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| PJay Smith had 32 points, four assists and four steals in Furman's 80-72 win at Samford Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Furman |
For the second consecutive game, Furman made only seven field goals in the second half Wednesday night at Samford but the final result could not have been more different. In the latest wild chapter of this thrilling series, the Paladins overcame blowing a 21-point second half lead and making just 7-of-21 field goals after halftime to find a way to an 80-72 victory.
The difference between Wednesday's result and last Saturday's 58-50 loss to UNC Greensboro, in which the Paladins made 7-of-28 field goals in the second half, came at the foul line. A Furman team that entered Wednesday ranked in the 300s nationally in free throw percentage at 67.4 percent, made 19-of-20 free throws over the final 6:41 to secure the win.
Oh by the way, a 30-5 first-half run by the Paladins was also a factor.
The win completed a season series sweep of Samford and marked the seventh time in the past nine seasons that Furman (20-8, 8-7 Southern Conference) has won 20 games. While the Paladins have hovered around the .500 mark in league play all year, they improved to 7-1 on Wednesdays in the SoCon.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way our team responded. ... We got off to a great defensive start, which kind of propelled our offense. In the second half, I thought we came out with a good spirit and pushed it up to 21," Furman coach Bob Richey said on the Furman Radio Network's postgame show. "Then they made their run. They made a huge run and this place got rocking and loud. They picked up their pressure and we got a little sped up, clearly, but we didn't fold.
"The game honors toughness. That's what we've built this on. We have to make a decision every single day that we're going to play with the toughness necessary, the passion, perseverance and grit that it takes to win games. That's been the whole message for the last 48 hours and I thought every single person in our program did that tonight."
The game was tied 13-13 at the 13:43 mark before a flurry by the Bulldogs staked them to a 20-13 lead less than one minute later. That's when the entire Furman team suddenly channeled their inner Mike Bothwell from the matchup in Birmingham two years ago. Bothwell accounted for all of the Paladins' points over the first eight-plus minutes in 2023 as he outscored Samford 18-7 on his way to a 35-point night in a SoCon regular season title clinching win.
On Wednesday, a Garrett Hien alley-oop to Cooper Bowser started a 9-0 Furman run that was capped by another Hien alley-oop to Bowser. The Paladins led 27-25 at the 7:52 mark when Nick Anderson's jumper began a 16-0 run. All told from the 12:39 mark to the 1:11 mark of the first half, Furman outscored Samford 30-5 to take a 43-25 lead.
The Bulldogs (20-8, 10-5) scored the last five points of the half to cut the lead to 43-30 at the break. Much like in the first meeting this season in Greenville, Samford had to feel fortunate to not be down by more as Furman had only one score over the final 4:39 of the half - a PJay Smith three-pointer.
The Paladins quickly regained command in the second half as their 8-0 run over the first two-and-a-half minutes gave them their biggest lead at 51-30 and forced a Samford timeout. Then it suddenly became Samford's turn for a rather insane run, although anyone who's watched either of these teams this season or any games in this series should not have been too stunned. The Bulldogs were coming off an eight-point win at Wofford in which they trailed by 16 points with 14 minutes to play.
Over the next 7:43, Furman's only points came on a Bowser tip-in as the Bulldogs went on a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 53-46. After pushing the lead back to 59-49 at the 9:16 mark, the Paladins made just 1-of-6 field goals the rest of the way.
Furman's lead was down to 64-62 when officials inexplicably halted a Paladins' possession in which a Samford player was shaken up behind the ball for the second time in the second half. Typically, play continues until the team with the injured player regains possession. Foolishly stopping play otherwise can only encourage fake injuries and we have enough of those already in football.
Where the stoppage occurred also forced Furman to have to inbound the ball against Samford's press from the sideline. With the Bulldogs' bench to his left, Nick Anderson also had to inbound the ball with Samford coach Bucky McMillan inexplicably being allowed to coach about a foot away to Anderson's right. Anderson's inbounds pass was stolen and that 21-point deficit was completely erased when Rylan Jones' layup at the 3:44 mark tied the game at 64-64.
Furman may have given up the lead, but a defensive switch helped it never fall behind. Bowser made two free throws on the Paladins' ensuing possession as they regained the lead. Furman then went to a 1-3-1 defense with Hien applying pressure at the top of it. The Bulldogs' next three possessions ended with two turnovers and a missed three.
Meanwhile, Furman's one made field goal over the final 9:15 was a biggie. As the shot clock expired, Smith's jumper with his toes on the three-point line extended Furman's lead to 70-64 with 1:40 left.
"It just got to a point where we just had to change the rhythm a little bit. They were getting to the basket too easy. The space that (Jaden) Brownell was getting on threes was too easy," Richey said. "And man did that 1-3-1 change the rhythm. ... It really saved us tonight."
Samford cut the lead to two with 29 seconds left before Eddrin Bronson hit a pair of free throws four seconds later to make it a two-score game again. Smith closed out the scoring on a pair of free throws with four seconds left to cap off his 32-point night.
After going 0-for-7 from three in the first meeting against Samford this season, Smith drilled 6-of-9 threes on Wednesday. On his career-high scoring night, Smith also made 12-of-13 free throws as he drew eight fouls. He also had four assists, four steals and only two turnovers.
Bowser, a 65.5 percent shooter who didn't attempt a shot against UNCG, picked up where he left off against Samford the first time around as he had 16 points and six rebounds. Bowser hit 6-of-8 field goals Wednesday to make him 14-of-16 shooting against the Bulldogs this season. Anderson finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Tom House added seven points, four assists and four rebounds. Davis Molnar had seven rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes off the bench also for Furman.
Furman won despite allowing a ridiculous 26 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds by Samford. A few of those belonged to Brownell, who had 25 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals to lead the Bulldogs. Trey Fort, who was coming off a 36-point game at Wofford, had 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting Wednesday. Josh Holloway had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists also for Samford.
The Paladins will try to win back-to-back games for just the second time since the calendar flipped to 2025 when they host VMI on Senior Day at The Well Saturday at noon. Anderson, Hien, Smith and Tyrese Hughey will be honored prior to the game. The Keydets (13-15, 7-8) are coming off an 82-43 home loss to Wofford on Wednesday.
"They (VMI) pounded us in Lexington (Virginia). We had a great crowd last Saturday (against UNCG). I know we didn't get the result that we wanted, but we need another great crowd this Saturday," Richey said. "We've got a chance to really build some momentum, one at a time, as we head into Asheville. All of our goals are on the table and we've got to keep pushing forward."
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