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| Eddrin Bronson matched a career-high with 16 points off the bench in Furman's 69-48 win over VMI. Photo courtesy of Furman |
Timing is everything.
When Furman suffered its only Southern Conference loss this season to Western Carolina on Jan. 3, Coach Bob Richey came to the realization that he needed to trust his bench more. It's precisely what the Paladins did the next time out as 10 players, including the debuting freshman Cole Bowser, contributed to a big win at Chattanooga last Wednesday.
That was going to remain part of the plan moving forward. When Furman took the court against Saturday against VMI, that change in philosophy from the previous game seemed prescient. The Paladins overcame the loss of two more key players to injury thanks to an incredible defensive effort as they rolled to a 69-48 win before another sell out crowd at Timmons Arena.
Eddrin Bronson led the effort off the bench as he matched his career with 16 points. His role expanded Saturday after Tom House and Asa Thomas left the game in the first half with injuries and didn't return.
"Their zone is unique. With us playing four freshmen in our top eight today, I knew we were going to have to win in some other grittier areas of the game rather than expecting crisp, clean zone execution. I thought our team did that," Richey said. "We were really good on the backboards, which they thrive in. They chase down their misses and get a lot of offensive rebounds.
"I couldn't be more proud of our defensive effort. I think that's our biggest defensive effort that we've put in a game collectively all season. ... We had some guys really, really step up today. Ed Bronson did a phenomenal job on both ends of the floor. Alex (Wilkins) played his best defense of the year today by far."
It was a rough and tumble start Saturday. VMI 6-foot-8 freshman Alexander Daushvili hit the floor two minutes in and spent the rest of the day on crutches. At the 10:14 mark, House took an inadvertent elbow to the face on a loose ball and the back of his head touched the floor after he fell. After a couple of minutes down, House wobbled off to the bench and didn't return. Three minutes later, Thomas was fouled on a rebound and he slightly limped off and didn't return.
It was 22-22 at that point thanks to a game-tying three-pointer by Bronson just before Thomas' defensive rebound. With two starters sidelined and fellow starter Cooper Bowser still out with a foot injury, that's when this formerly not very deep Furman team somehow really started to shine. The Paladins outscored the Keydets 15-5 over the final 8:02 of the first half to take a 34-27 lead into the break. The first eight of those came on a personal 8-0 run by Bronson.
"Coach Richey told me earlier this week that he's sticking with me. That trust helps me to go out there and play with confidence and just do what I'm capable of doing," said Bronson, who had a big blocked shot before entering the scoring column Saturday. "That's (block) definitely an energy play that gets you into the game and gets your blood going. Aggressiveness has been a big thing for me, so things like that definitely help."
VMI went 2-for-13 from the floor over those final eight minutes of the half and was 9-for-30 (30 percent) for the half.
Cole Bowser went from having his redshirt removed last Wednesday to starting the second half three days later. There was no let up by Bryson or the rest of Furman's lineup defensively after halftime. After Wilkins opened the half with a three-pointer, the Keydets' first possession ended on a shot clock violation. A Wilkins' turnover led to a VMI three-pointer, but the freshman atoned with another three.
That three started a 13-0 run over the next four minutes as Furman led by double digits the rest of the way. Bronson hit two more threes during that run, which Charles Johnston capped by making 2-of-3 free throws after getting fouled on a three.
Following its three-pointer at the 18:45 mark of the second half, VMI's next made field goal came 12 shots later at the 12:05 mark. After shooting just 30 percent in the first half, the Keydets shot just 23.1 percent (6-of-26) in the second half and made 26.8 percent for the game.
Furman (12-5, 3-1) got the 21-point win despite suffering 20 turnovers and making just 10-of-18 free throws. The Paladins dominated the glass, 48-32, including 18 offensive rebounds. They outscored VMI (6-11, 1-3) in the paint, 22-10.
Wilkins had a game-high 17 points, four assists and three steals for Furman. In addition to his 16-point effort in 24:15 off the bench, Bronson had a pair of blocked shots. Ben Vander Wal had 11 points and six rebounds, while Johnston finished with six points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks and just one turnover.
"Ben Vander Wal is consistent and plays like a warrior every day. Chuck Johnston gets 15 rebounds today and was so aware in all of his coverages. Then we had freshmen chasing around these elite shooters. Their two best average 19.5 three-point attempts per game," Richey said. "There were 10 times in the game where we got three consecutive stops on defense. I'm not sure that we've had a D1 game where we've gotten 10 of those during our time here."
TJ Johnson, VMI's leading scorer averaging 19.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game entering Saturday, had a team-high 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting Saturday. He also had four rebounds and six steals.
Furman returns to action Wednesday night at Samford at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs, who are 5-1 at home this season, are coming off an 88-79 loss at Chattanooga Saturday. Senior Jadin Booth leads Samford (9-8, 2-2) averaging 20.4 points per game and is shooting 41.2 percent on three-pointers.
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