice so much. Our guys really put it to the test today and it was great."

In the second half, Richmond made it one-score game seven different times. It could never pull even or take the lead as Furman seemingly always had a quick response. A three-point play by Richmond cut the lead to 50-47 with 16:06 remaining, but Charles Johnston answered seven seconds later with a layup. That started a 10-2 run by the Paladins over the next six minutes to push their lead to 11.

Wilkins' jumper with 3:06 left gave Furman an eight-point advantage, but it was the Paladins' last field goal attempts of the day as it went full turnover-mode the rest of the way. The mistakes on the offensive end didn't affect Furman's defensive effort at all. Thomas can attest to that.

The Paladins final turnover came with 30 seconds left when Thomas dribbled off his foot out of bounds under Richmond's basket. Rather than mope, Thomas hustled back to the other end and made a huge blocked shot of Will Johnston's potential go-ahead layup with 11 seconds left. That shot landed out of bounds, so the ball remained with the Spiders. They got two shots off in the final six seconds but each bounced away not really close to being good.

"We thought we could throw the (1-3-1) zone out there and throw them off the rhythm a little bit. We knew it wasn't going to last the whole game. (Richmond's) Chris (Mooney) is too good a coach," Richey said. "After they figured it out, we had to trust our man-to-man (defense) late.

"That's the beauty of the win. They had two cracks at a baseline out to potentially take the lead and we got two stops. To be honest with you, the two looks they got weren't good. That's our guys having the ability to really lock in."

Richmond made just 10-of-31 field goals (32.3 percent), including 3-of-14 three-pointers (21.4 percent), in the second half as Furman held it to 34 points. Richmond leading scorer Aiden Argabright had just three points on 0-of-4 shooting from the floor. Jaden Daughtry led three Spiders in double figures with 12 points.

Wilkins overcame six turnovers to score a career-high 26 points. He also had four rebounds, three assists, one steal and drew eight fouls. Thomas had 20 points and three assists, while Cooper Bowser had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Johnston finished with nine points and seven rebounds. It's the first time he hasn't had double figures in rebounds this season and just the second that he hasn't scored in double figures. Ben Vander Wal had five points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Paladins to compete at Disney for Thanksgiving

Furman freshman Alex Wilkins had 23 points, seven assists and five rebounds
in the Paladins' 90-79 win over Queens Sunday. Photo courtesy of Furman

There was a time not too far in the past that holiday basketball tournament organizers didn't exactly have Furman on speed dial. Those days seem long gone now. For the fourth consecutive season, the Paladins will compete in an ESPN tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday. Furman will kick off a busy turkey day in the sports world with the only morning start time. Tip-off against Richmond Thursday is set for 11 a.m. in the four-team Imagination Bracket of the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational. The Invitational is being held at the State Farm Field House at ESPN's Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World Resort.

Thursday's game will be televised by ESPN2. It's the first game of a doubleheader as Charlotte and Illinois State will square off in the second game. The winners of Thursday's games meet in Friday's championship game at 3 p.m. on ESPN2, while the consolation game will precede it at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+. 

This year's trip to the land of Mickey Mouse follows previous Thanksgiving excursions to Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach and Charleston for the Paladins. While these trips are fun destinations against quality opponents, exposure may still be the most important part.

"This isn't ESPN+ or ESPNU. It's ESPN2. This is national exposure that you just can't turn down," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "For what we're trying to build here, we need as much exposure as we can get. ... We want to be something that allows the university to be seen at a national level.

"We got families all coming down there with us, so it should be a fun Thanksgiving time together which is going to be special."

Richmond (5-0) is undefeated this season and is coming off a 33-point win over VMI and a 35-point win over Gardner-Webb last week. The Spiders' lowest scoring output this year came in an 84-56 win over Southern Virginia in the season opener. Richmond is ranked No. 104 in the last Pomeroy ratings - the highest among the four teams competing in this bracket, but we all remember what happened the last time Furman faced a team from Virginia in Orlando.

"Richmond is really good. ... (Coach) Chris (Mooney) does a great job," Richey said. "There's a lot of similar beliefs offensively (with Furman) and just kind of how they play, We're going to have our hands full and we will have to guard really, really well." 

