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.

Furman seniors exit Timmons in style

Furman seniors Charles Johnston (1), Ben Vander Wal (4), Tom House (12) and Thomas Tillman
(30) are honored prior to the Paladins' 72-51 win over The Citadel. Photo courtesy of Furman

While Furman walk-on Thomas Tillman - a student section fan favorite - got the loudest ovations of the game Wednesday night, his fellow three seniors gave the Senior Night crowd at Timmons Arena plenty of reasons to get loud. Charles Johnston and Ben Vander Wal combined for as many rebounds (20) as The Citadel's entire team had, while Tom House had a hard-earned 11-point night as the Paladins thumped their oldest rival, 72-51.

The victory was the 200th in the nine-year career of Furman coach Bob Richey and avenged a heartbreaking overtime loss in Charleston last month in which the Paladins blew a 19-point second half lead. More importantly, it ensured that Furman will not be playing on the opening night of the Southern Conference Tournament next Friday in Asheville. With one set of league games left in the regular season on Saturday, the Paladins (19-11, 10-7) can still finish seeded anywhere from second to sixth.

"It's kind of crazy that this is Senior Day. I'm so grateful for my time here and these guys that I got to do it with. It was a fun atmosphere out there and the students were great. Shout out to Tilly's boys getting out here," said Vander Wal, who was joined by the other seniors for the postgame press conference. "Basketball is something that all of us dreamed of doing when we were kids. Being able to do it on this stage in an atmosphere like this was a lot of fun. We wore them down, which was the most fun part. It was choppy water sometimes, but we stayed the course and got it done."

For a while, it appeared that Furman would not be blowing a big lead this time around because it wouldn't be in any position to. The Paladins' "one game on, next game off" pattern of first-half shooting continued for the fourth consecutive game as they shot 39.3 percent in the opening half, including 21.4 percent (3-of-14) on three-pointers.

If time of possession was a basketball stat, Furman would've dominated as it grabbed 10 of its own misses and held a 24-10 edge in rebounding at the break. The Paladins scored only eight points off those 10 offensive boards though.

The Citadel (9-21, 6-11) didn't fare much better shooting-wise as it made 4-of-16 threes in the first half. All of those four makes belonged to Braxton Williams, whose 17-point effort in the opening half helped the Bulldogs trail only 33-31 at the break.

After getting outscored in the paint, 16-14, in the first half, Furman attacked it in the second half. The Paladins opened the half on an alleyoop from Asa Thomas to Cooper Bowser. Alex Wilkins drove for a layup before Johnston extended Furman's biggest lead at that point to 39-31 on a putback of a blocked layup. That forced a Citadel timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs leaned on their leading scorer and Williams delivered with eight points in a span of 67 seconds. His sixth made three-pointer cut Furman's lead to 40-39 with 16 minutes remaining. After Cole Bowser answered with a three, he heavily guarded Williams the next trip down. However, that allowed Citadel's Sola Adebisi - who scored 22 in the first meeting - to get free for a layup. Adebisi also drew a foul, which led to the under-16 media timeout as 15:06 remained.

Perhaps the most pivotal part of the game came out of this timeout as Richey put Eddrin Bronson on the floor. Two things happened after Bronson checked in:

1. Williams never scored again.
2. The Bulldogs never sniffed the lead again.

Bronson chased Williams all over the half-court when Citadel was on offense. He powered through a tough screen on one of those chases and stole the ball from Williams on another. Over the final 15:06, Furman outscored Citadel, 29-10.

"Williams had 25 of their 41 points at one point, which was just incredible. It was an unbelievable shooting display and we had to put a no-catch on him," Richey said. "Ed was tremendous on him and that's what he's capable of doing. He's physical and has speed, size and strength.

"People have no idea how good of a basketball coach (Citadel's) Ed Conroy is. People have no idea the tactician he is and the creative ways that he puts his team in concepts and they're hard to guard. Ed's one of the best offensive minds in the country. When you have to guard all that stuff, it's unique. ... We weren't quite physical enough on some of that stuff, but once Ed (Bronson) came in there we did a much better job."

