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| Tom House, left, scored 22 points and Charles Johnston had 23 and 11 rebounds in Furman's 79-70 win over Bethune-Cookman. Photo courtesy of Furman |
ROCK HILL - Before recapping the 2026-27 basketball season opener, a 1970s television-inspired ode to Furman fifth-year seniors Tom House and Charles Johnston.
"Well, the names have all changed, since you hung around (last season).
But those (NCAA) dreams have remained and they've turned around (to this season).
Who'd have thought they'd lead you, back here where we need you?
... Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back."
You know, if you took House's hairstyle and Johnston's mustache, you wouldn't have the worst Mr. Kotter doppelganger.
Anyway, House and Johnston were indeed needed, and welcomed back in a big way Monday night at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. The duo combined for 45 points to power the Paladins to a 79-70 win over reigning SWAC champion Bethune-Cookman to close out the Field of 68 Marathon.
Johnston hit 6-of-9 three-pointers, posted his 27th career double-double and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career. He finished with game-highs in points (23) and rebounds (11), while House drew seven fouls and hit 12-of-16 free throws on his way to a 22-point night.
House and Johnston are back this season after participating in Senior Day ceremonies prior to last season's final home game. They each became eligible this season thanks to separate injunctions by state supreme courts. Johnston has been eligible since early October as part of a court case in California. Meanwhile, House started Monday just days after he was cleared to play as part of a case in Ohio.
"Chuck was tremendous and Tom House was really good. He got to the free throw line a ton," said Furman assistant Pat Estepp, who served as head coach Monday as Bob Richey was home recovering from a recent illness. "I'm really proud of our guys. That's a good win against a really good team. (Bethune-Cookman coach) Reggie (Theus) does a great job coaching them. They're going to be really good, especially when he gets their post player back."
While House and Johnston had big nights, it was a complete team effort and several new Paladins stepped up. Five different Furman players accounted for its first 17 points of the game. House opened the scoring with a three off an assist from Johnston. House then assisted on a three by new point guard Luke Toews, before Johnston knocked down a three with an assist from freshman Cameron Elwer.
After a signature House move where he draws a foul on a three, he sank all three free throws. South Carolina transfer Jordan Butler followed with a three off an assist from Collin O'Neal. It appeared that Elwer continued the three-point barrage from an assist by Abijah Franklin, but it was ruled a long two. That jumper by Elwer at the 12:21 mark started a 13-2 run over the next six minutes as Furman pushed its lead to 28-14.
While a Johnston three with four minutes left was the Paladins' last made field goal of the first half, they hit 8-of-9 free throws the rest of the half to take a 39-28 lead into halftime.
"The defense in the beginning of the game really set the tone. ... We really defended well. We had two bad turnovers at the end of the half that kind of gave them (Bethune-Cookman) a little confidence," Estepp said. "We've got to take better care of the ball there."
That confidence lingered for the Wildcats. After making just 2-of-7 three-pointers in the first half, Bethune-Cookman made 5-of-6 in the first six-plus minutes of the second half. The last of those tied the game at 50-50 with 13:49 remaining. While the Wildcats pulled even, they never pulled ahead.
That's when another Southern Conference veteran fifth-year senior stepped up for Furman. Western Carolina transfer Marcus Kell had a layup to put the Paladins back on top and then drilled a three the next time down. Kell's layup started a 12-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes and Kell scored eight of those 12 points.
"Marcus is one of one. I absolutely love the bloke. He's getting there on the defensive side and I know he can shoot the heck out of the ball," Johnston said. "He's really bought into Furman. I'm just excited to not have to go up against him again."
Bethune-Cookman never pulled even or took the lead again, but it did cut the lead to 71-68 with 4:04 left to play. That's when Toews, who had been the textbook definition of point guard all night, took on a scoring role. The Boston College transfer drove to the basket and was fouled with 3:51 left. He hit both free throws and later drove for a layup off an assist from Kell. After Toews missed a jumper, Johnston got the putback and was fouled with 23 seconds left. He completed the three-point play to seal the win.
On a night when the sharpshooter hit just one three-pointer, Kell still had 14 points and three assists, while Toews finished with eight points, seven assists and just two turnovers against a very aggressive defense. O'Neal didn't have any stats that stood out, until you got to the plus-minus column. Nobody sniffed O'Neal's total as the Paladins outscored the Wildcats by 20 points during his 21:30 on the floor.
"Kell's a gamer. He made some big plays in the second half when that thing got tight. He was huge," Estepp said. "Collin's energy was really good. He was probably going 100 miles an hour on a few of those and that's why I tell him, 'you've still got to see what's going on.' We played him a lot in that second half because I thought his presence was felt on the defensive end. You score two points and are at plus-20, you're making guys around you better."
Furman returns to action Wednesday with the home opener against Bob Jones. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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