Paladins cut down the nets again

Alex Wilkins cuts down the net after Furman's 76-61 win over ETSU in the Southern
Conference Tournament championship. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The 106th edition of the Southern Conference Tournament will go down as one of the most exciting ever. Of the nine games held this past weekend at the Harrah's Cherokee Center, seven were decided by seven points or less.

In tournaments filled with close, thrilling contests throughout, the championship game isn't always as nail-biting as the games that set it up. That especially seems true when the No. 1 seed takes on an upstart, lower seed, which was the case Monday when East Tennessee State faced Furman. The game may be close for a half or so before the cream rises to the top and gradually pulls further away to championship glory.

That was also the case Monday at the SoCon, but not in the typical way. The cream of the crop in the league this year proved to be the sixth-seeded Paladins, who knocked off the top-seeded Buccaneers, 76-61 - the most lopsided score of the entire tournament. After a 43-year absence from the NCAA Tournament ended in 2023, it only took three years for Furman (22-12) to return to the Big Dance again.

Monday's victory made the team's 1-3 start, the injuries, the blown leads, the overtime losses, the early season free throw woes, the inconsistent three-point shooting, and the one missing conference win that left Furman a No. 6 seed instead of a No. 2 seed all worth it.

"It's just an unbelievable night and I couldn't be more proud of this group. The amount of things that this group's been through and what they've grown through," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "I told them last week, as we were prepping for this, every bit of the adversity they faced this year is going to propel them forward to have a chance to win this tournament. And man, if that didn't play out.

"I told the team today that I wanted them to go out there and I wanted this to be the most fun 40 minutes of the year. I wanted them to take every lesson they've learned through the season and to put it on the big stage. Go out there and just play with joy. We said all week, Furman is impossible to beat if we're out there having fun. And I thought you saw that this weekend."

While every Paladin that stepped on the floor contributed to all three tournament wins, Furman had a different leading scorer every night. In the championship game, it was Cooper Bowser's turn to lead the way and he turned in the most impressive game of his career. Bowser had game-highs in points (21), rebounds (11) and assists (3). It was the first double-digit rebounding performance this season for Bowser, who missed 10 games with a foot injury midway through the season, and the third double-double of his career.

It has to be the most points Bowser has ever scored without a dunk. ETSU (23-11) seemed lasered in on not allowing any of Furman's prolific offense of throwing alley-oop passes to Bowser for jams. Instead, Bowser drove for layups and got plenty of soft touch baby hooks and short jumpers to fall. In addition to being an excellent coach, ETSU's Brooks Savage knows his basketball history when it comes to hook shots.

"He (Bowser) looked like Lew Alcindor out there. All the shot making put pressure on what we wanted to do in the post," Savage said. "We wanted to try to make him score over top of us, and he did.

"A lot of credit to Bob, who had a lot of injuries throughout the year to deal with and they found a way to stay together and keep getting better. They got healthy. I think everybody knew when they did, they would have a chance to win it, regardless of what the record or the seed looked like."

Furman's Cooper Bowser had 21 points and 11 rebounds
Monday. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

While Bowser led Furman Monday, it was another team effort from the start. Charles Johnston opened the scoring with a three off an assist from Alex Wilkins. The Bucs came back to lead for all of 75 seconds before Asa Thomas buried a three to tie the game 6-6. Eddrin Bronson followed with a steal that led to Bowser's putback layup giving Furman a lead it never relinquished.

As soon as their numbers were called, every Paladin was ready to contribute. After checking in at the 16:27 mark, Tom House pushed the lead to 10-6 on a backdoor cut layup 20 seconds later off a beautiful bounce pass from Bowser near the top of the key. A minute later, House drilled a three off an assist from Ben Vander Wal, who had checked in with him.

Cole Bowser came on at the under-16 media timeout and one minute later, hit a three off an assist from House. Furman grabbed two offensive rebounds on its next possession before House found Wilkins for another three. The fifth different Paladin with a three pushed the lead to 21-13 with 13:02 left in the first half.

"I just think we knew collectively that it wasn't about one person each night. We needed different guys to step up ... all the way down the roster," House said. "We knew that a whole team effort was how you get these things done."

Furman led by as much as 10 points and shot 60 percent in the opening half to take a 42-35 lead into halftime. There was no let up in the second half. There wasn't a hint of blowing a big second half lead, which became a nasty habit of this team for a tough stretch including an overtime loss at ETSU in which a 15-point lead evaporated. On Monday, the Bucs never got the lead under nine over the final 13:28.

By the time Cooper Bowser missed his first shot of the game Monday, the Paladins lead had stretched to 61-46 with 9:35 remaining. It snapped a string of 15 consecutive made shots for Bowser, dating back to his final attempt in the quarterfinal win over Samford on Saturday.

"For me personally, I played with a lot of motivation. The first day we drove from the hotel to the arena, I was actually tearing up because the last thing I remember is losing here (to rival Wofford in the 2025 SoCon final)," Cooper Bowser said. "It means the world to come back here, because that was motivation for me all offseason. I stayed here (at Furman) for the whole month of May, just trying to get stronger and better."