A more perfect sequence could not have helped wrap up Senior Night more than one that occurred with just over five minutes remaining. After a block by Vander Wal, House dove into the Citadel's bench to save the rebound back to Vander Wal. House got the ball back and drove to the basket before delivering a wraparound pass to Johnston, who made the layup and got fouled. Johnston completed the three-point play to push the lead to 60-47.

"We have an unbelievable group of four seniors that I couldn't be more proud of. Just to be able to honor them tonight with a great crowd, that really got loud once we started playing better," Richey said. "We were phenomenal on the backboard, winning that battle by 30 and ended up winning the paint. We wanted to make a concerted effort to get it into the paint tonight and play through our size."

Wilkins drove for a layup with 4:29 left that forced a Bulldogs' timeout. It also started the "we want Tillman" chants from the student section. That may have been a little premature, but Bronson helped make sure that fans would see Tillman again. After all that work on defense, Bronson was rewarded on offense when his only attempt of the night - a three-pointer with 3:03 left - went down to push the lead to 16.

Per Senior Night tradition, Tillman started the game. And per the tradition of the type of team players who show up every day for practice, yet rarely see the floor, Tillman committed a foul just 27 seconds in to get Cooper Bowser on the floor. With 1:10 remaining - and Furman up 69-49, the student section got their wish as Tillman returned. While his only shot was blocked with 10 seconds left, the night was no less special for the Charleston native.

"That was everything I hoped it would be to be honest with you," Tillman said. "It was really a dream come true for me and these guys made it what it was all three years. I really love this group and really love this program."

A few seconds after Tillman entered, the second-biggest roar of the night occurred when House, Johnston and Vander Wal checked out at home for the final time.

The game gave House and Johnston a chance to display how much each has grown in their two years in the program. House went 1-for-8 from three Wednesday. In the past, that would've meant that the three-point specialist didn't make much of an impact. While he was a big part of Furman's defensive effort, House also showed that he's become one of the best on the team at driving to the basket for a layup or drawing a foul. He went 2-for-3 on two-pointers and was 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Johnston, who reached double figures in rebounds one time all last season, recorded his 11th double-double this season as he finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. He also had no fouls, just one turnover and two assists. Meanwhile, Vander Wal had the kind of dependable game Furman can seemingly always count on from him. He had six points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block and joined Wilkins at a team-best plus-19.

"Our seniors are just great humans. That's how we've tried to build the program here. We want great players, but we want great people that understand how hard it's going to be to grow and develop," Richey said. "We really want them to buy into that to be high potential individuals. It's just a fundamental belief of mine. As the person grows, the player comes right behind it. You've got to be able to identify people that want to grow."

Cooper Bowser had a team-high 14 points, while Wilkins finished with eight points and five assists. The Paladins annihilated the Bulldogs on the glass, outrebounding them 50-20. Furman ended up with a 36-26 advantage in the paint and 19 second-chance points.

Furman will try to avenge an early season loss for the third consecutive game when it travels to Western Carolina for a 5:30 p.m. tip off Saturday. If the Paladins win, they would most likely earn the No. 3 seed for the SoCon Tournament. The No. 2 and 4 seeds are still a possibility with a win depending on what other teams do. A No. 2 seed would require Citadel upsetting Wofford in Spartanburg, plus a Samford win as Furman can only win a tiebreaker for second if Samford is involved in a three-way tie with Wofford or a four-way tie with Wofford and Mercer.

If Furman, Mercer and Wofford win, the Paladins and Bears would tie for third and Furman would be the No. 4 seed as Mercer would have a win over league champion ETSU (on Saturday). It Furman loses Saturday, it appears to be a lock that the Paladins would get the No. 6 seed.

Paladins turn tables on Wofford, win rematch

Charles Johnston blocks a Wofford shot during Furman's
76-67 win Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

SPARTANBURG - In the first meeting against rival Wofford this season, Furman was on the wrong end of a 17-0 run down the stretch which led to a 74-70 loss. In Saturday's rematch, the Paladins saw another big lead vanish again. This one occurred early enough for Furman to recover though, and its defense was the one that rose to the occasion down the stretch this time.

The Paladins held the Terriers without a field goal for nearly seven minutes in the second half to pull away for a 76-67 win before a hostile, packed house at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. After shooting 55.6 percent from the floor in the first half, Wofford was limited to 33.3 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, Furman shot 51.9 percent for the game after making just 6-of-33 threes in home loss to East Tennessee State the last time out.