Recapping Queens

The Paladins enter Thursday's game having earned their biggest boost of confidence this season with a 90-79 win over Queens on Sunday. It marked the first win over a Division I program for Furman (3-3) this season and also gave the Paladins their first two-game winning streak.

A Furman team that has struggled with turnovers and shooting the three all year turned both around against Queens. The Paladins had 20 assists and only four turnovers in the victory, and made a season-high 12 threes out of 33 attempts for a 36.4 percent shooting average. Freshman sensation Alex Wilkins led five Paladins in double figures with 23 points, seven assists, five rebounds, just two turnovers and only one foul.

"It's a lot more fun when all of a sudden it looks like we can take care of the ball a little bit, make a couple of shots, play defense and win the battle on the boards. That was good Furman basketball," Richey said. "There's some things that we have to continue to try to clean up, but Alex has a chance to be special. ... He's not done getting better. His ceiling is so high."

After Wilkins scored the first seven points of the night for Furman, six other Paladins accounted for each of the team's next six buckets. That helped Furman lead by as many as 12 points with 12:44 left in the first half.

Queens (3-4) got the lead down to three before Wilkins responded with a simply astounding 85 seconds of basketball. It started on a driving reverse layup with 7:01 left. Then he grabbed a defensive rebound and was just a few feet away from midcourt when he fed Cooper Bowser down low for a dunk. Wilkins then drew an offensive foul for one of just four turnovers committed by the Royals.

On the ensuing Furman possession, Ben Vander Wal found Wilkins in the corner off a three forcing a Queens timeout. After the Royals scored out of the timeout, Wilkins answered with a coast-to-coast drive for a layup that he hit as he fell to the ground. That pushed Furman's lead to 31-21 with 5:36 left in the half and the Paladins never led by less than eight the rest of the way.

"The best part about him is his creativity. That's what makes him fun to watch - the speed at which he can play with and the vision that he can have," Richey said. "But it's just like a good car that can go fast. You want to be able to stop that thing a little bit and he's really had to learn how to stop well."

Following its best half of basketball this season, Furman took a 45-32 lead into halftime. The Paladins quickly squashed any hopes of a rally by Queens as they pushed the lead to 20 less than four minutes into the second half.

Cooper Bowser had yet another incredibly efficient night as he finished with 17 points on 6-of-7 field goal shooting, which was basically all a dunkfest. Bowser's shooting 77.8 percent from the floor this season but just barely doesn't have enough shots to qualify in the national ranking as he's 28-of-36. Charles Johnston continued to dominate inside as well as he had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double. He also had four assists and no turnovers.

Eddrin Bronson scored 15 points off the bench, while Asa Thomas had 12 points. The only starter not in double figures was Vander Wal. All he did was easily lead the team in plus-minus as Furman outscored the Royals by 23 points during his 30 minutes on the court. Vander Wal, who had missed the previous game for precautionary reasons and played this one with his left hand and wrist taped up like a prize fighter, had six points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, one steal and no turnovers. 

"Things haven't necessarily gone our way to start this season, but I'm so proud of this group and how we've been resilient. We've responded to those early season adversities," Vander Wal said. "Today was quite a good step in the right direction."

Recapping Ohio Christian

Following a tough trip to Northern Iowa in which Furman made just 4-of-30 three-pointers in a 16-point loss, Furman looked to get on track against NAIA member Ohio Christian last Wednesday. They did, by a final score of 79-44, but certainly not as quickly as anyone would've hoped. Nine-and-a-half minutes into the game, Furman trailed 12-11, was 0-for-6 on threes and had seven turnovers.

That goose egg on made threes remained until Wilkins knocked down Furman's first on its 14th attempt with just over three minutes left in the first half. Tom House gave the Paladins two made threes on one at the buzzer to push their lead to 32-23 at the break.

Furman hit six of its first seven second-half shots, including 5-of-6 three-pointers, to put together a 22-3 run that broke the game open. The Paladins grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to help build a 53-23 advantage on the glass. That also helped Furman enjoy a 46-12 edge on points in the paint.