There was one faint bit of hope left for ETSU. After it cut the lead to 70-61 with 2:46 left, the Bucs had a 5-on-4 advantage when Bronson stayed down after hitting the floor on a blocked layup attempt. As play continued, Wilkins took a chance and went for a steal at midcourt. He made it and drove uncontested to the rim where he punctuated the championship win with a dunk.

That dunk to seal the SoCon championship came exactly one year to the day that Wilkins hit a game-winning, buzzer-beatng shot in his high school's state championship.

"Coach Richey has put an amazing amount of trust in me and has just let me get better through mistakes. It's just a blessing," said Wilkins, who became the first freshman since Davidson's Stephen Curry in 2007 to earn SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. "God has put his hands on my life and continues to bless me. I'm just excited for the future."

Richey gave the raucous Furman crowd, which included more than 700 students who bussed up from Greenville, one more reason to roar when senior walk-on and fan favorite Thomas Tillman checked in with 10 seconds to play.

After those final seconds ticked away, happy tears began to flow as the Paladins hugged and celebrated while confetti and streamers fell to the court. Following its fourth trip to the title game over the last five seasons, Furman then cut the nets down for a second time.

Bowser and Wilkins, who finished with 12 points and two steals made the All-Tournament first team. House, who had 13 points and three assists, made the second team. Vander Wal was honored with the Knight Commission Pinnacle Award, which is annually given to the player with the highest GPA on the winning team.

Tom House had 13 points and 3 assists Monday.
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

While Bronson likely didn't have the stats to make the All-Tournament team, he was the other Paladin on my ballot. After joining the starting lineup for all three games, Bronson was the unsung hero with clutch free throws, key baskets and hard work on both sides of the floor. While he scored seven points Monday, Furman outscored ETSU by 21 during his 24 minutes on the floor. It was the highest plus-minus of any Paladin all weekend.

"Ed wasn't able to practice last week, but we made a decision to adjust our starting lineup. We wanted another attacker on the floor and to get one less big man on the floor to open up some space," Richey said. "He was phenomenal."

In addition to not blowing the sizable lead Monday, the Paladins righted other wrongs of the past.

After making 6-of-33 threes in a home loss to ETSU on Feb. 18, Furman drilled 10-of-26 in the final. For the tournament, the Paladins hit 30-of-67 (44.8 percent) threes. After spending the first couple of months of the season as one of the worst foul shooting teams in the country, Furman made 12-of-15 free throws Monday and 51-of-61 (83.6 percent) for the tournament. After getting obliterated on the boards in a blowout loss at Western Carolina in the regular season finale, the Paladins outrebounded all three tournament opponents. That included a 36-24 advantage in the championship.

"Hard isn't always bad, it's just hard. You've got to make a decision and a lot of times, it can destroy you. You can just fold up and quit trying," Richey said. "Sometimes it can define you. The definition of this season could've been that a young team got injured. ... Or you can let it develop you and that's what this group chose to do.

"We always believed we had the talent. I think individually, we were trying to find ourselves at times. To be a great team, you've got to buy in to everybody together all the time. We came up here and this is the best we've done that all season. It was incredible. ... We played our best when our best was required. That's what 'team' does. That's what 'program' does. We're always going to be about the program here."

Furman coach Bob Richey and players celebrate.
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

Watch party set for Sunday

Furman's NCAA Tournament destination and opening round opponent will be revealed during the Selection Show Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS. The only guarantee is that the Paladins won't be playing at The Well in Greenville, as host schools are not allowed to play in the arena they're hosting in. That also basically guarantees that Furman won't be facing Duke, which seems destined to be a No. 1 seed playing in Greenville.

Nevermind the fact that the Paladins also have no business being in the No. 16 seed discussion in the first place, but one never knows what might happen. My gut feeling is that Furman will be a No. 15 seed facing Houston in Oklahoma City on Thursday. 

Fans can join the team to find out during a watch party at Timmons Arena. Admission to the event is free and doors will open at 5 p.m. A brief program is set for 5:30 p.m. featuring remarks from players, coaches, and administrators. There will be an opportunity for pictures with the Southern Conference championship trophy, while concessions and championship merchandise will also be available for purchase.

Hitting the road

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Wilkins rallies Paladins to SoCon tourney final

Furman's Alex Wilkins shoots over UNCG's Justin Neely. Wilkins had 34 points
in the Paladins' 81-75 win Sunday. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Saturday at the Southern Conference Tournament, the textbook definition of "team effort" helped Furman knock off Samford. On Sunday, the Paladins showed that having a phenomenal individual performance certainly doesn't hinder that "team effort."

