Wilkins lifts Furman to thrilling win over Mercer

Alex Wilkins had 20 points, seven assists and the game-winning shot
in Furman's 74-72 victory over Mercer. Photo courtesy of Furman

In a classic opener of the Southern Conference schedule between what appear to be two of the best teams in the league, it was only fitting that it came down to most definitely two of the league's best players on New Year's Eve at Timmons Arena.

In a tie game on Furman's final possession, Alex Wilkins got the ball near midcourt. All of his teammates cleared out and let the phenomenal freshman do his thing. Wilkins drove his man down to the right baseline, pulled up and got a tough floater to fall. Baraka Okojie, who had made four consecutive shots and a pair of free throws to help Mercer make up a seven-point deficit down the stretch, finally missed on the other end. Armani Mighty's putback tip as time expired bounced off no good and the Paladins celebrated a 74-72 win. Coach Bob Richey's 100th career SoCon victory completed a 6-0 December for Furman (10-4, 1-0).

"That was a fun one. The crowd got really loud late and the arena was phenomenal for a high level basketball game today. (Mercer coach) Ryan's (Ridder) done an incredible job with that team and they play with tremendous fight," Richey said. "They made some huge plays down the stretch, but our guys did too. Asa (Thomas) just continues to make big play after big play.

"We saved that (last shot) call for late. We walked it yesterday in practice, anticipating that this was going to be a war. If we needed a play late, we were going to go to that play for Lex (Wilkins) right down the lane line. ... It's incredible to be able to count on a freshman and put the ball in his hands late. He did a great job getting on two feet and shooting a good ball right there for us to take the lead."

While Okojie and Wilkins - the third- and fourth-leading scorers in the SoCon, respectively - each put on a show, it was also fitting that a missed shot by Mighty ended the game. The defensive job done by Furman's Charles Johnston on Mighty might have been the biggest key to the game.

Wednesday would've been a meeting of two of the three national leaders in field goal percentage, but the Paladins' Cooper Bowser remained sidelined with a walking boot on his injured foot. Entering the game, Bowser ranked No. 1 in the country in shooting at 81.2 percent while Mighty was third at 70.0 percent. That left Johnston to deal with the imposing, 6-foot-10, 240-pound Mighty, whose career began at Boston College. Mighty grabbed 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards, but finished with a season-low eight points on 4-of-11 shooting. It was far and away his most missed shots in a game this season.

"You could argue that Chuck was the player of the game in terms of just what he did from a toughness and physicality standpoint. We felt like we needed to keep him out of foul trouble, so that's why we doubled (Mighty) in the first half," Richey said. "After doing that in the first half and keeping him out of foul trouble, we decided to play it straight up because we were getting lost on the backside of the double a little bit. He did an unbelievable job playing one-on-one defense and did it without fouling.

"He had to guard a million ball screens on an elite point guard (Okojie), then he's got to roll down there and play post defense. Then they're going to shoot the ball at some point and he's got to go get most of the rebounds. The stress that we're putting on him to do that, but then you look at the boxscore and he's a plus-nine - the highest plus-minus on the day. ... In a two-point game, a guy at plus-nine is a pretty big outlier and it just shows you how critical he was."

Playing for the first time in 10 days with a noon start and students still out on winter break, this game had all the trappings for a lackluster start for the Paladins. However, Furman's entire starting five came roaring out of the gate. That included strong drives to the basket by Ben Vander Wal and Tom House early on and a Johnston dunk off an alleyoop from Thomas that electrified the crowd.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Wilkins midway through the first half gave the Paladins their biggest lead of the game at 23-14. A long pass from Wilkins to Vander Wal for a dunk, pushed Furman's lead to 27-21 with six minutes left in the first half. The Bears (8-6, 0-1) answered with an 8-0 run in a span of just 67 seconds to take the lead. House drew a foul on a three-point attempt with 40 seconds left in the half and made 2-of-3 free throws to give Furman a 36-35 lead at the break.

Thomas hit back-to-back threes to start the second half. Another alleyoop, this time from Wilkins to Vander Wal for a slam, was followed by a Wilkins' three-pointer as the Paladins matched their biggest lead at 47-38. Once again, Mercer kept doing just enough to keep the deficit within striking distance.

After drawing a big offensive foul by Mighty a couple of minutes earlier, Johnston made an outstanding, driving steal near midcourt when the Bears had a chance to tie or take the lead. Johnston's theft led to House getting fouled on a three. He made 2-of-3 free throws to push the lead to 61-57 with 4:38 left.

When Wilkins found Thomas for a three-pointer that extended the lead to 69-64 with two minutes left, it felt like that might do it for Furman. But Okojie just willed Mercer back. The Memphis transfer hit a tough fadeaway jumper from the free throw circle to cut the lead to three. After Thomas was fouled on a three, once again Furman could only come away with 2-of-3 from the foul line with 1:37 remaining. Eight seconds later, Okojie fired a three that took two full spins around the rim before falling in to cut the lead to 71-69.