Making his first start in place of Vander Wal was Thomas, who took full advantage of that opportunity. The Clemson transfer finished with career highs in points (22), rebounds (7) and assists (3). Johnston had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Wilkins scored 10 points also for the Paladins.

"It's been a great transition to Furman. I've really enjoyed it with my teammates and coaches," Thomas said. "Tonight was a good representation of how we want to play, especially the second half. ... It just felt nice to hit some shots, then everyone started hitting some shots in the second half and played some great team basketball."

How sweet it is! Furman soccer reaches Sweet 16

Trip Campbell celebrates his goal in Furman's 1-0 win over Western Michigan
in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Photo courtesy of Furman

Sundays on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium have been pretty special for the Furman men's soccer team in November. After Thanksgiving this week, the Paladins hope to close out the month with one more special afternoon. Furman hosts Hofstra in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 1 p.m.

This will be the 16th-seeded Paladins' third appearance in the Sweet 16 and first since 2002. They got there thanks to another thrilling win last Sunday as Furman topped Western Michigan, 1-0, in a second round match before a large, boisterous crowd. That victory followed a 1-0 double overtime win against UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference Tournament championship the previous Sunday and a 4-2 win over Wofford in the SoCon semifinals the Sunday before that.

"I'm just so happy for the kids and the staff. We did a good job to earn it by winning the conference championship, but winning in the NCAAs is another level," said Furman coach Doug Allison, who was doused with a bucket of water by two former players in the post-match celebration. "The alumni here are just amazing. They want to come back and watch us. They've been texting me all week."

What has made Furman (15-1-4) so successful this season is that it is a true "team" in every sense of the word. On a roster that produced nine different All-Southern Conference performers this season, Sunday's hero was a sophomore who came off the bench to double his season goal scoring output. Trip Campbell entered the pitch in the 25th minute and missed a shot just a few minutes later. 

He didn't miss his next try. With less than three minutes left in the first half, Campbell tallied his second goal of the season off outstanding assists from Diego Hernandez and Wilfer Bustamante. Grabbing a lead out of nowhere in a match that appeared to be on its way to a scoreless tie at the half was a huge boost for Furman. A Paladin defense made up of four freshmen and one sophomore made the one goal lead stand up as Western Michigan did not record a shot on goal in the second half. It was the seventh shutout this season for SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year, Ivan Horvat.

"Different guys come through at different times, so you don't know who to mark. And they all want each other to do well," Allison said. "Now we have the lead and they've got to come at you (in the second half) and that's a tough thing to do sometimes. That's a long time to hold the lead today, but we did it well by continuing to attack them."

The Broncos (8-10-4) recorded just one shot on goal for the game. Horvat tipped Mathieu Beuvain's effort over the bar less than 15 minutes into the match. Western Michigan goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth, who was tremendous in the Broncos' 1-0 win at Clemson in the first round last Thursday, had a pair of saves in the first 17 minutes Sunday.

The Paladins' next shot on goal resulted in the lone score. Furman didn't look very much like it was threatening when Bustamante had his back to the goal near the top of the box. But he suddenly found Diego Hernandez on a beautiful backheel kick to the left of the goal. Hernandez, the SoCon Player of the Year and SoCon Tournament MVP, might have had a shot but instead made the second pass for a better one. At very close range, Campbell gently guided the ball straight into the middle of the net.

"It's an unbelievable feeling knowing you scored the winning goal to help the team cross the line," Campbell said. "Honestly, this entire team is just connected. Whenever we need somebody, we step up."

Following Furman's win, all attention turned to No. 1 seed Vermont where the Paladins would likely be headed this week. Hofstra held a 2-1 lead late on the road in the snow at the top seed before the Catamounts forced overtime thanks to a goal in the 84th minute. Undaunted, the Pride scored just over six minutes into sudden death to stun the reigning national champions and give Furman - and Allison - at least one more home match.

Vermont was far from the only highly-seeded team to be upset in its opening round of action. After falling in that classic SoCon final a week earlier, UNCG stunned No. 2 seed Virginia in a match decided by penalty kicks. No. 3 seed Princeton, No. 5 seed SMU, No. 6 seed Indiana and No. 9 seed San Diego were also eliminated.

