 |
| 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.