After an uninspiring opening half of basketball for Furman, freshman Alex Wilkins rewrote the game script and rewrote the school's record book along the way. Wilkins scored 28 of his game-high 34 points in the second half to help the Paladins rally for an 81-75 win over UNC Greensboro in the SoCon semifinals at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

For the fourth time in the past five seasons, Furman (21-12) will compete in Monday's championship game. The sixth-seeded Paladins face top-seeded East Tennessee State at 7 p.m. on ESPN. While Furman rallied from a 11-point second half deficit in Sunday's nightcap, the Buccaneers (23-10) rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Western Carolina in the first semifinal.

"This is what we’ve gotten used to with semifinal Sunday in the SoCon. Both semifinal games were incredible. Our game came down to the end, and fortunately, we were on the positive end of it. A lot of credit to Greensboro and we’ve got a lot of respect for them," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "I just think Coach (Mike) Jones does a heck of a job. And they beat us up in the first half pretty good. They were the aggressor from the jump of the game. … We had a pretty direct conversation at halftime about what we had to go do. We just had to go out there and play with a better spirit. We couldn't go out there with any self pity.

"To our credit, we went from one of the worst offensive first halves of the year to one of the best offensive halves. ... Obviously, Alex had a night. I love him to death. We just kind of take it for granted, but this is a freshman doing what he does on a nightly basis while continuing to grow. ... He put on a show in the second half, but it was a collective effort."

Furman opened the second half of a 17-5 run to rally from a 38-27 halftime deficit. It took its first lead on Asa Thomas' only bucket of the night. His three gave the Paladins a 44-43 lead with 12:13 left. The lead changed four times before Wilkins' layup over the next five minutes before Wilkins converted a driving layup with 7:15 to go to put Furman in front 58-57.

After UNCG standout Justin Neely hit 1-of-2 free throws, Eddrin Bronson answered with a three-pointer and the Paladins led the rest of the way. For the first 38 minutes, the Spartans (15-19) went 3-for-15 on three-pointers. Over a 56-second span in the final two minutes, UNCG's Lilian Marville hit three consecutive, but Furman made its free throws to preserve the win. After Marville's last three with 14 seconds left cut the lead to 77-75, Bronson made a pair of free throws to help seal the win.

Furman ended up with 54 points in the second half, the exact same total they posted in the second half of a blowout win at UNCG earlier this season.

Wilkins led the Paladins' sizzling second half in which they shot 72.7 percent from the floor by making 8-of-9 shots. Wilkins made all 10 of his free throws for the game as Furman, which ranked as one of the worst foul shooting teams in the country early on this season, made 88 percent (22-of-25) Sunday.

Wilkins matched Jonathan Moore's Furman single-game freshman record of 34 points, which the former SoCon Player of the Year established in a loss to Georgia on December 15, 1976. With 34 points in the semifinal win, Wilkins also surpassed Moore's freshman scoring record of 561 points in 1977 and netted the most points by a Paladin in a SoCon Tournament game since Roy Simpson had 36 in a championship game loss to East Carolina in 1972.

"All the work you put in the gym by yourself. Just keep trusting it and trust your teammates, like I always do," Wilkins said about his big second half. " But really, just my teammates in huddles just continuing to talk to me to keep my head high and making sure that I just stay focused."

Neely led UNCG with 27 points, but the nation's leading rebounder was held to five on Sunday after pulling down 24 on Saturday. The Spartans' entire team had 24 boards on Sunday, to lose the rebounding battle by one as Furman had 25. 

"UNCG is a big, physical team and ... we didn't match up to it very well in the first half. We gave a good response in the second half," Charles Johnston said. "I think that's why we found so much success. Just trying to be more physical going into that second half."

In addition to his game-high 34 points, Wilkins also had a game-high five assists. Cooper Bowser had 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting, while Bronson was the other Paladin in double figures with 12. Johnston added nine points and six rebounds.

 

Team effort leads Paladins past Samford at SoCon

Cooper Bowser dunks over Samford's 6-foot-10 Will Shaver during Furman's
86-81 win Saturday. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Furman didn't go with its normal starting five against Samford Saturday in the Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. It really didn't go with the normal starting five to start the second half either.

But Furman coach Bob Richey knows that the status quo isn't enough in March. Not when you're fighting for the championship of a one-bid league like the SoCon. Richey pressed a lot of different buttons on Saturday and made them work. The sixth-seeded Paladins withstood a phenomenal shooting performance by SoCon Player of the Year Jadin Booth to defeat the third-seeded Bulldogs, 86-81, at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

Furman (20-12) advances to face seventh-seeded UNC Greensboro in the semifinals Sunday at approximately 6:30 p.m. For the sixth time in the past seven seasons, the seven seed upset the No. 2 seed when the Spartans beat Wofford Saturday. It's the fifth consecutive year that the Paladins have reached the semifinal round and the second consecutive year that they improved their season record against Samford to 3-0 to do so.

"It was a tremendous, high level basketball game, which we fully anticipated. They're one of the hottest teams in the league having won eight of nine coming in. The one they lost was a nail-biter in Macon. I knew we were going to have our hands full and I don't know if I've seen many shooting performances like Booth put on tonight," Richey said. "Our team showed a tremendous amount of fight tonight. We had three freshmen out there at some points and had two freshmen guarding the Player of the Year and they just battled.