After Wilkins had his layup blocked by Mighty, the Bears had another chance to tie or take the lead but Abijah Franklin deflected a pass to Mighty in the middle of the paint. Thomas came away with the steal and was fouled.

"Baba Franklin didn't play a whole lot, but man when he was out there he gave us tremendous value," Richey said. "That one play might be the play of the game."

Thomas made just 1-of-2 free throws to put the margin at three. Okojie fired a fantastic, one-handed, rocket pass across the court to Brady Shouders. Shoulders drilled the three and the game was tied 72-72 with 40 seconds left.

That set the stage for the game-winner by Wilkins, who finished with 20 points and seven assists.

"My teammates put a lot of trust in me and so does Coach Richey. I put a lot of work in on my craft, so it was just a great opportunity and to seize it was amazing," Wilkins said. "We were determined to not give up a bucket (on Mercer's last possession). ... It's exciting to go get a good conference win."

Thomas made 4-of-9 threes and had 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, no fouls  and no turnovers. House had 13 points, while Vander Wal had 11 points and seven rebounds. Johnston finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, two assist and two steals. He drew three fouls, committed just one and had just one turnover.

"I just tried to match his (Mighty) physicality as much as possible and get him to shoot from as far away from the rim as I could," Johnston said. "He still got a decent amount of rebounds, but we tried to neutralize him as much as possible. That was a big part of the game plan and I was happy with how we all did on that."

Okojie finished with a game-high 22 points for Mercer, but it came on 7-of-16 shooting. Shoulders had nine points, nine rebounds and five steals, while Mighty had five blocks and three assists to go with his eight points and 13 rebounds.

Furman returns to action Saturday when it hosts Western Carolina at 4 p.m.

Paladins set for big SoCon opener against Mercer

Asa Thomas scored a career-high 25 points in Furman's 84-76
win over Charleston Southern. Photo courtesy of Furman

The Furman men's basketball team will try to close out 2025 by staying perfect in December when it hosts a showdown with Mercer on Wednesday. The New Year's Eve game will mark the start of Southern Conference play and is set for a noon tip-off at Timmons Arena.

Based on results of non-conference play, this appears to be a battle of two of the top three teams in the league. The Paladins (9-4), who have won eight of their last nine games including a 5-0 mark this month, are ranked No. 152 in the latest KenPom ratings while Mercer (8-5) is 162nd. East Tennessee State, which opened league play with a 74-49 win at The Citadel Tuesday night, is the highest ranked SoCon team at No. 126. The next highest-ranked SoCon team after those three is Wofford at No. 225.

"They've got a point guard that's really, really good, a big man that's really, really good and Ryan (Ridder) is a good coach. They play really hard, so that's going to be a heck of a first one," Bob Richey said following Furman's 84-76 win over Charleston Southern on Dec. 21.

"We've got to make sure fans get out here with students on break so that we can create a big-time environment. We're playing at noon so everybody can have a good New Year's Eve. ... It's going to be the start of an 18-game war in this league."

Furman has turned things around after a 1-3 start to this season despite suffering injuries to key players along the way. After losing Davis Molnar indefinitely to a leg injury just before the season began, freshman Collin O'Neal (knee) and Cooper Bowser (foot) are also out indefinitely. Molnar was set to be the Paladins' first big man off the bench in what was to be a nine-man rotation. O'Neal worked his way into Furman's eight-man rotation and was providing pivotal play off the bench at the time of his injury. Meanwhile, all Bowser's done this season is lead the country in field goal percentage at 81.2 percent - 11 points higher than anyone else.

With the 6-foot-11 Bowser's dunking proclivity and rim protection and 6-foot-11 Charles Johnston's seven double-doubles this season, the Paladins have dominated the paint and been one of best two-point shooting teams in the country. That's a one-two punch down low that other SoCon teams likely could not match, but now it's unknown when Furman will have them back out there together.

Johnston has a tough assignment Wednesday when the Australian faces Mercer's 6-foot-10, 240-pound Canadian, Armani Mighty. Mighty, who transferred from Central Michigan after starting his career at Boston College, is third in the country in field goal percentage at 70 percent. He's averaging 13.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

The battle of point guards should also be intriguing as Furman freshman Alex Wilkins and the Bears' Baraka Okojie are two of the leading scorers in the SoCon. Wilkins leads the Paladins averaging 16.8 points and 4.8 assists per game. Okojie, another Canadian who began his career at George Mason before playing last season at Memphis, averages 17.6 points, 5.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.

Both teams are battle tested. Among SoCon teams, Mercer and Furman are second and third, respectively, in strength of schedule. All five of the Bears' losses have come on the road and those were at Tennessee, Winthrop, Clemson, UCF and Washington State.

Furman 84, Charleston Southern 76

Playing for the first time without Bowser in the lineup, things went a little differently than they had for much of Furman's hot run through the non-conference schedule against Charleston Southern on Dec. 21. The Paladins allowed 44 points in the paint and matched a season-high with 19 missed two-pointers, to fall from third in the country in two-point shooting to eighth. The only other time Furman missed that many inside the arc this season was in a 64-61 loss to Troy.

