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| Charles Johnston blocks a Wofford shot during Furman's 76-67 win Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman |
SPARTANBURG - In the first meeting against rival Wofford this season, Furman was on the wrong end of a 17-0 run down the stretch which led to a 74-70 loss. In Saturday's rematch, the Paladins saw another big lead vanish again. This one occurred early enough for Furman to recover though, and its defense was the one that rose to the occasion down the stretch this time.
The Paladins held the Terriers without a field goal for nearly seven minutes in the second half to pull away for a 76-67 win before a hostile, packed house at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. After shooting 55.6 percent from the floor in the first half, Wofford was limited to 33.3 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, Furman shot 51.9 percent for the game after making just 6-of-33 threes in home loss to East Tennessee State the last time out.
"It's an unbelievable win. Just thinking back to last season when we won here in the last game of the season when PJay (Smith) hit that game-winner in such an intense rivalry. Then we have the (Southern Conference) championship game (loss) and trip up at home against them this year," Furman's Charles Johnston said. "This one has been on the radar since that home game and all the boys had been gearing up for it. ... I'm really proud of the boys, especially how locked in we've been this week after a couple of losses. ... It's the best feeling in the world tonight.
The Australian added, "Cricket's a lot more mellow than this. I think that's why I switched."
In Greenville on Jan. 17, Furman held a 13-point lead with less than 10 minutes to play. On Saturday, Asa Thomas' sixth three-pointer of the game staked the Paladins to a 16-point lead with 2:53 left in the first half. Furman (18-11, 9-7) didn't score the rest of the half and settled for a 43-36 lead at the break.
The halftime break did nothing to slow Wofford's momentum. Kahmare Holmes opened the second half with a three-pointer and hit another three minutes later to give the Terriers a 48-44 lead. The 21-1 run barely took six game minutes. Blowing double-digit leads has been a trend for Furman since that first meeting with the Terriers, but those others all happened around the midway point of the second half.
Holmes' three was answered by an Alex Wilkins three. That was the lone made three-pointer of the second half for Furman, which has also been a trend. The Paladins overcame thanks to Wilkins' offense and a suffocating defense in the second half. Holmes' second three had Wofford at 4-for-6 from the floor in the second half. The Terriers (18-11, 10-6) made just 6-for-24, including 2-of-11 on threes, the rest of the way.
"We didn't get all panicky (after blowing the lead). We didn't go out there and take bad shots and have bad turnovers. We just settled in and played to the priorities of the values of the program - be a great teammate, fly around on defense and value the ball," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "There's a reason that fly around on defense is second and valuing the ball is third.
"Everybody thinks we have a shooting problem. This isn't a shooting problem. This was an intensity, connection and toughness problem. We're getting into March. We're going to be known by our resolve, our edge and how tough we are in critical moments. ... We wanted our defense to fuel our offense tonight and I thought we saw that."
After Holmes' jumper gave Wofford a 56-53 lead with 10:38 remaining, Wilkins came up huge for Furman. He drove for a layup to cut the lead to one and got a steal 24 seconds later. Wilkins then found Cooper Bowser for a dunk that gave Furman a lead it never relinquished.
Chace Watley's three-point play with 7:42 left cut the Paladins' lead to 60-59, but Eddrin Bronson answered with a layup. Johnston followed with a blocked shot and a rebound. Bronson then found Johnston for a layup and he was fouled. He completed the three-point play to push the lead to six with 6:45 left.
That coincided with a seven-minute stretch in which Wofford went 0-for-9 from the floor, with Johnston adding another block midway through it. By the time the Terriers made another field goal, there was only 1:10 left and it cut Furman's lead to 69-64. The Paladins drained 7-of-8 free throws the rest of the way to seal the win.
Thomas went 0-for-2 in the second half, but still finished with a team-high 18 points for the Paladins. Wilkins scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and had a game-high five assists.
"(Wilkins) is a freshman in his first time in here. They're yelling explicits to him and it's just crazy," Richey said. "For him to not play his best in the first half and then come out and really hit one of the biggest shots in the game on that three when we were down four, I thought he kept his composure.
"They obviously stayed attached to (Thomas) in the second half, but I thought his ability to space the floor was a huge thing that allowed Coop (Bowser) to play how he played in the second half."
Bowser and Johnston finished with 13 points apiece and Bowser grabbed seven rebounds. While they only combined for 13 points, the four Paladins off the bench had the highest plus-minus numbers of the game. Tom House was at plus-15. Abijah Franklin hit a big pair of three-pointers and was plus-14, while Bronson was plus-13 and Cole Bowser plus-7.
"Our bench was tremendous," Richey said. "It was just a complete win tonight."
Holmes had a game-high 20 points for the Terriers, while Cayden Vasko finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
Furman will try to avenge another loss to a rival when it hosts The Citadel at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The game will air on Nexstar affiliates throughout the region and will also be streamed live on ESPN+. The home finale will be Senior Night as Furman will honor House, Johnston, Thomas Tillman and Ben Vander Wal prior to the game.
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