Dunham's stunning goal sends Paladins to Cary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It wasn't over.

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

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

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

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

Free throws cap Furman's comeback win at Elon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Furman men's soccer shoots for first Final Four

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paladins still seeking nine-man rotation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pence led the Redbirds with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

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

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

Defense helps Paladins hand Richmond first loss

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

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

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

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

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

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

Richmond made 15-of-17 free throws Thursday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paladins to compete at Disney for Thanksgiving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recapping Queens

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recapping Ohio Christian

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

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

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

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

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

How sweet it is! Furman soccer reaches Sweet 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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