"It's an unbelievable win. Just thinking back to last season when we won here in the last game of the season when PJay (Smith) hit that game-winner in such an intense rivalry. Then we have the (Southern Conference) championship game (loss) and trip up at home against them this year," Furman's Charles Johnston said. "This one has been on the radar since that home game and all the boys had been gearing up for it. ... I'm really proud of the boys, especially how locked in we've been this week after a couple of losses. ... It's the best feeling in the world tonight.

The Australian added, "Cricket's a lot more mellow than this. I think that's why I switched."

In Greenville on Jan. 17, Furman held a 13-point lead with less than 10 minutes to play. On Saturday, Asa Thomas' sixth three-pointer of the game staked the Paladins to a 16-point lead with 2:53 left in the first half. Furman (18-11, 9-7) didn't score the rest of the half and settled for a 43-36 lead at the break.

The halftime break did nothing to slow Wofford's momentum. Kahmare Holmes opened the second half with a three-pointer and hit another three minutes later to give the Terriers a 48-44 lead. The 21-1 run barely took six game minutes. Blowing double-digit leads has been a trend for Furman since that first meeting with the Terriers, but those others all happened around the midway point of the second half.

Holmes' three was answered by an Alex Wilkins three. That was the lone made three-pointer of the second half for Furman, which has also been a trend. The Paladins overcame thanks to Wilkins' offense and a suffocating defense in the second half. Holmes' second three had Wofford at 4-for-6 from the floor in the second half. The Terriers (18-11, 10-6) made just 6-for-24, including 2-of-11 on threes, the rest of the way.

"We didn't get all panicky (after blowing the lead). We didn't go out there and take bad shots and have bad turnovers. We just settled in and played to the priorities of the values of the program - be a great teammate, fly around on defense and value the ball," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "There's a reason that fly around on defense is second and valuing the ball is third.

"Everybody thinks we have a shooting problem. This isn't a shooting problem. This was an intensity, connection and toughness problem. We're getting into March. We're going to be known by our resolve, our edge and how tough we are in critical moments. ... We wanted our defense to fuel our offense tonight and I thought we saw that."

After Holmes' jumper gave Wofford a 56-53 lead with 10:38 remaining, Wilkins came up huge for Furman. He drove for a layup to cut the lead to one and got a steal 24 seconds later. Wilkins then found Cooper Bowser for a dunk that gave Furman a lead it never relinquished.

Chace Watley's three-point play with 7:42 left cut the Paladins' lead to 60-59, but Eddrin Bronson answered with a layup. Johnston followed with a blocked shot and a rebound. Bronson then found Johnston for a layup and he was fouled. He completed the three-point play to push the lead to six with 6:45 left.

That coincided with a seven-minute stretch in which Wofford went 0-for-9 from the floor, with Johnston adding another block midway through it. By the time the Terriers made another field goal, there was only 1:10 left and it cut Furman's lead to 69-64. The Paladins drained 7-of-8 free throws the rest of the way to seal the win.

Thomas went 0-for-2 in the second half, but still finished with a team-high 18 points for the Paladins. Wilkins scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and had a game-high five assists.

"(Wilkins) is a freshman in his first time in here. They're yelling explicits to him and it's just crazy," Richey said. "For him to not play his best in the first half and then come out and really hit one of the biggest shots in the game on that three when we were down four, I thought he kept his composure.

"They obviously stayed attached to (Thomas) in the second half, but I thought his ability to space the floor was a huge thing that allowed Coop (Bowser) to play how he played in the second half."

Bowser and Johnston finished with 13 points apiece and Bowser grabbed seven rebounds. While they only combined for 13 points, the four Paladins off the bench had the highest plus-minus numbers of the game. Tom House was at plus-15. Abijah Franklin hit a big pair of three-pointers and was plus-14, while Bronson was plus-13 and Cole Bowser plus-7.

"Our bench was tremendous," Richey said. "It was just a complete win tonight."

Holmes had a game-high 20 points for the Terriers, while Cayden Vasko finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

Furman will try to avenge another loss to a rival when it hosts The Citadel at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The game will air on Nexstar affiliates throughout the region and will also be streamed live on ESPN+. The home finale will be Senior Night as Furman will honor House, Johnston, Thomas Tillman and Ben Vander Wal prior to the game.

Paladins go cold as ETSU completes sweep

Charles Johnston had his 10th double-double this season Wednesday,
but Furman fell to ETSU, 78-69. Photo courtesy of Furman

So that's the difference between first and last.

After shooting the lights out in a blowout win at the Southern Conference's last-place team last Saturday, Furman shot like the lights were out against the league's first-place team Wednesday. The Paladins shot 35 percent from the floor, including 18.2 percent (6-of-33) on three-pointers, in a 78-69 loss to East Tennessee State before a sellout crowd at Timmons Arena. It's the first loss by more than five points in a SoCon game this year for Furman (17-11, 8-7).

In a game in which the Paladins: made more free throws than ETSU attempted, had no players with four fouls for the first time since Jan. 10, committed fewer turnovers and won the rebounding battle, the difference came from beyond the arc. The Buccaneers (20-8, 12-3) made 50 percent (12-of-24) of their threes, including 7-of-11 in the second half. Most of those seven came in a key five-minute flurry that helped ETSU secure its first season sweep of Furman since the 1993-94 season.

"It was a hard-fought game, but they shot the cover off the ball in the second half and unfortunately, we didn't. I hurt for our guys. They're playing hard and competing," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "I know they care, but 6-for-33 from three? It's a hard game when you just can't get the ball to go in.

"It's going to be hard to find a boxscore anywhere in the country where you win the free throw line, you win the paint, you win the glass, you win the turnover battle and you lose. But it also shows you why it's called basketball. The ball has to go in the basket."

Furman was coming off a 90-point performance at VMI in which it made 13 threes and shot 52.5 percent overall for the game, including 60.7 percent in the second half. Much of that second-half shooting success came thanks to going 12-for-12 on two-pointers.

It quickly became evident that ETSU was a different animal despite playing without its leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Blake Barkley, who was on the sidelines in a walking boot. The Paladins made just five of its first 17 shots, including four missed layups. Furman ended up shooting 31.3 percent in the first half and made just 3-of-10 layups and dunks.

The Bucs could not take advantage though as they had offensive issues of their own in the first half, thanks to another impressive showing by Furman's defense. One of the maddening aspects of this rut in which the Paladins have lost four of their last five games is the fact that they've played their best defense of the season during it. When the teams met in Johnson City two weeks earlier, ETSU quickly erased a 15-point second half deficit by basically running a layup drill on a loop in a four-minute span and went on to an overtime victory.

In Wednesday's first half, the Bucs were nearly as pitiful as Furman at the rim and they made 4-of-11 layups. After taking a 25-19 lead with 6:57 left, ETSU went 3-of-12 the rest of the half as the game was tied 34-34 at the break.

Despite missing 22 shots, including 14 threes, in the opening half the Paladins were even at the break because that's what they seem to always do. Furman has trailed at the half only three times since Nov. 14, which could be a positive, but it really just highlights the team's struggles after halftime.

There were no troubles early on in the second half Wednesday. Furman's first points came on dunks by Ben Vander Wal and Cooper Bowser to get the crowd going. Tom House's three-pointer gave Furman a 45-41 lead with 14:27 left. Meanwhile, ETSU started the second half by going 2-for-10 from the floor with four missed layups.

But then it happened - the five-minute span in which everything that can go wrong goes wrong for the Paladins. It always encompasses the midway point of the second half and has happened in nearly every game for the past month.

From the 14:07 mark to the 9:26 mark, the Bucs made seven consecutive shots. Each of the last five of those were three-pointers as ETSU went on a 20-4 run to take a 61-49 lead. Three of those five threes came from Milton Matthews, a reserve who entered Wednesday averaging 4.2 points and 9.1 minutes played per game.

After consecutive jumpers by Bowser and Asa Thomas cut the lead to eight, the Bucs responded with three consecutive baskets. ETSU never led by less than seven the rest of the way and took its biggest lead at 74-61 on Matthews' sixth three-pointer with two minutes to play. After making 14-of-41 field goals over the first 26 minutes of the game, the Bucs hit 12-of-17 the rest of the way.

"We took such better care of the ball. We had nine turnovers tonight after 22 or 23 up there. I thought we got good quality looks (on shots). We're up 45-41 and got two wide open looks. I mean they were HORSE shots. We miss both," Richey said. "Then they go down and make 5-for-5 from three. ... You've got to give them credit. They're playing with a ton of confidence right now.

"I've got to help our guys somehow. Most of the time, our teams play with a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, we don't have the collective confidence right now."

Matthews, who had scored a grand total of 25 points in SoCon play prior to Wednesday and not been in double figures since the season opener against Converse, led ETSU with 18 points on his 6-of-9 three-point shooting effort. Brian Taylor had 17 points and eight rebounds, while leading scorer Cam Morris added 12 points and seven rebounds. Jaylen Smith came off the bench to post eight points and eight of the Bucs' 11 assists.

Ironically, Matthews might not have played much at all if not for Barkley's injury. It was an unexpected twist that ended up tormenting Furman.

"They spaced us out more without Barkley out there. Even though he's one of the better post players in the league, it would've been a little bit easier for us defensively with Chuck (Charles Johnston) and Coop (Cooper Bowser) out there to play their two (bigs). They basically played with four guards a lot tonight," Richey said. "That put us in a position where we couldn't play Chuck and Coop together quite as much. ... We had no prep on that. We just saw him (Barkley) out in the boot before the game. But that's no excuse for us not being able to guard them from the three-point line."

Following a few tough games scoring-wise, Alex Wilkins had a game-high 21 points for the Paladins. He also drew eight fouls, only committed two, had three assists and only had three turnovers after suffering 11 at ETSU. Johnston posted his 10th double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Vander Wal had a game-high 11 boards.

Bowser, who was leading the country in field goal percentage before suffering his injury earlier this season, finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also had five rebounds, two blocked shots and was at minus-15 on the plus-minus chart. ETSU did a good job of fronting Bowser and deflecting or dissuading a couple of lobs, but Bowser might've had more shots had he gotten an offensive rebound. On a night in which Furman missed 39 field goals and the Bucs were missing their leading rebounder, he somehow could not grab one of the Paladins' 13 offensive boards.

Furman returns to action Saturday at rival Wofford at 7 p.m. The Paladins will try to exorcise some demons as this second-half slide trend started against the Terriers in Greenville on Jan. 17. Furman led that game 59-46 with less than 10 minutes to play before losing, 74-70.

Thomas helps Furman roll over Keydets

Asa Thomas hit six three-pointers and scored 25 points in Furman's
90-72 win at VMI Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

LEXINGTON, Va. - In Asa Thomas' first two games back from an injury that cost him nearly a month of the season, his three-point stroke was a little off. Thomas made two three-pointers in 11 minutes of action in Furman's first meeting with VMI before leaving with that injury on Jan. 10. In Saturday's rematch, Thomas resumed that pace.

Thomas matched his career-highs of points (25) and three-pointers (six) set earlier this season to lead the Paladins to a 90-72 victory at Cameron Hall. A balanced offensive attack produced 45 points each half as Furman shot 52.5 percent for the game. A tremendous defensive effort in the opening half helped Furman take a 20-point lead. While that lead was cut into quite a bit, it didn't sniff previous meltdowns as the Paladins had big answers to snap their three-game losing streak.

"We knew a game like that was coming for Asa. ... We needed to come out here and play Furman basketball and that's what we did. ... We had 21 assists. It's been a while since we've done that," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "The Mercer loss was hard. All three of these losses have been hard, but if you look at them our defense has been better than our all-year defense. We've been guarding at a high level, but playing bad offense. I tried to convince our group that it's not that we have bad offensive players. It's not that we have bad shooters. We were just not working to help one another get great looks.

"We had 23 instances in Macon where we had a guy wide open with nobody within five feet of him and we went in there and took a bad shot or threw a bad pass. ... If we make three of those, we win the game. ... Tonight, we had three substitutions on guys taking bad shots. We just can't accept it. As we get to the end of the season, there's got to be a certain standard to the shots we're looking for."

Thomas wasted no time in getting things rolling for Furman (17-10, 8-6 Southern Conference). His three-pointers on the Paladins' first two possessions forced a VMI timeout just 57 seconds into the game. While the Keydets' T.J. Johnson got going from three, Furman didn't stop. After Alex Wilkins missed a three on the Paladins' third possession, Charles Johnston grabbed the offensive rebound. That lead to another three by Thomas off an assist from Wilkins.

On the next possession, Thomas found Cooper Bowser for a layup. On the next, Johnston hit a three off an assist from Wilkins. Then Ben Vander Wal found Thomas for another three and Furman leads 17-6 just three-and-a-half minutes into the game. Outside of a couple of turnovers that followed, the Paladins didn't have a scoreless possession until the 14:22 mark.

"That's one of the best atmospheres we played in the league so far this year. It felt like they had the whole school here. The pregame stuff with the intros and music was a 10. This place was popping," Richey said. "I thought our guys did a good job of feeding off that."

Thomas' fifth three-pointer gave Furman its biggest lead at 45-25 with 2:15 left before halftime. The Paladins didn't score again in the half, but still took a 45-27 lead into the break. After holding VMI to 26.8 percent shooting for the game in its 69-48 win in Greenville, Furman held the Keydets to 21.9 percent shooting in the first half. VMI made 7-of-32 shots in the opening half, including 0-for-8 on two-pointers.

"I don't know if I've ever seen that (a team with no made twos in a half) before," Richey said.

The Keydets made their first two-pointer technically on a long jumper by Johnson that was originally ruled a three-pointer at the 16:53 mark of the second half. Then they started driving for more while Linus Holmstrom got hot from the outside. The midway portion of the second half has been dicey for Furman when it's held a big lead and that's when VMI made its biggest threat.

A Holmstrom three with 11:37 left started a 14-5 Keydet run that Holmstrom capped with a three with 7:45 left. That cut the lead to 65-58 and forced a Furman timeout. Coming out of the break, Thomas threw an alleyoop that Bowser slammed home. After a VMI turnover, Bowser found Wilkins for a three-pointer and the Paladins never led by fewer than 11 the rest of the way.

"That was one of our best timeouts of the year. We come out and get three stops in a row and we run the same play three times in a row," Richey said. "We get Coop on the dunk, a three and then a putback by Cole (Bowser). All of a sudden, we're back up 14. ... Teams are going to punch. You've got to be able to punch back."

Furman finished things off in style as the Keydets tried to full-court press as a last resort over the final minutes. That led to layups by Wilkins and Abijah Franklin, a dunk by Vander Wal and a pair of Bowser dunks off alleyoop lobs. The Paladins shot 60.7 percent from the floor in the second half, including 12-for-12 on two-pointers.

Furman put up its season-high point total in league play despite Wilkins being held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting before fouling out late. He did have a game-high six assists and only two turnovers though. Johnston finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes of work for his ninth double-double this season and second in SoCon play. Cooper Bowser went 6-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line to finish with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and no turnovers.

Tom House made 3-of-6 three-pointers to finish with nine points and four rebounds off the bench for the Paladins. Also making a big contribution was Vander Wal, who was coming off one of the more bizarre games of his career. At Mercer, he only played 15 minutes and didn't score as the 70 percent shooter was 0-for-2 from the floor. With just under eight minutes remaining in Macon, Vander Wal left with Furman up 51-50 and he never returned in what became a five-point loss.

Vander Wal responded with the type of stat line you'd expect from the senior "glue" of this team. He actually took fewer shots on Saturday, as his lone one was the late dunk, but he finished with eight points as the 41 percent foul shooter made 6-of-8 free throws. He also had seven rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block, one turnover and one foul while drawing six.

"I called him Thursday night and apologized for (the lack of normal playing time). That was my fault. Sometimes when the floor gets tight and we feel like Alex doesn't have enough space, the natural reaction is to try to put space out there and get Ben off the court," Richey said. "The reality was we were better with him on the court than off it once I watched the film. The spacers weren't taking good shots and weren't guarding. It was one of those things that sounds good in the moment, but in totality Ben's got to be out there. He's got to be out there in crunch time. He's just been in too many big moments for us to not be."

Johnson scored a game-high 26 points and had six rebounds and two steals to lead VMI (6-21, 1-13).

Furman will go from facing the SoCon's last-place team to the first-place team when the Paladins host East Tennessee State Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. Furman will try to avenge a heartbreaking 75-71 overtime loss to the Buccaneers two weeks ago.