There was no loss this time though thanks to the elite play of guards Asa Thomas and Wilkins. Thomas drilled six three-pointers and finished with a career-high 25 points while Wilkins scored 24 to lead Furman to its fifth consecutive win. The duo also led the team in rebounds as Wilkins had eight and Thomas grabbed seven, and in assists and each had four. Wilkins also had three steals.

"Coach has been preaching guard rebounding all year and obviously with Cooper out, it's a big loss. ... We just did a good job rebounding as a team today," Thomas said afterwards. "My teammates have a lot of confidence in me. They instill that every day in practice and I had to step up and hit the shots (down the stretch). Lex (Wilkins) had been hitting big shots all day. Tom House stepped up and hit some big ones. Baba (Abijah Franklin) and Ed (Eddrin Bronson) played really well off the bench. We had a lot of guys step up."

After shooting just 37.5 percent in the first half to trail 35-34 at the break, the Paladins still trailed by one with 17:35 left in the game at 42-41. Over the next 6:39, Furman went on a 24-4 run. That run was capped by Wilkins getting a rebound on one end, dribbling all the way down and banking in a one-handed running floater. The majestic bucket gave the Paladins a commanding 65-46 lead with 10:47 left.

Well, should've been commanding. 

Charleston Southern responded by outscoring Furman 23-4 over a stretch of just 4:34 to tie the game with five minutes remaining. With 3:46 left, A'lahn Sumler capped the miraculous rally as his reverse layup gave the Buccaneers a 73-71 lead.

With three minutes remaining, Thomas backed down his defender before hitting a tough, turnaround jumper along the baseline to give Furman the lead back at 74-73. After a steal by Wilkins, Thomas faked a three, drove to the basket, drew a defender in and hit Johnston for a wide open layup to push the lead to 76-73 with 2:23 left.

After CSU missed a three, Thomas helped put the nails in the Bucs' coffin on a three-pointer with 1:32 remaining to extend the lead to 79-73. Furman made 5-of-6 free throws over the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

"The story of the game for us was in the last four minutes, which we call 'winning time' around here, we stepped up. To give up a 21-1 run and have everything going against you and every reason in the world to mope and pout ... our players just found a way," Richey said. "Asa with a career night. He's just an unbelievable shooter who continues to get better and better. Alex Wilkins played a magnificent game and we put a lot on him based on the way they were playing us.

"Then we had some other guys really step up at critical times. I was just really impressed with our response. The more we have to respond to with this group, the better it's going to be once we get to league play. We've had to respond to a lot with guys going down and everything. Just find a way."

In addition to Thomas and Wilkins, Ben Vander Wal also reached double figures with 13 points. He also had six rebounds, three steals and drew seven fouls. Vander Wal, who was shooting just 34.3 percent at the foul line this season (12-of-35) entering the game, made 5-of-7 free throws.

Sumler had a game-high 26 points and five assists in 29 minutes off the bench to lead Charleston Southern (8-6).

Paladins look to stay hot in non-conference finale

Furman freshman Alex Wilkins leads the team in scoring (16.2
points per game) and assists (4.8 per game) this season.

After a rough start to non-conference play this season, the Furman men's basketball season will look to wrap up that portion of its schedule in style Sunday. The Paladins (8-4) will try to make it five consecutive wins when they host Charleston Southern at 2 p.m. at Timmons Arena. It will be the last tune up before Southern Conference play begins 10 days later when Furman hosts Mercer for a noon tip on New Year's Eve.

Following a loss to Illinois State at Disney World the day after Thanksgiving, the Paladins haven't lost in December. The tried and true method of putting the ball in the hoop more consistently has been a big key in this stretch as Furman has shot at least 50 percent from the floor in seven of its last eight games. The Paladins (8-4) are shooting 49 percent now after making 41.2 percent of their field goal attempts over the first four games this season.

Shooting has been particularly successful around the basket as Furman ranks third in the country in two-point field goal percentage (64.1 percent). Leading the way there is 6-foot-11 junior Cooper Bowser, who leads the country - by nearly six full percentage points - in shooting at 81.2 percent. Bowser is averaging 13.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season and leads the Paladins in blocked shots. Freshman Alex Wilkins leads the team in scoring (16.2 ppg) and assists (4.8 per game).

Furman increased its lead in the series against Charleston Southern to 11-7 with a 67-46 win in North Charleston last season. The Buccaneers (8-5) are coming off a 113-90 win over North Florida Thursday, which was the sixth time this season it's scored at least 93 points in a game. Brycen Blaine leads the Bucs with an average 19.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

*Note: Apologies for the lack of coverage of late. Illnesses and working in retail in December have hampered my ability to keep the FSR as updated as I'd like. Below are reviews of the three games played since my last basketball story.

Furman 75, Manhattan 68

For much of Thursday night's trip to the Bronx in New York City, the Paladins looked like a team that had not played in nine days as they had an extended break around Furman's exam schedule. The Paladins committed 17 turnovers, made just 5-of-14 free throws and played the final 5:21 without Bowser, but found a way to the road victory.

