 |
| Alex Wilkins scored 26 points in Furman's 89-59 win over Columbia International Monday. Photo courtesy of Furman |
Following a bit of a sickening opening week of the college basketball season for Furman, the Paladins got a little healthy Monday night. Alex Wilkins scored a game-high 26 points to lead Furman to an 89-59 win over NAIA member Columbia International. Four other Paladins scored in double figures to help record the first win at the refurbished Timmons Arena.
Wilkins posted the most points in a single game by a Furman freshman since Devin Sibley scored 29 at East Tennessee State on Feb. 14, 2015. Perhaps just as important, he only had two turnovers and the Paladins (1-2) only had nine as a team. While the competition level was significantly different, it was still a positive sign for a Furman team that threw the basketball away all over the place in losses to High Point and Troy in the opening week.
"We needed a win. We just needed to get on the right side of the hyphen," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "I thought for the first 16 minutes of the game, I thought we played some really good basketball. I thought we played with a tight floor and some good defensive intensity."
After falling behind 7-5 just 82 seconds into the game, Furman went on a 24-1 run over the next 10:32 to take command. The lead grew to 26 on a jumper by Wilkins with 3:17 left in the first half. Wilkins' three-pointer with 20 seconds left gave the Paladins a 49-25 lead at the half.
"It's just a growing period. I don't really look at the points. As long as we win the game, that's what really matters. It's pretty cool to have a 20-point college game though," Wilkins said. "I'm just happy that the guys put a lot of trust in me over the offseason. Coach Richey puts a lot of trust in me. I'm just blessed to have this amazing opportunity."
Toward the end of the first half and into the second, the Rams changed up their defense a bit. Furman had a more than five-minute stretch in the second half where its only points were a Baba Franklin layup after offensive rebounds by Charles Johnston and Wilkins on the same possession. That helped Columbia International cut the lead to 16 with 12:57 left, but it could not get any closer.
Wilkins had a steal and a breakaway dunk to cap a 13-3 flurry by the Paladins that stretched the lead to 80-52 with 6:10 left. After that, Richey went deep into his bench. Mason Smith had a dunk off an assist from Franklin with 2:50 left. On the next trip down, Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Gunnar Lewis for a three. Just before that score, the Furman student section demands of "We want Tillman" were granted when senior walk-on Thomas Tillman entered with 2:11 left.
"They decided to go zone and that got us a little stagnant offensively. I thought that also affected some of our defensive intensity," Richey said. "I thought the worst part of the game was how we came out at halftime. That was a little disappointing, but we're working through everything. We're just trying to get consistency.
"That middle eight is critical - those last four (minutes of a half) and first four. You've got to make sure you go into the tunnel right and make sure you come out of the tunnel right."
Franklin finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in just 14 minutes off the bench. Cooper Bowser also scored 11 on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor, with seven rebounds, three steals, an assist and no turnovers. Johnston recorded another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists, one steal, one block and no turnovers. Asa Thomas also scored 10 off the bench and grabbed six rebounds.
The Paladins enjoyed a 51-26 rebounding advantage, including 21 offensive boards. The glass-half empty side of those offensive rebounds is the fact that Furman made just 11-of-45 three-pointers.
"I would say 30 of those (three-pointers) were really, really good ones," Richey said. "I thought some others were too deep or too quick."
The Paladins return to action Friday at Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. The Panthers (2-0) have home wins over Cal State-Northridge and South Dakota State this season.
Molnar to be out "a while"
Richey went with an eight-man rotation in the first half Monday. It's not typically what's been done at Furman in the past, but the Paladins are still seeking to get a consistent nine. Richey said consistency in practice will determine who that ninth guy is.
Another reason they're searching for that ninth guy is the serious knee injury suffered by Davis Molnar in the exhibition game against Alabama.
"Davis was definitely in that nine-man rotation. He worked his way to where he would've been the first big off the bench," Richey said. "It's a tough loss for us. He brought leadership, continuity and knows what's important to our program. I think we've definitely missed his presence over these first 10 days. ... He's going to be out for a while and that's really the most I have on it at this point."
Paladins sign two guards
Furman signed a pair of guards on Signing Day this week, it was announced Thursday by Richey. Set to join the Paladins next season are Cameron Elwer, of Delphos, Ohio, and Jerrin Samuel, of Winder, Ga.
Elwer was a first team All-Ohio player last season and was runner-up for the state's Mr. Basketball award. Playing for his father, Aaron Elwer, at Delphos St. John's High, the 6-foot-2 Elwer averaged 27.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game as his team went 23-3. He led the state in three-point shooting with a single-season state record average of 55.8 percent. Elwer ranked second in the state in foul shooting at 93 percent.
Samuel is the No. 5 ranked player in the Class of 2026 for Georgia. As a junior last season at Winder-Barrow High, the 6-foot-5 Samuel collected second team Atlanta Journal-Constitution AAAAA All-State accolades after averaging 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game. Samuel shot 45% from three-point range and led his team to a 26-4 record.
No comments:
Post a Comment