"We had to start a little bit different and none of our guys complained about it. We started the second half a little bit different, but we just knew it was going to take everybody. It was going to take a team effort. ... The humility of our group is shown in a guy like Cooper Bowser. We felt like we had to play a lot of single big tonight because of how they (Samford) play. So either Ben (Vander Wal), Chuck (Charles Johnston) or Coop's got to come off the bench. For Cooper to have the character and confidence in his teammates to say, 'those guys are seniors. Let them start,' ... it takes that type of connection and culture."

The change to the starting lineup saw Eddrin Bronson replace Bowser. It was also done because Bronson has excelled defensively down the stretch and he had the first chance to try to guard Booth.

On a day filled with exciting basketball, Furman-Samford was a banger from the start as both teams best players squared off. After it took all of 16 seconds for Booth to open the game with a three, Alex Wilkins answered with a three. Booth came back with another three and Wilkins answered with a layup. While other Bulldogs began to get in the scoring column, Wilkins kept on firing. Furman's freshman phenom reached double figures in less than three minutes as he scored the Paladins' first 10 points.

Once Bowser checked in, Wilkins took advantage of the attention he was gaining and lobbed a perfect pass to Bowser for a dunk. After a steal by Tom House, Bowser converted a layup while he was fouled to put Furman ahead 14-9 at the first media timeout.

Cooper's brother, Cole Bowser, gave the Paladins their first double-digit lead on a corner three with 13:01 left in the first half. Three minutes later, an Asa Thomas gave Furman its biggest lead at 33-22. After making 16 of its first 22 shots, Furman went 2-for-11 from the floor the rest of the half.

Samford (18-14) took advantage of the Paladins finally cooling off and stormed back to tie the game 46-46 at the half. Booth accounted for half of Samford's 46 points in the first half and he made 5-of-7 threes.

Richey knew he had to try something different to contain Booth. Brunson fought hard to stay with Booth, but he got screened to death by the Bulldogs' big men. Some of them were particularly hard body blows. That job in the second half primarily went to the bigger Cole Bowser as well as fellow freshman Abijah Franklin.

After a first half in which Thomas was at minus-11, Ben Vander Wal at minus-10 and Bronson at minus-1, Furman opened the second half with Charles Johnston, Wilkins, House and the Bowser brothers on the floor.

The second half could not have started more differently than the first as Samford outscored Furman 6-4 over the first five minutes to take a 52-50 lead. That's when Vander Wal, Thomas, Bronson and Franklin came off the bench and lit a spark that Furman rode the rest of the night.

"I told the team this afternoon that the adversity they've faced all season is going to pull you together in this tournament setting. I thought there were multiple moments tonight where they'd make a run or tighten things up. ... The way these guys handled those moments was really impressive tonight," Richey said. "It's not about who starts. It's all about playing team basketball to continue to have success in this tournament."

After Vander Wal's putback tied the game, Franklin drew an offensive foul from Booth. Franklin then found Thomas for a layup that gave the Paladins a lead they never relinquished. After the layup, Franklin got a steal and then drilled a three off a feed from Bronson. On Furman's next possession, Vander Wal made a hook shot to push the lead to 59-54.

Samford first team All-SoCon selection Dylan Faulkner hit a layup to cut the Furman lead to 66-65 with 7:21 left, but the Paladins responded with their most crucial run of the night. It started when House drove for a layup to answer Faulkner's. Bronson hit a pair of free throws before Cooper Bowser got a hook shot to fall. With 3:14 left, House capped the 9-0 run when Franklin hit him for a three coming off a perfect screen.

While the Bulldogs hit four threes over the final three minutes, Furman made 11 of its final 12 free throws to seal the win. Perhaps the biggest factor of the second half was that Booth made his first three of the half with 19:32 left and his last two over the final 28 seconds - including a ridiculous one in which three Paladins were guarding him. In between those makes, Booth was 0-for-5 from three allowing Furman to take control.

"Our 'bench' was tremendous tonight. Starters are kind of like seeding in this tournament. It's pretty irrelevant who you start. It's about your matchups, what mix is working and what you need to do to stop the other team," Richey said. "Our rotation was much more about strategy than our 'best' five players. Everybody who played tonight can start on this roster and everybody except Baba (Franklin) has started multiple games."

With Furman devoting so much attention to Booth in the second half, there could've been a concern about Faulkner taking over. That didn't happen though as he was held to four points after halftime.

"Faulkner is an amazing player. He plays so physical and is a force down low. We just tried to make sure his buckets weren't as easy," Cooper Bowser said. "He made some tough ones because he's just that great of a player, but we just tried to make it hard for him and take away the easy ones."

Tom House scored 15 of his team-high 20 points in the second half as he hit both of his three-point attempts and all seven of his free throws. He also had two steals. Wilkins finished with 19 points and three assists, while Cooper Bowser had 14 points and six rebounds and Johnston pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Furman had a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint, a 15-6 edge in second-chance points and its bench outscored Samford's 48-6.