With both Vermont's 29-match and Princeton's 16-match unbeaten streaks getting snapped, Furman now has the nation's longest unbeaten run as well as the longest winning streak. The Paladins have won nine consecutive matches and gone undefeated in 12 straight, as has Saint Louis. Furman is 11-0-1 in that stretch while Saint Louis is 8-0-4. That unbeaten streak began with Furman's 1-0 win over Charlotte on Sept. 22. Ironically, the lone goal that night was Campbell's other one this season.

If the Paladins can extend those streaks this Sunday it would send them to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time ever and first time since 1999.

SoCon champion Paladins set for NCAA opener

Furman men's soccer coach Doug Allison hoists the Southern Conference
championship trophy as the Paladins celebrate. Photo courtesy of Furman

Fresh off winning the Southern Conference Tournament title for the 16th time in school history, the Furman men's soccer team will host Western Michigan in round two of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at 1 p.m. at Stone Stadium.

This marks the 13th NCAA Tournament bid for the Paladins, but this is the first time they ever received an opening-round bye. Furman earned that following a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory over 19th-ranked UNC Greensboro in the SoCon final last Sunday at Stone Stadium. Ryan Reid's goal off a rebound in the 107th minute gave Paladins back-to-back SoCon championships.

"Every one (SoCon championship) becomes a better one. I'm just so happy for these kids to win it on our own field," Furman coach Doug Allison said after last Sunday's win. "The atmosphere was amazing.  Having that many students in this venue means a lot to me, and we were supported by an amazing number of student-athletes from other teams. The amount of fans and those students yelling really lifted us in the second half."

The day after that raucous celebration, the Paladins got to celebrate again when they were announced as the No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament giving them the first-round bye. It's the second consecutive year that Furman, which has been to the tournament five times in the last 13 years, has reached the second round. Last season, the Paladins eliminated 16th-ranked North Carolina on penalty kicks in the opening round before falling to eventual national runner-up Marshall in round two.

Furman (14-1-4) enters the tournament with the nation's longest winning streak at eight consecutive matches. The Paladins are ranked No. 2 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and 14th in the NCAA RPI.

After entering the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed, Western Michigan (8-9-4) won it to earn its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos denied local soccer fans the chance to see Furman host Clemson in futbol the day after Clemson hosted Furman in football with a 1-0 win over the Tigers at historic Riggs Field on Thursday night. Western Michigan goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth had an outstanding performance as he recorded five saves for his third shutout this season.

Sunday's second round winner will advance to face either No. 1-seeded Vermont, the reigning national champion, or Hofstra.

Recapping the SoCon championship

While Furman was going to be in the tournament win or lose in the SoCon final, they very likely would not have received a bye without the championship win. And what a win it was. And what a perfect way for Allison, the all-time winningest coach in SoCon history, to go out in his SoCon finale. Allison will be retiring following this season, his 31st as coach of the Paladins.

Sunday's championship saw two great teams play their guts out. Scoring chances were few and far between in the defensive slugfest. Goalkeepers Ivan Horvat of Furman and Seth Wilson of the Spartans had one save apiece in the first half before facing no shots on goal in the second half or first 10-minute overtime session.

The most dangerous scoring chance of regulation came at the 72:18 mark when UNCG's Arnaud Tattevin had a strike that bounced off the crossbar. In the first overtime, Tattevin had another close call as he shot sailed just to the left of the left post.

With less than four minutes remaining in the second overtime of sudden death, a potential for having a championship decided by penalty kicks was looming. Furman's Connor Stout played a long ball into the center of the box that Wilfer Bustamante headed towards the left side of goal. Wilson made a great, diving stop, but couldn't catch the ball or deflect it very far. Reid, a redshirt freshman who missed all of last season with a broken collarbone, swept the rebound into the open side of the net with a left-footed shot as Furman erupted in celebration.

"That ball just came out and I was just like, 'I've got to put this away.' I put it away and now we're celebrating," Reid said afterwards. "Overcoming my injury from last year and scoring the game-winning goal in the final, it just means the world to me."

Following the celebration, the All-Tournament team was announced and the championship trophy was presented to Allison and his team. Diego Hernandez, who was named SoCon Player of the Year after leading the league in assists (eight) and scoring (24 points in 17 regular season games), added Tournament MVP to his trophy case.

