Poor foul shooting costs Furman in loss at ETSU

PJay Smith had 17 points and six rebounds in Furman's
72-69 loss at ETSU Sunday. Photo courtesy of Furman

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - It was deja vu all over again when Furman took on East Tennessee State Sunday afternoon at Freedom Hall. The first meeting this season in Greenville saw the Paladins hang on for a 73-70 win as Quimari Peterson's potential game-tying heave from beyond midcourt at the buzzer hit off the backboard and the inner part of the front rim before bouncing away no good. On Sunday, ETSU held on for a 72-69 victory as Eddrin Bronson's potential game-tying three from beyond midcourt at the buzzer bounced high off the top of front rim before falling away no good.

The biggest factor in Sunday's game was another repeat performance. Unfortunately for Furman, this one came at the foul line. The Paladins made just 7-of-13 free throws, while the Buccaneers made 18-of-22. Over the past three games combined, Furman is 27-of-51 (52.9 percent) at the charity stripe. While it didn't cost the Paladins in wins over Mercer and Samford, you can't expect to keep winning when shooting free throws that poorly. Sunday was reminiscent of the Chattanooga game this season when the Paladins made 17-of-28 free throws in a four-point loss to the Mocs, who made 25-of-28.

"I haven't said a ton about the free throws because we haven't necessarily needed to, but it cost us today. That's the reality of it," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "They made their free throws late. We didn't and we lose a three-point game. We're better than that. I'm not saying we should be a 90 percent shooting team, but we should be 70. If you made 70 (percent) tonight, you're tied going to overtime or potentially winning the game because you're not missing the front end of 1-and-1s.

"Free throw shooting is reps. If we have to use our practice time to shoot free throws, then we're not committed enough. That's just getting in the gym, making sure you're getting your reps and making sure you're confident. We shoot some free throws in practice, but you only have so much time."

Sunday's loss was especially frustrating for Furman (17-6, 5-5 Southern Conference) considering how the game started, as it played arguably its best 10-minute stretch all season. Eight different Paladins had scored when Nick Anderson's layup gave Furman a 27-13 lead with 10:03. At that point, Furman was 12-of-16 from the floor - including a stretch of eight consecutive made shots - with just one turnover.

Then all of that just stopped. Over the next seven minutes, ETSU (13-10, 6-4) put together a 19-0 run as the Paladins went 0-7 from the floor with six turnovers. For the final 10 minutes of the half, the Bucs outscored Furman 24-5 to take a 37-32 lead into the break.

"We played really well to start the game, but they got 5,000 in here and it's rocking. They hit back-to-back threes to kind of get the energy back in the building. Then we had a spurt of some ridiculous turnovers for a while," Richey said. "The best thing they do is play in transition, so when you have those turnovers you're just igniting their whole deal. That kind of played out."

That momentum carried over into the second half as ETSU pushed the lead to 44-32 two minutes in. Off all things, Ben VanderWal's first made three-pointer since Dec. 28 against Montreat got Furman on the board in the second half.

The Paladins began clawing their way back later in the half. Consecutive three-pointers by Bronson and two by PJay Smith cut the lead down to three. With 8:34 left Furman tied the game 56-56 when Tom House faked a three, took one dribble toward the bucket and fed Cooper Boswer for a dunk. The next time down, House didn't fake a three. Instead, he drained it as the Paladins finally regained the lead.

"I was really proud of our effort and fight. I thought we showed some resiliency to be down 12 in this environment and come back," Richey said. "We just couldn't close it."

With just under three minutes to go, Furman had the ball and seemingly a solid cushion of a 67-60 lead. Just like in the first half, things suddenly went south for the Paladins. Charles Johnston meekly fouled ETSU big man Jaden Seymour, allowing him to easily make a layup before completing the three-point play. VanderWal, who was 3-of-19 from three this season after that make early in the second half, came on to replace Johnston. On Furman's ensuing possession, VanderWal tried an open three from the corner but it became at least the fifth airball of the game for the Paladins.

Peterson hit a pair of free throws the next time down for ETSU before Seymour added two more to tie the game at 67-67 with 1:40 left. That 7-0 run for the Bucs took all of 61 seconds and it resulted in the toughest place to play in the SoCon becoming as loud as it was all day.

It was still tied with 47 seconds left when Bowser missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Smith had a chance to tie the game when he was fouled with 14.9 seconds left, but he made just 1-of-2 free throws. On the ensuing inbounds play, the baseline official nearly raised his arm for a five-second call but an official closer to the ETSU bench signaled a timeout for the Bucs. After getting the ball inbounded, ETSU managed to play keep away for the next eight seconds before Furman finally fouled John Buggs with 6.8 seconds left.

Buggs made both free throws to make it 72-69. ETSU fouled Smith before he could release a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left. After making the first free throw, Smith intentionally missed the next but Johnston was whistled for a foul on the rebound with three seconds left. ETSU's Karon Boyd made the first free throw and missed the second. The rebound went to Bronson, who spun forward and took one dribble before his running prayer just missed.

It was Furman's sixth consecutive missed shot to end the game, which followed a stretch in which the Paladins made five shots in a row.

"We've been pretty good in time and scoring in situations, but we weren't tonight. Ben can't shoot that three in the corner there. We've got to know that," Richey said. "We've got to be able to get great shots late. That's part of being able to close games out."

Smith had team-highs in points (17), rebounds (6), assists (4) and steals (2) to lead Furman. Smith, the lone Paladin in double figures, also had one turnover and no fouls. Coming off a 24-point showing against Samford, second-leading scorer Nick Anderson had eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 0-of-3 from three. It's just the second time this season - and first time since game three - that Anderson didn't make a three. Bowser had nine points, while Garrett Hien and Bronson each scored eight.

Furman will next play its last home game away from Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Paladins host Western Carolina Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Bob Jones University.