In his 17:36 off the bench, Cole Bowser had 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. Not a bad SoCon Tournament debut for a guy who was still redshirting two months ago.

"It's just an amazing blessing to be out there. I'm thankful to Coach Richey for putting me out there," Cole Bowser said. "I just went out there and did the best I could. I just believed in God and my teammates and my teammates believed in me."

Booth finished with a game-high 34 points, while Faulker had 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Paladins ready for final exam in Asheville

Furman senior Ben Vander Wal takes his last shot at another Southern
Conference title this weekend in Asheville. Photo courtesy of Furman

Around 9:30 p.m. Monday night in Asheville, the only Southern Conference men's basketball team on a three-game winning streak will be cutting down the nets at the Harrah's Cherokee Center and be bound for the NCAA Tournament.

Three wins in three days.

That's all it would take for top-seeded East Tennessee State, who wrapped up the outright SoCon regular season two weeks ago and haven't won since. The Buccaneers cut down the nets in celebration of that title after a home loss to Wofford last Wednesday and followed that up with a loss at Mercer last Saturday.

That's all it would take for second-seeded Wofford, whose last three SoCon wins have come since Feb. 7. The Terriers went 2-4 over the last three weeks of the regular season with close wins over last-place VMI and first-place ETSU, before closing it out with a home loss to ninth-seeded Citadel.

That's all it would take for third-seeded Samford, who rocketed up the league standings thanks to a record of 8-1 in February after going 3-6 in January.

That's all it would take for fourth-seeded Mercer, who had a five-game winning streak in January to help go 7-2 that month, but went 4-4 in February.

That's all it would take for fifth-seeded Western Carolina, whose the only team hotter than Samford as it has reeled off six consecutive wins. The Catamounts are the only SoCon team to have swept league champion ETSU, both of which came outside of this streak.

And that's all it would take for sixth-seeded Furman, who wrapped up the regular season last Saturday with its biggest loss since the season opener. After losing their first six SoCon games by a combined total of 15 points, the Paladins have lost their last two by a total of 28.

So who has the edge this weekend in Asheville? Is it one of the top seeds or one of the hottest teams entering the tournament? The answer is clear.

It's nobody.

Who knows what the heck is going to happen this weekend? This time last year, I don't believe anyone was picking sixth-seeded Wofford, who limped into Asheville having lost five of its last six regular season games. But the Terriers were the last team standing.

One of the big things that used to make this tournament fun was the stunning upset when you thought you knew about every team inside and out. In this age of NIL, it's more of a crap shoot which can also be fun. Who knows how well these new teammates perform on the biggest stage and who knows where individual players' focus is. Is it on the team task at hand this weekend or how many dollars you can add to your impending contract with your next school?

The only truly surprising result that could've happened this year already didn't as No. 7-seed UNC Greensboro knocked off last-place VMI, 84-70, Friday night. If anything, I think we might be in store for games like the thriller that opened the tournament Friday evening. In a game that featured 21 lead changes and 26 made three-pointers, The Citadel defeated No. 8-seed Chattanooga, 93-90.

The case against Furman

Furman will try to go 3-0 against Samford for the second consecutive season when the teams meet in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Saturday. After sweeping the regular season series last year, the fifth-seeded Paladins eliminated the fourth-seeded Bulldogs in the opening round. Furman went on to defeat top-seeded Chattanooga before falling to Wofford in the title game.

Furman coach Bob Richey has maintained all season that this is the weekend that truly matters in this one NCAA bid league. While everyone wants to win in the regular season and position themselves well seeding-wise, Richey also tries to use it to figure out the best lineups and ways to win this weekend.

If the tournament is like a final exam, the Paladins enter it coming off an "F" on its last test. Furman (19-12) had every result needed last Saturday to elevate to the No. 2 seed this weekend, except its own. On a night when Furman shot 55 percent from the floor, including 67 percent in the second half, the Paladins somehow got trucked by Western Carolina, 86-67. It was Furman's first double-digit loss in SoCon play and its most lopsided since a 97-71 loss to High Point in the season opener.

Furman jumped out to a 10-2 lead last Saturday and led 14-5 six-and-a-half minutes in. After Western tied the game at 16, the Paladins went on a 10-4 run. However, the Catamounts answered by ending the half on a 17-4 run to take a 37-30 lead into halftime.

The Paladins got the lead down to three in the second half but could never got closer. Western seemed to always have an answer, many of which came following offensive rebounds. The Catamounts had a 40-26 advantage in rebounding. Of those 40, 14 were offensive boards which led to a 24-4 edge in second-chance points for Western. Despite having 46 points in the paint, Furman also had no fast break points and two points off of the Catamounts' four turnovers.

"You've got to be able to box them out. They take a lot of pride in that. They did an unbelievable job rebounding," Richey said following the game. "We gave them 17 offensive rebounds in Greenville and unfortunately, it wasn't any better today."

It was a 10-point game with six minutes to play before Western went on another 17-4 run to put the game away.

Perhaps the biggest case against Furman this weekend is inconsistency, whether shooting-wise on offense or overall defense. The Western game followed a blowout win over The Citadel in which the Paladins allowed just 51 points and had a 50-20 rebounding advantage. 

Oddly enough, the Paladins seemed to be playing their most consistent basketball when they were at their thinnest injury-wise. Now that Furman is as healthy as its been all year, some players haven't been able to recapture the level they were playing at, especially defensively.

"You've got to control the things that you are able to do. For us, we've got to guard the ball, block people out, play clean offense without turning the ball over and take good shots," Richey said. "If we do those four things, we're a pretty dang good ball club.

"If we don't want to guard the ball, don't want to block out, don't want to take care of the ball and don't want to take great shots, we're average. We've got to decide. ... This week, we've got to eliminate losing play. ... This week is kind of like a bye week and man, we need it. We need a combination of rest and some real good, contact practices."

The case for Furman

Maybe the best case for Furman this weekend is that it's played its best when folks have least expected it. After a tough overtime loss to Western on Jan. 3, the Paladins reeled off three consecutive wins starting at preseason league favorite Chattanooga.

Following back-to-back, gut-punch losses in which Furman blew huge leads against Wofford and Citadel, the Paladins traveled from Charleston to Greensboro with one less day to prepare thanks to a winter storm. With only seven healthy scholarship players available, Furman routed UNCG, 89-66, to start another three-game win streak.

Following a three-game losing skid, the Paladins won three out of four. That included vengeful wins in a hostile environment at Wofford and the home blowout of Citadel.

There's also the feel-good case of loyalty. It's believed that Furman's Ben Vander Wal and ETSU's Allen Strothers are the only two seniors in this tournament who've been with their teams since day one of college. The Paladins would certainly love for Vander Wal's loyalty to pay off like Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson's did three years ago.

"It all comes down to matchups. ... All these teams are split by a couple of hairs. ... The portal has led to a lot more parity in these levels and to the fan, that's what makes it fun," Richey said. "It's going to be a heck of a tournament. We've just got to have a great week of prep, flip this page pretty quick and go out there and give it our best shot."

Chattanooga's one-two punch knocks Furman out

Clare Coyle dives for a loose ball in Furman's 76-65 loss to Chattanooga at the Southern
Conference Tournament Friday. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/SoCon

The Furman women's basketball team bucked one trend to advance to the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, but could not buck another. After posting their first tournament win over Mercer in five tries Thursday, the fourth-seeded Paladins still couldn't solve the riddle of Chattanooga this season Friday.

The top-seeded Mocs remained the only league foe that Furman didn't beat this season with a 76-65 win at Harrah's Cherokee Center. The Paladins simply had no answer for Chattanooga's Gianna Corbitt and Caia Elisaldez, who combined for 57 points.

Furman's season ends with a record of 18-13, while the Mocs advance to Sunday's championship game against sixth-seeded Samford at noon. Chattanooga (20-9) will try to avenge last season's overtime defeat in the championship, which is its only loss in 21 trips to the tournament final.

"Congrats to Chattanooga. They played a really good game. They took a lot of our punches, and they punched right back. I think Corbitt has played out of this world, out of her mind," Furman coach Pierre Curtis said. "There were some bombs they hit on us late in the shot clock that kind of just every time we felt like we were getting close they hit one of those."

The Paladins trailed 16-9 early in the second quarter before Thursday's hero for Furman, Alyssa Ervin, hit a three-pointer. That was followed by layups from Clare Coyle and Kyraha Parnell to tie the game at 16. A critical sequence came about over the final portion of the half. With 4:46 left, Coyle left the game and went to the locker room with a leg injury.

After the Paladins' Raina McGowens hit a three to cut the Mocs' lead to 21-19, UTC's dynamic duo provided a major response. The Mocs went on a 12-2 run in which Corbitt had eight points and an assist, while Elisaldez had four points, an assist and a steal. With a couple of minutes remaining, Coyle emerged from the locker room and tried to check in but there was never a stoppage. That was bad news for Furman as it appeared the Paladins, who had the 11 a.m. tip off Friday after playing the last game Thursday, were completely exhausted in those final minutes.

Furman's Tyriana Berry got a layup before the final horn expired to cut the lead to 33-23 at the half. That did nothing to slow UTC's momentum though. The Mocs' lead grew to as much as 18 in the third quarter as Corbitt and Elisaldez combined for UTC's first 19 points of the second half.

A layup by Elisaldez pushed the lead to 73-53 with 7:28 remaining in the game and UTC began milking clock, but the Paladins didn't quit. Furman went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to 73-65 with 4:07 left, but had no points, three missed shots and three turnovers the rest of the way.

"Our bodies are really tired from last night. We gave it all we had last night, but I thought we fought. We fought all we could today," Ervin said. "I thought this year was great for us."

Corbitt finished with game-highs in points (29), rebounds (13) and steals (four) to lead Chattanooga. Elisaldez had 28 points, four assists and two steals.

Coyle led Furman with 17 points and three assists. Ervin hit 5-of-7 threes and finished with 15 points. McGowens was the lone other Paladin in double figures with 12 points. Chantelle Stuart added nine points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench for Furman, while Sophia Pearl scored eight points.

"I'm so proud of my group," Curtis said. "As a whole, I thought we gave everything we had. As a coach, you can live with that."

Ervin powers Paladins into SoCon semifinals

Alyssa Ervin had 27 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists in
Furman's 66-45 win over Mercer Thursday. Photo courtesy of Furman

The rubber game of the season series between Furman and Mercer became the rubber half in Thursday's opening round of the Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament in Asheville. The fourth-seeded Paladins and fifth-seeded Bears, who each won on the other team's home court in the regular season, went into halftime tied at 29.

After Mercer used a 13-0 fourth quarter run to break open a tight game and roll to a win at Timmons Arena 12 days earlier, Furman emphatically returned the favor Thursday at the Harrah's Cherokee Center. Backed by Alyssa Ervin's career-high scoring night of 27 points, the Paladins cruised to a 66-45 victory. Furman, which outscored the Bears 29-8 over the final 14 minutes, advances to face top-seeded Chattanooga in Friday's semifinals at 11 a.m.

"We kind of made it a point to just go back to the basics of who we were and who we are. And it started the last game (a 64-42 win over SoCon co-champion Wofford Saturday)," said Furman coach Pierre Curtis in the postgame press conference. "The defensive effort that we had today in that second half, that was special. So we've had two really, really big defensive performances in a row.

"Two weeks ago, we didn't put our best foot forward when we played them, and for us to give up however many points (80) in that game, we knew we had to do something a little bit different."

The teams slogged through an ugly opening quarter, combining for 15 turnovers. Eight of those were by the Paladins, which helped Mercer take a 12-11 lead. Play became sharper and the score even closer in the second quarter as neither team ever took a two-possession lead. For the opening half, there were 17 lead changes before the fifth tie going into halftime.

With Mercer's defense clearly focused on Furman first team All-SoCon performer Claire Coyle, Ervin - a second team All-SoCon pick - took over the first half. She had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals and played all 20 minutes. A couple of early fouls limited Coyle to nine minutes and two points as she made her only shot attempt in the first half.

"In the first half, we just missed some shots, overthrew some passes, and we knew once we started connecting on passes and we started connecting on some shots that we had a chance to kind of take over the game," Curtis said. "I think one big part of it was we stopped turning the ball over. We had 11 turnovers in the first half, and we only had five in the second half."

Furman opened the second half by going 0-for-6 from the floor with two of those five second-half turnovers. The Paladins looked a bit lost on their next offensive possession when Curtis called timeout with 6:06 left in the third quarter. Coming out of the timeout, Furman seemed intent on attacking the paint either with drives or passes to Coyle down low.

Raina McGowens drove to the basket and dished to Ervin in the corner for a game-tying three. On the next trip, Coyle drew a foul, grabbed an offensive rebound and found Chantelle Stuart at the top of the key for another three. Coyle hit a pretty turnaround jumper on the next possession to push the lead to five and force a Mercer timeout.

The Bears responded with back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 37, but that was the last of their responses. Ervin answered on Furman's ensuing possession when she was fouled on a three-point attempt and drilled all three free throws. Ervin drove and drew another foul on Furman's next trip and hit both free throws. The play of the game followed as McGowens stole an errant pass near Mercer's baseline. She turned upcourt along the sideline, took two dribbles, and fired a long pass to Coyle for a layup to push the lead to 45-37.

That momentum carried over throughout the fourth quarter. Following a layup by Coyle, Ervin's fourth three basically removed all doubt as it extended the lead to 17 with 4:56 remaining. After its three-pointer to tie the game at 37 with 3:44 left in the third quarter, Mercer (17-13) missed each of its next 13 shots. The Bears' next made basket came on a layup with 1:18 left to cut the lead to 64-42.

"I think we just really locked into our defensive game plan. We talked all week about staying in gaps and just making it really tough for them to score in the paint," Coyle said. "I think that's what really has changed for us in the second half."

That 17-point lead allowed Coyle to take the final 4:50 off, which could be vital considering the quick turnaround Furman's facing Friday morning. After one more jumper by Ervin with 2:20 left, the rest of the Paladin regulars joined Coyle on the bench.

Along with her game-high 27 points, Ervin had six rebounds, five steals, three assists and just one foul and one turnover. Coyle finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with eight rebounds, while Sophia Pearl had nine points and five rebounds and Stuart had eight points and three assists. McGowens had a rough shooting day offensively, but was a difference maker on defense with six rebounds and three steals. Brooklyn King added three blocks and two steals for Furman (18-12).

"Once I saw the first two shots go in, I was like, I was ready to play. Sometimes my defense can be a little rocky," Ervin said. "Tonight ... we had to lock in. I don't know, but I think I was in the gaps better than I usually am and I was able to get some steals."

Ervin's 27 points was the most by a Paladin in the SoCon Tournament since Rushia Brown scored 37 in a 77-73 win over Appalachian State in 1994.

Furman legend enters SoCon Hall of Fame

It was almost as if Furman couldn't lose Thursday evening. Not on the same night that Jackie Smith Carson was inducted into the SoCon Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Battery Park Hall in Asheville shortly after the game.

Carson, who is the only person in league history to earn player and coach of the year honors in either men's or women's basketball, is the 10th Furman representative inducted into the SoCon Hall of Fame. She's the second women's basketball legend to make the Hall, which was formed in 2009, joining Brown.

SoCon Commissioner Michael Cross and Furman legend
Jackie Smith Carson. Photo courtesy of Furman 

A four-year starter, three-time All-SoCon honoree, and player of the year selection in both 1998 and 1999, Carson led the SoCon in scoring as a sophomore and junior and topped the league in rebounding in each of her final three seasons.  She recorded 52 double-doubles (points-rebounds) and finished with 1,920 points, 1,057 rebounds, ranking second and third, respectively, all-time in Furman history.  She holds SoCon records for most free throws made in a season (212) and career (724) and averaged 16.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a Paladin.

Carson earned Furman's Edna Hartness Female Athlete of the Year Award in 1999 and is among three Paladins to have her jersey (No. 22) retired. Carson was inducted into Furman's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

After working as an assistant at Bucknell and James Madison, Carson became head coach at Furman in 2010 and guided the program for 13 seasons. She was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2022. Carson is now in her third year as Senior Vice President of Women's Basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Young Furman women take aim at Asheville

Furman's Clare Coyle leads the Southern Conference in rebounding, field goal
percentage and double-doubles this season. Photo courtesy of Furman

What the Furman women's basketball team lacks in Southern Conference Tournament experience, it hopes to make up for in other ways this week in Asheville, N.C. The fourth-seeded Paladins face No. 5 Mercer in Thursday's opening round at the Harrah's Cherokee Center at approximately 5:45 p.m.

Furman's roster has no seniors and three juniors - all of whom are sidelined by injuries. Juniors Asa Snyder and Hanna Hannson have missed the entire season, while Gardner-Webb transfer Lauren Bailey's season ended due to a knee injury suffered in the opening minute of the Paladins' 63-61 win at UNC Greensboro on Feb. 14.

Playing without its leading three-point shooter (37.3 percent) in Bailey, Furman followed that win with home losses to sixth-place Samford and fifth-place Mercer. Those losses cost the Paladins a shot at the regular season championship, but they bounced back to close out the regular season with a 64-42 blowout win over rival Wofford.

That leads to one of two big reasons for hope this week. Furman (17-12, 9-5) almost proved it could beat any team in the league this year, as they topped every SoCon foe except regular season co-champion Chattanooga. Despite not having a win over the Mocs, the Paladins went 3-3 against the combination of UTC, Wofford and ETSU. Those three teams shared the regular season title with league records of 10-4 - one game ahead of Furman.

Going into this season, Furman Clare Coyle was an All-SoCon preseason selection despite only coming off the bench as a freshman in the 2024-25 season. The sophomore more than lived up to those expectations as she leads the Paladins in scoring (14.9 points per game), field goal percentage (54.1 percent), rebounding (9.3 per game), steals (61) and blocked shots (41).

Coyle's rebounding and shooting numbers are tops in the SoCon this season as are her 11 double-doubles. She's third in the league in steals, and fourth in scoring and blocks. As the only player in the SoCon to rank in the top four in all six categories, Coyle made the first team All-SoCon announced this week. Coyle also made the SoCon All-Defensive team.

Fellow sophomore Alyssa Ervin earned a spot on the All-SoCon second team after averaging 13.3 points per game this season. Ervin ranks sixth in the league in scoring, seventh in free throw percentage (.718) and eighth in steals (1.55) in her first season as a Paladin. The Elon transfer has also been a clutch performer as she's drilled game-winning shots in wins at East Tennessee State, Wofford and UNCG.

That leads to the other big reason for hope in Asheville as Furman has shown a proficiency for winning away from home this year. The Paladins went 6-1 on the road in conference play, which is the best record in league road play in school history. 

As it looks to advance in the tournament, Furman will have to do something it's never done before Thursday. The Paladins are 0-4 against Mercer in Asheville, including a heartbreaking championship game loss in 2019 and another loss in the 2022 final.

None of that past history will matter Thursday after tip-off. It will be a battle of teams who each won on the other's home court this season as Furman won in Macon, 60-49, on Jan. 22, and Mercer won in Greenville, 80-63, on Feb. 21. At Mercer, Ervin had 20 points and Coyle grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Paladins. In Greenville, Furman suffered 22 turnovers and the Bears went on a late 13-0 run to pull away for the victory.

Thursday's winner will face either top-seeded Chattanooga or eighth-seeded Western Carolina in Friday's semifinals at 11 a.m.