Wilkins had 18 points and seven assists, while Bowser scored 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting to lead the way. Bowser also had seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal in his 27 minutes of action. With 5:21 left in the game, he gingerly walked to the end of the bench and did not return. 

"All in all, it was a quality win for us. It wasn't the cleanest, but you've got to win ugly sometimes especially on the road."  Bob Richey said on the Furman Radio Network's postgame show. "We only had five turnovers in the second half and we turned them over as well, so points off turnovers ended up being even at 14. We haven't created a lot of turnovers this year, but we got nine steals tonight and that's a step in the right direction for us."

Following an 8-0 run by Manhattan, Furman trailed 50-47 with under 12 minutes to go. Back-to-back baskets from Wilkins and a three-pointer from Tom House put the Paladins back on top, 54-50 with 7:47 left.

When Bowser checked out at the 5:21 mark, Charles Johnston came in and answered the bell to help the Paladins seal the win. Getting a rare chance to play in front of his mother and sister, who made the trip to New York from Australia, Johnston scored eight consecutive points in the final five minutes. His two three-pointers sandwiched around a massive breakaway dunk pushed Furman's lead to 69-62 with 2:24 let.

The Jaspers (4-8) cut the lead to 71-68 with 42 seconds left and decided to play defense rather than foul. After running down the shot clock, Wilkins missed a driving layup but Eddrin Bronson was there for a putback dagger with 13 seconds remaining.

Asa Thomas hit four three-pointers, including a pair of big ones in the final 1:24 of the first half to give the Paladins a 34-33 lead at the break, and finished with 12 points. Johnston recorded his seventh double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Ben Vander Wal overcame a rough 1-for-8 night at the foul line to finish with seven points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.

"I really hate to see him go through that (free throw shooting struggles), but these guys are human and unfortunately it's kind of in his head a little bit," Richey said. "But I'm telling you this, we're not winning that game tonight without Ben Vander Wal."

Furman 105, Bob Jones 57

On a night in which Bowser suffered three of his 16 total missed shots this season, he also made 11 and finished with a career-high 24 points as the Paladins cruised to the win on Dec. 9. Furman outscored Bob Jones 60-12 in the paint highlighted by Bowser's dunkfest.

After making just five three-pointers all season going into the contest, House got a needed confidence boost as he made four consecutive threes sandwiched around a driving layup down the stretch. He finished with a season-high 16 points. Vander Wal made 6-of-7 field goals to score 15 points. Johnston had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Thomas also reached double figures with 10 points. Wilkins had a career-high nine assists, while fellow freshman Owen Ritger added career-highs with six points and seven rebounds off the bench.

"It was a good win. We got a lot of things accomplished that we were trying to get accomplished right here before exams begin," Richey said following the win. "House is a great shooter and a great player, who's hit some big shots in some big games for us. I told him with 13 minutes to go, 'you got 13 minutes to go shoot as many balls as you can.' The only way you get out of shooting slumps is to shoot your way out of them. He goes and hits four in a row and just looks like he was having fun again and shaking loose."

Furman 79, Harvard 69

While it wasn't quite the offensive explosion Furman displayed in a 97-88 win at Elon in its previous game on Dec. 3, the Paladins again shot the lights out and again four reached double figures at Timmons Arena on Dec. 6. Furman made 57.1 percent of its field goals, including 21-of-25 on attempts inside the arc. That two-point effort was spearheaded by another perfect shooting day from Bowser. He went 5-for-5 and finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block.

Thomas accounted for five of Furman's seven three-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points. Wilkins overcame seven turnovers to finish with 16 points, a game-high five assists and two steals also for the Paladins (6-4), who have won five of their last six games.

"It's always fun on Saturdays in Timmons and that's our first one inside the new arena. ... It was a lot of fun. We felt the energy and I thought our guys played off of that," Richey said after the game. "We scored 79 and coughed it up 16 times. ... They turned over Alex seven times, but that's only going to make him better."

The Paladins had a 9-5 lead early on before a stretch of five consecutive possessions that resulted in three missed three-pointers and two turnovers. House put an end to that with a driving layup on Furman's next possession. After a steal by Wilkins and an offensive rebound by Vander Wal, freshman Collin O'Neal drove in for a layup, got fouled and completed the three-point play to give Furman a 14-10 lead with 12:24 remaining.

The Crimson (5-6) came back before Thomas drilled a three-pointer midway through the first half to give the Paladins the lead for good. Furman led by as many as 10 in the first half before taking a 37-30 advantage into halftime.

Over the first five minutes of the second half went on a 13-4 run started by a Bowser dunk and capped by a Bronson three. That stretched the lead to 16 and Harvard never got it below seven. A tough blow happened in that opening run when O'Neal drove for a layup and was fouled. He was down on the court for quite a few minutes before being helped off and putting no weight on his right leg.

You never want to see anyone injured, but it was especially tough given the impact that O'Neal made Saturday and in recent games. Saturday just felt every time he touched the ball something good happened for Furman.