Hernandez was happy for Reid, who he could sympathize with last season. Hernandez missed all of his freshman season in 2023 due to an ACL knee injury. He saw action as a reserve in 17 games last season before flourishing as a starter this year.

"I'm so proud of this group of guys. This is a brotherhood and they push me to be better every single day," Hernandez said. "This game came down to a moment and we were able to capitalize on it, but it was incredible quality from both sides.

"Ryan's a really resilient play. He sniffs out the game really well so when we need a goal, we know we can count on him. Last year was a really hard year for him and I think he's a perfect example of what this program is about. You have guys stepping up through the support of their teammates."

Speaking of guys stepping up, Reid wasn't the only redshirt freshman who came up big Sunday and all season as Horvat earned SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Horvat had his number called because of an injury that sidelined Aaron Salinas, who was one of the best goalkeepers in the country last season, all year.

"Aaron had a great season last year and I'm glad I was able to continue in his footsteps," Horvat said. "There were never any worries. We do it in training and any one of us can step up and do the job.

"I'm glad to make it back-to-back (SoCon titles), but the job ain't finished. We're ready for a deep run at the tournament."

Furman set to wrap up season at Clemson

Evan James caught nine passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns
in Furman's 32-14 win over VMI. Photo courtesy of Furman

When Furman and Clemson face off for the 59th time in series history Saturday, it will come at an odd kickoff time on an odd part of the calendar. When the Paladins have visited Death Valley near the start of a season in previous years, fans in the upper decks of the stadium might have felt like rotisserie chickens by the fourth quarter after roasting in the sun all afternoon.

On Saturday, fans in certain parts of those same seats might instead see a sunset over Lake Hartwell as the sun sets on Furman's season. That's thanks to a 4:30 p.m. kickoff time as the game will be televised by The CW, Channel 62 locally. 

"It's the first time I've ever been involved in one of these (FBS) games late in the season. I know Furman has had a couple, but that was during the time I was gone," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "Obviously, they have one of their biggest games of the season next week (vs. South Carolina) so it will be interesting to see what their mindset is."

Furman (6-5, 4-4 Southern Conference), who was Clemson's first ever opponent in football on Halloween of 1896, will be trying to snap a 32-game losing streak in the series. A monumental upset by the Paladins would prevent Hendrix from experiencing back-to-back non-winning seasons for just the third time in his 44 years as a player, assistant and head coach.

During his Furman playing career, Hendrix was part of teams that went 4-0 against Div. I-A (FBS) competition with wins at South Carolina, Georgia Tech and N.C. State twice. He was the offensive line coach the last time the Paladins beat an ACC team, when they opened up a can on North Carolina by a score of 28-3 in 1999.

Times have obviously changed since then, although Furman held its own the last time it faced Clemson 2022. The Paladins outgained the Tigers in total yards that day and trailed 25-12 late in the third quarter. Furman failed get any points on a pair of drives into Clemson's red zone in the fourth quarter though in the 35-12 loss.

Times have changed even more since 2022, as the "Power 4" conferences made up of teams that make no geographical sense whatsoever have gone full semi-pro. Furman fans listening to the radio on their way to Saturday's game could hear Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik try to sell them a vehicle from one of the Easley dealerships they pass along Highway 123. That's before tuning into Dan Scott's Furman pregame show at 3 p.m. of course.

Last season, the Paladins got a bitter reminder of the other half lives when Ole Miss' $1.3 million quarterback torched them in the season opener. Still, that hasn't dampened any enthusiasm for this year's trip to FBS land.

"You've always grown up dreaming of playing on a stage like this, so I'm looking forward to it," said Furman all-American kicker Ian Williams. "It's the last game of my career and the same for a bunch of guys. We're going to leave it all out on the field."

Clemson enters as a 41.5 favorite. Fans who've followed both teams this season might be wondering if the Tigers' offense can score 42 points on anybody. Furman fans could wonder if the Paladins can hold any team with a quarterback with a strong enough arm to throw it over a defensive back's head to 42.