"Collin's had an unbelievable two to three weeks. It's what you love to see. ... We built this whole thing on guys having a 'work while you wait' mindset. What you do in the dark is going to come out in the light," Richey said. "At some point the return is going to come and for him, it was the Illinois State game. He was ready to rock, but if y'all could've seen him the last seven practices before that game, you knew his opportunity was going to come. ... I thought he also had a huge impact in the Elon game as well."

Harvard got that lead down to seven just three minutes after Vander Wal left the game with his fourth foul with 11:48 remaining. With Vander Wal on the bench on O'Neal out, it was going to be interesting how Furman's eight-man rotation would work. After Harvard's Robert Hinton hit a jumper to cut the lead to 59-52 with 8:39 left, Richey called timeout and got Vander Wal back in there.

Vander Wal made an offensive rebound on Furman's next possession and a defensive rebound less than a minute later as the Paladins quickly regained command. 

For the second consecutive game, the Paladins sealed the game at the foul line. Furman made 16-of-20 free throws for the game, including an 8-for-8 showing over the final three minutes.

Bronson was the fourth Paladin in double figures with 11 points in 17 minutes off the bench. Vander Wal had seven points and six rebounds and managed to play the rest of the game without fouling out. O'Neal had seven points and House scored six also for Furman. Wilkins also finished with three fouls, all of which he picked up in the first half.

Dunham's stunning goal sends Paladins to Cary

Braden Dunham's 40-yard goal lifted Furman to a 1-0 win at Portland in the
NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament quarterfinals. Photo courtesy of Furman

The Furman men's soccer team capped off one of its longest road trips ever with one of its longest goals ever to extend its longest NCAA Tournament run ever. Freshman Braden Dunham's incredible 40-yard strike in the 75th minute lifted the 16th-seeded Paladins to a 1-0 win at eighth-seeded Portland in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament late Friday night.

With its first ever win in the Elite Eight, Furman has punched its ticket to the College Cup - the final four of men's soccer. After the long road trip to Oregon last week, the Paladins (16-1-5) get to stay in the Carolinas this weekend as Cary, N.C. is the host city of the College Cup. Furman will face unseeded Washington in the first semifinal match Friday at 6 p.m. at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Saint Louis and No. 15-seed N.C. State will face off in the second semifinal. The winners will meet in the national championship next Monday. All of the College Cup matches will air on ESPNU.

"I can't say enough about these players. To come on the road in this environment and get the victory is unbelievable," said Furman coach Doug Allison, whose impending retirement after 31 seasons will once again be happily delayed. "What a goal by Braden. It took about 30 minutes to go in, but that's the kind of goal it takes to win a game like this."

The length of Dunham's goal was nearly as surprising as the circumstances that led up to it. Five minutes earlier, a Portland team that had a 9-3 advantage on shots on goal just missed one of its best scoring chances on a deflection by Furman goalkeeper Ivan Horvat. Ironically, Dunham just missed deflecting the entry pass on a leaping attempt at a clearing header and then grabbed his right calf in pain after landing.

A shot off the rebound by the Pilots sailed just wide of the right side of the goal. One minute later, the Paladins nearly broke the scoreless deadlock but Landon Hill's strike bounced off the cross bar. Just 37 seconds later, Horvat made another save on an acrobatic shot by Portland's David Ajagbe. Following an errant throw by Horvat, the Pilots immediately regained possession and Horvat made up for it with another diving save just 15 seconds after his previous one.

It was Furman's turn to go on the offensive a couple of minutes later. Gianluca Rizzo's shot was denied on a diving deflection by Portland goalkeeper Miguel-Angel Hernandez. The Pilots gathered the loose ball and with many of the Paladins still near the goal, Portland had a 3-on-1 attack as it crossed midfield. That one was Furman defender Ryan Wagner, who picked up a yellow card just three minutes earlier. Wagner showed no fear of a second, disqualifying yellow when he made a sensational sliding tackle using all of his 6-foot-4 frame to knock the ball free and thwart Portland's threat.

The ball went right to Dunham, who had lost his man to make it a 3-on-1 attack for the Pilots. Dunham shook that off as he calmly dribbled past midfield. With so much action at the net over the previous five minutes, it was like nobody was expecting what happened next. With Hernandez outside near the left of the goal, Dunham launched a rocket with his left foot to the back right corner of the net. Hernandez didn't even have a chance to position himself for a leaping save. He could only helplessly watch after turning and racing to the right side as the ball sailed over his head.

"Oh my God!," exclaimed the ESPN+ play-by-play commentator. That echoed the thoughts of everyone in attendance as a raucous crowd of 4,252 fans fell into stunned silence, except for the contingent of Furman fans.

"I didn't really have an option to pass," Dunham said. "I looked at the line, looked at the goalkeeper, and I gave it a rip. Tried my best to hit it on target and was fortunate enough to have it go in."

It wasn't over.

After seeing a 3-1 lead against Hofstra disappear in a span of 68 seconds the previous week, Furman was well aware that there was no time for celebrating just yet.

The Pilots (14-2-4) had four corner kicks and multiple free kicks over the final 11 minutes. One free kick came with two minutes left and Diego Rojas' shot was deflected over the top of the net by a leaping Horvat. It was the seventh and final save of the Southern Conference Goalkeeper of the Year's eighth shutout this season. The final corner kick followed and Sebastian Hernandez' header off of it sailed just over the left crossbar. 

Horvat's last save wasn't Furman's final one. After another free kick, Horvat moved well out front of the net looking to corral the ball with about 30 seconds left. Portland's Alex Waggoner was behind Horvat when he sent a looping header that was going into the net, but Furman freshman Luke Munson had positioned himself just inside the line and lunged up and forward to make an incredible clearing header. Horvat dove to punch away the rebound and Hernandez made contact with him resulting in a foul which essentially sealed the win for the Paladins.

In extending the nation's longest unbeaten streak to 14 consecutive games, Furman also snapped Portland's 19-match unbeaten streak at home. Prior to Friday, the Pilots had gone 15-0-4 at Merlo Field since a 2-0 loss to Saint Louis there on Sept. 13, 2024. The Paladins are just the second SoCon team to ever compete in the College Cup. Former league member Davidson did so in 1992.

Free throws cap Furman's comeback win at Elon

Cooper Bowser had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots in
Furman's 97-88 win at Elon Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Furman

Furman's 97-88 win at Elon Wednesday night probably wasn't the Paladins' best victory this season. Richmond and Queens are well ahead of the Phoenix in the Pomeroy rankings. But given the path that Furman (5-4) took to come out on top for the fourth time in the past five games, this could be one of those games that's looked back on this season as a turning point.

The Paladins won by nine points on the road in a game in which they:

• Trailed by 18 points in the first half
• Went 1-for-5 from the floor over the final 5:12 of the game
• Allowed Elon to go 7-for-8 from the floor over the final 3:22
• Got eight points from leading scorer Alex Wilkins, the first time this season he hasn't reached double figures

So how did Furman do it? Probably not a way many would've expected. The Paladins made 16-of-17 free throws over the final 4:03 to seal the win. That helped Furman protect what had been as much as a 15-point lead in the second half as Elon never got closer than six.

Entering Wednesday's game, the Paladins ranked 356th out of 361 Division I teams in free throw shooting as they had made 59.4 percent for the season. After missing their first attempt of the second half Wednesday, they were at 6-of-12 for the game. They proceeded to go 18-of-19 from the foul line the rest of the way.

"I couldn't be more proud of our team. To go down by 18 in a game to up 15, you just don't see that swing a whole lot," Furman coach Bob Richey said on the Furman Radio Network's postgame show. "Free throw shooting is mental. ... Talking about it and shooting 100 free throws a day isn't always the answer. You've got to have some pressure situations and go up there with some heat on the line. And we've done that in practice this week."

Outside of an impressive 88-53 win at Appalachian State, Elon (4-4) entered Wednesday having allowed and scored a whole lot of points this season. But with 9:45 remaining in the first half, the Phoenix led 33-15 and Wilkins was on the bench for the rest of the half with three fouls and two points.

The Paladins were still down by 16 with less than five minutes left in the first half when a furious rally commenced. A three-pointer by Ben Vander Wal, the first of the season for the 22.9 percent career three-point shooter, with 4:30 left started a 17-1 run. An Asa Thomas three-pointer with 15 seconds left sent the teams into halftime tied at 44-44.

That run extended to 21-1 in the second half on layups by Cooper Bowser and Wilkins as Furman came all the way back to lead. Elon retook the lead at 54-53 on a three-point play with Chandler Cuthrell, but the Phoenix' lone advantage of the second half lasted all off 27 seconds. That's how long it took for Furman to respond with a Bowser dunk on the other end.

The slam started a 20-6 run by the Paladins over the next six minutes as they took command. That flurry was capped when Collin O'Neal hit a three, then made a steal and hit Thomas for a layup to push the lead to 74-59. From the 4:30 mark of the first half to the 8:13 mark of the second half, Furman outscored Elon 47-16.

"I haven't been a part of many turnarounds like that. I mean in terms of just how bad we looked and just the lack of intensity that we had at the beginning of the game," Richey said. "Winning on the road is tough. This was only our second true road game and we didn't play well at all at Northern Iowa.

"I think a healthy thing for our team too is with Alex getting into foul trouble there early, we had to figure some things out without him out there on the court. It was huge for our team to get some confidence from that. And then for him to keep his focus and play the way he did in the second half with those three fouls, I thought was big."

The Phoenix cut the lead to six twice in the final three minutes, but Wilkins answered with a pair of throws the first time and Bowser hit a pair the next. Bowser capped his perfect shooting night on a dunk with 29 seconds left to put a cherry on top of the win.

It was truly a team effort by Furman as seven Paladins had at least eight points, including five in double figures. Thomas hit five threes to lead the way with 21 points, while Bowser finished with 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting and had eight rebounds and three blocks. That finally gave Bowser enough shots this season to qualify in the national rankings for field goal percentage and he's currently No. 1 in the country at 77.6 percent (45-of-58).