"I know this. When you play them the first or second week of the season, everybody's excited and looking for statistics," Hendrix said. "When you play them this late, everybody is a little bit more beat up. How does that affect things? I don't know. If you watch them, they're still Clemson. They're one of the best programs in the country and have been for many years."

Recapping VMI

The Paladins are coming off a 32-14 win over VMI last Saturday. That snapped a two-game losing streak and allowed Furman to double its overall win total from last season, as well as its SoCon win total as it finished .500 in league play. It was a successful Senior Day as Hendrix got to empty his bench.

"We got to play a ton of guys, which is awesome to see. We've got some old guys in our program who I'm not sure if they've been out there before, so that was great for them," Hendrix said. "We ran it pretty good, threw it pretty good and took care of the ball. That's a pretty good recipe for success."

It was a frustrating start against the downtrodden Keydets. The first quarter was scoreless as Furman's best chance at points came when Williams missed a 58-yard field goal. The ball was halfway up the right upright, but sailed just inches to the right of it. That would've topped his previous school record long of 57 yards, which he's made twice.

The second quarter began with Williams missing from 29 yards out, at which point you began to wonder if schools from Virginia have some kind of magic spell on the star kicker. Two plays later, Billy Lewis recovered a VMI fumble at the Keydets' 17-yard line, but Furman couldn't take advantage as VMI had a goal-line stand.

The scoreboard was finally cracked with 5:09 left in the half when freshman sensation Evan James caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Trey Hedden. The Keydets' offense, which had just one first down since the opening drive of the game, responded with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:15 left.

Furman got a huge response out of its two-minute offense with a 40-second, six-play drive capped by James' incredible leaping grab of a 17-yard touchdown pass. After a personal foul by VMI on the extra point, the Paladins went for two and Jayquan Smith got in from a yard out to give Furman a 15-7 lead at the half.

The momentum carried over as Paladins opened the second half with a 12-play, 85-yard drive that shaved nearly six minutes off the clock. Smith's eight-yard touchdown run helped push the lead to 22-7.

Ben Croasdale scored from a yard out early in the fourth quarter. Williams, playing in his final game at Paladin Stadium, atoned for his earlier misses with a 51-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to close out Furman's scoring.

"Ian's actually been my roommate for three years, so I was excited for him," said Furman offensive lineman Luke Petit. "He deserved to go out on a good note. He's done great things for us and been a great leader."

Hendrix added, "I don't know if I can say any more about a guy that has that kind of loyalty in the (college football) world we live in. ... I've never taken for granted that we've had him. ... He'll be sorely missed."

Hedden completed 33-of-46 passes for 275 yards and the two touchdowns. He wasn't sacked and didn't throw an interception. James finished with nine catches for 70 yards and the two scores, while Ja'Keith Hamilton had 97 yards on eight catches. Croasdale was the Paladins' leading rusher with 70 yards, while CJ Nettles carried 12 times for 54 yards. Freshman Isaiah Davis saw his first action and ran three times for 37 yards.

In the process of James' big day, which included a remarkable third-down conversion in which he made a 360 spin as he nabbed a screen pass with one hand before taking off for a 15-yard gain, he broke Furman freshman season records for receptions, yards and touchdowns. Despite missing three games to injury this season, James has 59 receptions for 760 yards and six touchdowns all of which are team bests.

"He's had a heck of year. ... He makes things look so easy. The fact that he even caught that screen pass, before kind of righting himself and making people miss ... that's just kind of what you assume from him," Hendrix said. "He comes over to the sideline and he's exactly the same as he was before he went out there. I'm just really, really proud of him."

Stoneking honored

Furman defensive end Joshua Stoneking is one of 15 players named to the Walter Camp Foundation's 2025 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Player of the Year Watch List announced this week. He currently leads the FCS in tackles-for-loss (20) and sacks (13.5) after making a one-armed sack (because the other was being held) against VMI.

Often when defensive ends have a lot of sacks, they don't necessarily have that many other tackles. That's not the case for Stoneking, who's tied with safety Taylen Blaylock for the team lead in tackles this season with 73.

The watch list includes five running backs, four quarterbacks, three wide receivers and three defensive players.

Furman's shooting woes linger at Northern Iowa

Cooper Bowser had 16 points in Furman's 70-54 loss
at Northern Iowa Friday. Photo courtesy of Furman

The middle of November is no time to panic for any basketball team, but Furman's three-point shooting issues are becoming harder to just shrug off. The Paladins had another tough opponent on Friday when they traveled to Northern Iowa.

Furman played fairly solid defense, took pretty good care of the ball and made 18-of-26 field goals ... inside the arc. Three-pointers were, once again, a different story. The Paladins were 4-of-30 on threes on their way to a 70-54 loss. Out of 361 Division I teams, Furman (1-3) currently ranks 348th in three-point percentage at 24.8 percent (31-of-125) this season.

"Four-for-30 is hard to overcome, especially when you're playing a team that good," Furman coach Bob Richey said following practice Sunday. "Our execution isn't where it needs to be right now. We're a work in progress. ... We're also very undisciplined in some of our shot selection right now. I always like giving my players freedom, but they've got to be disciplined within that freedom.

"We took some rushed shots. We took some fast shots without getting our feet set. We took a bunch of dribble threes. That's just not our formula. We took 31 great shots in that game and 25 bad shots, and 25 is just way too high. You've got to get that under 10 when you're playing a team that good."

The game was tied at 12-12 nine minutes in. At that point, five different Paladins had scored - all on layups and dunks. With 10:46 left in the first half, Cooper Bowser departed after picking up his second foul.

That's when everything changed for Furman. With Bowser on the bench, the Paladins next seven shots were all three-pointers. Only one of those was made and it was by Charles Johnston, who made three of Furman's four successful treys in the game.

By the time Bowser checked back in less than five minutes after leaving, that 12-12 tie had become a 25-15 lead for the Panthers. With Bowser back in, the Paladins finally tried some shots closer to the rim again. Bowser made a layup on this first possession back and Alex Wilkins hit a jumper on the next trip to cut the lead to 25-19. UNI responded with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes before Johnston hit another three to cut the lead to 36-24 at the break.

"We're down 12 at the half and we're 2-for-17 from three. If you're just 5-of-17 from three, which isn't even a good percentage, it's a three-point game at half," Richey said. "You also probably kept them out of transition a little bit, so it might be tied at half and you feel way different about the game."

Furman got the lead down to 10 twice in the second half, but could never slice it to single digits. After a layup by Eddrin Bronson cut the lead to 45-35 with 11:16 left, the Panthers reeled off a 10-0 run over the next three minutes. The Paladins had two turnovers, a missed layup and a missed three during that run. Furman never got within 15 the rest of the way.

Bowser finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, had two blocks and logged 31 minutes as he had only one more foul after the two early ones. Johnston finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double this season. Wilkins had 10 points on 4-14 shooting, including 0-for-9 from three. He also had a game-high four assists.

"Coop played a really good game. It looked like we actually knew what we were doing on offense, getting him the ball more. Instead of five shots, he got 10," Richey said. "He was super efficient and was at minus-3 in a 16-point loss. We need him on the court.

"Of those 31 good shots, 17 were twos. This team is big. We've got to the ball at the rim and get it in the paint."

Trey Campbell had 18 points, three assists and two steals to lead five players in double-figure scoring for Northern Iowa (3-0).

Furman returns to action at home Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Paladins host NAIA member Ohio Christian.

Paladins cruise to first win in new Timmons

Alex Wilkins scored 26 points in Furman's 89-59 win over
Columbia International Monday. Photo courtesy of Furman

Following a bit of a sickening opening week of the college basketball season for Furman, the Paladins got a little healthy Monday night. Alex Wilkins scored a game-high 26 points to lead Furman to an 89-59 win over NAIA member Columbia International. Four other Paladins scored in double figures to help record the first win at the refurbished Timmons Arena.

Wilkins posted the most points in a single game by a Furman freshman since Devin Sibley scored 29 at East Tennessee State on Feb. 14, 2015. Perhaps just as important, he only had two turnovers and the Paladins (1-2) only had nine as a team. While the competition level was significantly different, it was still a positive sign for a Furman team that threw the basketball away all over the place in losses to High Point and Troy in the opening week.

"We needed a win. We just needed to get on the right side of the hyphen," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "I thought for the first 16 minutes of the game, I thought we played some really good basketball. I thought we played with a tight floor and some good defensive intensity."

After falling behind 7-5 just 82 seconds into the game, Furman went on a 24-1 run over the next 10:32 to take command. The lead grew to 26 on a jumper by Wilkins with 3:17 left in the first half. Wilkins' three-pointer with 20 seconds left gave the Paladins a 49-25 lead at the half.

"It's just a growing period. I don't really look at the points. As long as we win the game, that's what really matters. It's pretty cool to have a 20-point college game though," Wilkins said. "I'm just happy that the guys put a lot of trust in me over the offseason. Coach Richey puts a lot of trust in me. I'm just blessed to have this amazing opportunity."

Toward the end of the first half and into the second, the Rams changed up their defense a bit. Furman had a more than five-minute stretch in the second half where its only points were a Baba Franklin layup after offensive rebounds by Charles Johnston and Wilkins on the same possession. That helped Columbia International cut the lead to 16 with 12:57 left, but it could not get any closer.

Wilkins had a steal and a breakaway dunk to cap a 13-3 flurry by the Paladins that stretched the lead to 80-52 with 6:10 left. After that, Richey went deep into his bench. Mason Smith had a dunk off an assist from Franklin with 2:50 left. On the next trip down, Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Gunnar Lewis for a three. Just before that score, the Furman student section demands of "We want Tillman" were granted when senior walk-on Thomas Tillman entered with 2:11 left.

"They decided to go zone and that got us a little stagnant offensively. I thought that also affected some of our defensive intensity," Richey said. "I thought the worst part of the game was how we came out at halftime. That was a little disappointing, but we're working through everything. We're just trying to get consistency.

"That middle eight is critical - those last four (minutes of a half) and first four. You've got to make sure you go into the tunnel right and make sure you come out of the tunnel right."

Franklin finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in just 14 minutes off the bench. Cooper Bowser also scored 11 on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor, with seven rebounds, three steals, an assist and no turnovers. Johnston recorded another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists, one steal, one block and no turnovers. Asa Thomas also scored 10 off the bench and grabbed six rebounds.

The Paladins enjoyed a 51-26 rebounding advantage, including 21 offensive boards. The glass-half empty side of those offensive rebounds is the fact that Furman made just 11-of-45 three-pointers.

"I would say 30 of those (three-pointers) were really, really good ones," Richey said. "I thought some others were too deep or too quick."

The Paladins return to action Friday at Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. The Panthers (2-0) have home wins over Cal State-Northridge and South Dakota State this season.

Molnar to be out "a while"

Richey went with an eight-man rotation in the first half Monday. It's not typically what's been done at Furman in the past, but the Paladins are still seeking to get a consistent nine. Richey said consistency in practice will determine who that ninth guy is.

Another reason they're searching for that ninth guy is the serious knee injury suffered by Davis Molnar in the exhibition game against Alabama.

"Davis was definitely in that nine-man rotation. He worked his way to where he would've been the first big off the bench," Richey said. "It's a tough loss for us. He brought leadership, continuity and knows what's important to our program. I think we've definitely missed his presence over these first 10 days. ... He's going to be out for a while and that's really the most I have on it at this point."

Paladins sign two guards

Furman signed a pair of guards on Signing Day this week, it was announced Thursday by Richey. Set to join the Paladins next season are Cameron Elwer, of Delphos, Ohio, and Jerrin Samuel, of Winder, Ga.

Elwer was a first team All-Ohio player last season and was runner-up for the state's Mr. Basketball award. Playing for his father, Aaron Elwer, at Delphos St. John's High, the 6-foot-2 Elwer averaged 27.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game as his team went 23-3. He led the state in three-point shooting with a single-season state record average of 55.8 percent. Elwer ranked second in the state in foul shooting at 93 percent.

Samuel is the No. 5 ranked player in the Class of 2026 for Georgia. As a junior last season at Winder-Barrow High, the 6-foot-5 Samuel collected second team Atlanta Journal-Constitution AAAAA All-State accolades after averaging 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game. Samuel shot 45% from three-point range and led his team to a 26-4 record.