Vander Wal made 6-of-7 field goals for a season-high scoring night of 13 points and had eight rebounds. He even logged some minutes at point guard when Wilkins got in foul trouble. Charles Johnston got back in his double-double groove with 12 points and 11 boards to go along with a team-high four assists.

"If you look at analytics, Elon is one of the best rebounding teams in the country," Richey said. "I told Ben, Chuck and Coop tonight, 'If we're going to win, y'all have to get at least eight rebounds,' and they all did."

Tom House had 12 points off the bench, including a 9-of-10 effort at the foul line, along with three assists. O'Neal finished with nine points, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals also off the bench. Wilkins had three assists to go with his eight points and had just one turnover. He also committed no fouls after those three early on.

Furman will try to keep the momentum going Saturday when it hosts Harvard at 2 p.m. on a "white out" day at Timmons Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.

Furman men's soccer shoots for first Final Four

Diego Hernandez (10) hugs Luke Hutzell following Furman's win over Hofstra in the
third round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Photo courtesy of Furman

Following a couple of home wins in the NCAA Tournament, the Furman men's soccer team is on the circuitous portion of a postseason trip that it hopes will continue back in the Carolinas next weekend. It will be a battle of one-loss teams when the 16th-seeded Paladins (15-1-5) play at No. 8-seeded Portland (14-1-4) Friday at 10 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

The winner of Friday's match, which will be televised on ESPN+, will advance to the Men's College Cup at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The semifinals will be held next Friday, with the national championship scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15. All of the Final Four matches will be televised by ESPNU.

The Paladins made the trek to Oregon this week riding a 13-match unbeaten streak, the longest in the country. Furman is ranked No. 1 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 and No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Paladins lead the nation with 153 total points and rank seventh in scoring, averaging 2.33 goals per game. They are led by SoCon Player of the Year Diego Hernandez, a junior midfielder who has 10 goals and nine assists this season. On Friday, Hernandez was named as one of five finalists for Top Drawer Soccer's Player of the Year.

In Sunday's third round at Stone Stadium, it appeared that Hernandez had sealed Furman's advancement on a goal that gave the Paladins a 3-1 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. But Hofstra, which won at Syracuse in round one before stunning top-seeded Vermont in round two, didn't quit.  Just 19 seconds later, the Pride's Laurie Goddard - one of those other four Player of the Year candidates - found the net to cut the lead to 3-2. Just 68 seconds after that, Goddard's 15th goal of the season knotted the match at 3-3 to help force overtime.

After a pair of scoreless 10-minute overtime sessions, the match went to penalty kicks. Both teams made their first two attempts before Hofstra missed in round three. The Pride made their next two, but Furman made all of its attempts. In the fifth round, senior Landon Hill set off a massive celebration when his strike landed in the left corner of the net to end the match.

"I couldn't be prouder of these guys," said Furman coach Doug Allison, who gladly got to postpone his retirement for at least one more week again. "They didn't panic when we fell behind and they showed tremendous resilience today. All five guys stepped up and converted their penalties just like we had practiced."

Hofstra took an early 1-0 lead on a goal in the 17th minute. It appeared that the Pride were going to make that lead hold all the way to halftime before Furman got on the board with just 36 seconds left in the first half. Luke Hutzell's goal off an assist from Hill sent the teams into halftime tied at 1-1.

The Paladins finally snapped the tie in the 77th minute when former JL Mann standout Wilfer Bustamante scored off an assist from Hutzell. Less than four minutes later, Bustamante assisted on Hernandez' goal that pushed the lead to two. Hutzell was selected to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week thanks to his efforts in the victory.

Despite it being a gloomy weather day on a holiday weekend, Allison thought the fan support was fantastic.

"Our students came back from Thanksgiving to support us in masses, and our fans and alumni were great. Even some of my old teammates from South Carolina were here," Allison said. "These (players) deserve it. They've worked their butts off out there and they're making history. I'm so excited for the program."

Friday will mark Furman's second Elite Eight appearance. The first came early on in Allison's 31-year coaching career when the Paladins reached the 1999 NCAA quarterfinals. That team defeated North Carolina, 2-1, and Wake Forest, 4-0, before falling at UConn, 3-2.

"Some of the guys that played on that team were here today," Allison said Sunday. "Hopefully they make the road trip to Portland."

This will be the second meeting between Furman and Portland. The Paladins defeated the Pilots, 2-0, at the Husky Fever Classic in Seattle in 2007. Portland, which is No. 3 in Top Drawer and ranked sixth in the coaches poll, reached the quarterfinals with a penalty kicks win over Denver in round two and a 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon last Friday.

While the Paladins would've undoubtedly loved another home match this weekend, they've made the most of their cross country trip. The team got a raucous sendoff when the team's bus departed campus for the airport Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, the team toured Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. After playing in chilly, rainy conditions on Sunday, Furman should be prepared for anything weather-wise. The forecast for Portland at match time is for 51 degrees, with gusty winds and no chance of rain.

Paladins still seeking nine-man rotation

Furman freshman Collin O'Neal hit four three-pointers in the Paladins'
72-65 loss to Illinois State Friday. Photo courtesy of Furman

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - It's hard to believe that the college basketball season is already a month old, but when Furman tips off at Elon Wednesday at 7 p.m., it will be exactly one month since the Paladins opened with a lopsided loss to High Point in Rock Hill. Given the horrific nature of that defeat, Furman (4-4) has made some large strides since then.

One thing the Paladins are still hoping to find though - four weeks before the Southern Conference opener on New Year's Eve - is a typical Bob Richey-coached nine-man rotation. That development was hampered from the start of this season when Davis Molnar, who was set to be Furman's first big off the bench, suffered a leg injury in the exhibition game against Alabama that has left him sidelined on crutches ever since.

Nonetheless, it's something that Richey still wants to see develop. He reiterated that following Furman's last game, a 72-65 loss to Illinois State in the championship game of the Imagination Bracket of the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational at State Farm Field House in Disney World last Friday. Playing back-to-back days and coming off an emotional victory in which the Paladins had to hang on for dear life to hand Richmond its first loss, they looked a little tired in the final.

"That's probably true. The ball stuck a little bit more than what it's been sticking. You've got to give credit to their guys. They were physical on defense with us," Richey said after the game. "In the first half, we loosened them up and did a pretty good job. In the second half towards the end, they were able to just get us dribbling around and got us a little stagnant.

"We didn't come out with quite the punch I'd like. I knew we overplayed some guys yesterday (Thursday). You know for us, once we watch (the game film) it might even be as simple as 'hey, we've got to get a ninth man figured out.' We've got to trust our depth a little bit more and not play these guys quite as much. We did what we felt like we had to do to win the game yesterday to get ourselves a chance to win the championship, but you could definitely feel it a little bit in the second half. ... We know we've got a ninth out there. It's just part of the growth and maturation of this team that we've got to figure out who that's going to be."

Illinois State (6-2) used an 11-2 run to take a 19-8 lead seven minutes into the game and led for most of the first half, Coming off a 20-point showing against Richmond a day earlier, Furman's Asa Thomas wasn't much of a factor in Friday's first half after seemingly drawing the ire of game officials. After being warned that a technical foul would be called the next time an official felt that Thomas flopped on a three-point attempt, he was called for three pretty questionable fouls on the other end.

The second and third of those fouls were whistled eight seconds apart, the last of which sent Thomas to the bench with 5:46 left in the half. That seemed to inspire Furman though as it went on a 10-0 run over the final 3:52. That run was capped by freshman Collin O'Neal's fourth three-pointer of the half, which gave the Paladins a 36-33 lead at the break.

"Collin O'Neal really stepped up," Richey said. "We didn't get Asa in his rhythm, but you've got to give them credit on that. They were pretty physical. ... They're a really good team. They returned nine guys and are picked to win the Missouri Valley."

It was a back-and-forth game for the first nine minutes of the second half. After Alex Wilkins hit a pair of free throws with 11:55 left to give Furman a 49-47 lead, the Redbirds' Ty Pence answered with a three-point play. Illinois State never lost that lead as Pence's bucket started a 13-4 run over the next three minutes.

Wilkins' layup with 39 seconds cut the Redbirds' lead to 68-65. With about a nine-second difference between game clock and shot clock, the Paladins tried to defend rather than foul. After Illinois State ran down most of the shot clock, Johnny Kinziger drilled a jumper with 12 seconds left to seal the win.

"They pounded the paint on us in the second half. We were up 16-8 on paint points in the first half, but they flipped it on us 20-12 in the second half," Richey said. "Really the game boiled down to second chance (points). Really, we got nothing done there. They outscored us 12-4 on second-chance points and win the game by seven, so we need to be a little bit better on the backboards.

"We're still a work in progress. We've made a lot. We've grown a lot in a lot of areas and I think we grew some this week. We've got to continue to do so."

Wilkins finished with game-highs in points (25) and assists (five) to lead Furman. Wilkins hit 5-of-6 free throws while his teammates went a combined 1-of-5 at the foul line. The Paladins have made 59.4 percent of their free throws this season, which ranks 356th out of 361 Division I programs.

Cooper Bowser had 12 points and five rebounds, while O'Neal was Furman's other double-figure scorer with 12 points on those four threes in 17 minutes off the bench.

Pence led the Redbirds with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

For the second time in the past three games, the Paladins will face a former SoCon member when it plays the Phoenix Wednesday. Furman holds an 11-7 lead in the series including a 97-61 win at Elon when the teams last met on Nov. 26, 2019. The Phoenix (4-3) are coming off a 91-84 home loss to Mercer Saturday. Elon guard Chandler Cuthrell is sixth in the country in scoring, averaging 22.9 points per game.

With this being a home game for a CAA member, it will be televised only by the FloSports app. So the best way to tune in to Wednesday's game is to go to the FloSports website, scoffingly laugh at its $150 per year or $30 per month subscription options, then turn on your radio or Audacy app to listen to Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy call the action. The Furman Radio Network is carried by The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg.