Best defensive showing of the year lifts Furman

Matt Rafferty had 13 points, 10 rebounds and tied Furman's season steals record
in the Paladins' 64-45 win at Western Carolina. Photo courtesy of Furman

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Prior to the Furman men's basketball game at Western Carolina Thursday night, the Furman women's team set a school record on the same court. The Lady Paladins allowed the fewest points they ever have in a Southern Conference game in a 53-28 win over the Catamounts.

For the first half of the game two of the doubleheader, it appeared the Furman men might do the same. After taking a 26-13 lead into halftime, the Paladins went on to a 64-45 win. While it's not the school's modern-era SoCon record set two years ago in an 85-37 home win against the Catamounts, it is the fewest points allowed this season by Furman. WCU's 31.4 field goal percentage for the game is also the lowest allowed by the Paladins this season.

"Defense is what we have to do. We've got length and athleticism and we've got to use it," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "On the road especially, you can't worry about making or missing shots, you've got to go out and play as hard as you can and play as a unit. We did tonight.
"I think that's the first time we've (drawn) three charges this season and had a lot of verticality at the rim. I thought we did a great job of protecting the basket tonight."

Thursday's win capped a 3-0 roadtrip for Furman that followed an extremely tough home loss to Samford on Jan. 26. The Paladins (19-5, 8-4 SoCon) won all three games by double digits. While Furman trailed a game for the first time on the road trip Thursday, that lasted all of two minutes and two seconds.

The struggle was real for both teams to open the game. After Western Carolina took a 2-0 lead a little more than two minutes in, Matt Rafferty got Furman on the board at the 15:48 mark. Thirty-six seconds later, Alex Hunter's 3-pointer gave the Paladins the lead for good.

After the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, Onno Steger, scored at the 17:50 mark, Western Carolina's next field goal came at the 7:19 mark and it cut Furman's lead to 16-5. The Catamounts (6-19, 3-9) made 5-of-26 shots (19.2 percent) in the first half, including 1-of-7 on 3-pointers.

"It starts with our toughness. For the past three road games, we knew we were going to have to be tougher than we had been and we did that," Rafferty said. "Defense comes with toughness and we've really been locked in the past three games. That's kind of propelled on offense as well."

Western Carolina cut the lead to 10 a little under two minutes into the second half, but never got closer. In a six-minute stretch midway through the second half, Furman went on a 15-5 run to take its biggest lead of the night at 54-29 with 8:04 left and remove all doubt. The Paladins forced a season-high 22 turnovers and scored 29 points off those.

Noah Gurley had 14 points to lead the Paladins and also a pair of big blocked shots. Rafferty posted his 11th double-double this season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a steal to tie Guilherme Da Luz for the school's single-season record of 64. Alex Hunter was the lone other Paladin in double figures with 10 points.

Gurley and Rafferty's defensive effort down low frustrated Carlos Dotson, who had 27 points and 14 rebounds in Furman's 90-88 double overtime win against WCU in Greenville back in December. On Thursday, Dotson again had 14 rebounds. While six of those were offensive, he only finished with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting and had five turnovers.

"It was all about limiting his touches today," Rafferty said. "He's a great offensive rebounder, but others helped me and Noah on the boards by crashing down. ... Our guards also did a great job shutting down their shooters."

While Gurley and Rafferty controlled things down low, Jordan Lyons and company continued to make life miserable for WCU sharpshooter Matt Halvorsen, who entered Thursday having made 60-of-170 3-pointers this season. After going 1-for-15, including 1-for-13 from beyond the arc in Greenville, Halvorsen was 1-of-7, including 1-of-5 on 3-pointers, Thursday. Halvorsen scored all four of his points on a four-point play with 2:37 left.

Furman also held Steger, who totaled 51 points over two games last week, to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.

"It (defense) starts on the ball. ... I thought we did a really good job with our pressure and we also contained the bounce pretty well tonight," Richey said. "We weren't necessarily as clean as I'd like. We finished with 14 turnovers. That's too many for us, but we will continue to work on that. We didn't shoot it that great from three, but when we guard with that effort, energy and intensity, we're tough."

Hendrix's third recruiting class reaches Texas

Seven players signed with Furman Wednesday upping the total number of
signees in this year's recruiting class to 16. Photo courtesy of Furman

Furman football coach Clay Hendrix believes that a college player's third year - ideally as a redshirt sophomore - typically offers the biggest chance for them to elevate their game. Following Furman's annual Signing Day Celebration Wednesday afternoon in which the Paladins' latest recruiting class was discussed with fans, Hendrix said that same belief could be applied to a head coach and staff.

Seven more players signed their national letters of intent to play football at Furman on Wednesday's traditional signing day. That wrapped up Hendrix's third recruiting class with a total of 16 players.

"I think we filled needs, but the biggest thing is the overall quality of (the class). Our coaches did a great job," Hendrix said. "I think we're finally getting to a point where we don't have to have this guy or that guy.
"Eighty percent of the kids on our roster now weren't here when we first got here counting this class. ... That's not easy to do, especially when you're not doing it with transfers and junior college guys. We've worked hard to do that and I think our depth is significantly better than it has been. We've still got a few spots so we're not there yet, but I'm really excited about where we are."

Furman added four players on defense and three on offense Wednesday. That brings this year's total class numbers to eight defensive players, seven offensive and one to be determined as Bryce McCormick is listed as a linebacker/tight end.

Among the new offensive players signing Wednesday were two skill position players from high schools 1,000 miles and 15 miles away, respectively, in running back Wayne Anderson Jr. and wide receiver Jake Kimmelman.

Anderson (5-foot-10, 185 lbs.) hails from Prosper, Texas where he played for Class 6A Prosper High. He ran for 1,524 yards and 18 touchdowns to help his team go 9-3 this past fall. He also had 314 yards receiving and caught two touchdowns. Also a member of the track team, Anderson holds the school record in the 400m at 49.33 seconds.

"You watch the tape and you think, 'how does this guy not have more (recruiting) stuff going on?' ... One of the interesting things on film is you never see him get caught," Hendrix said. "One of our young guys, (quality control assistant) Hamp Smith, found him and then is it was, 'well, will he leave Texas to come here?' ... He's just a great fit for us. He wanted what Furman could offer educationally.
"Quite honestly, we've made a concerted effort to invest out there (in Texas) and see what we can do. If you look at the Dallas metroplex, there's a lot of really good football and really good schools. ... I've also learned a little bit to see how important football really is to (players), and football's really important out there."

Kimmelman, a Greenville native, helped Southside Christian go 11-3 and reach the Class 2A Upper State championship game in 2018. Despite being limited to nine games due to injury, Kimmelman (6-2, 185) caught 40 passes for 685 yards (17.1 yards per catch). He also collected 35 tackles as a defensive back. Kimmelman's signing helped the Paladins total six signees from South Carolina this season.

"We've had him in camp for at least two years and he might have even been here when he was a sophomore. He's got a really good frame and speed, great length and is a polished receiver," Hendrix said. "He comes from a really good football program. I think they do a great job coaching kids up over there. ... Signing local kids to me is huge."

The other offensive player to sign Wednesday was offensive guard Dan Dodd III from Keystone Heights, Fla. A four-year starter at Class 4A Keystone Heights High, Dodd is the third offensive lineman in this class and the largest at 6-4 and 285 pounds. He was also a district and regional champion weightlifter as a junior.

Furman's defensive secondary got a boost Wednesday with the signings of cornerbacks Kam Brinson and Cally Chizik, as well as safety Hugh Ryan. Linebacker Josh Agbenou was the other defensive player to sign.

At Class 1A Aquinas (Ga.) High, Brinson was a three-time All-Region 7 selection and earned first team All-State honors from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution as a senior. Chizik is the son of former Auburn coach Gene Chizik and was a first team All-State performer this past fall at Class 7A Auburn (Ala.) High. Chizik is also a baseball standout and was Auburn High's leadoff man on its 2018 state championship team.

Ryan comes to Furman after helping Dutch Fork High go 41-1 over the last three seasons and capture Class 5A state championships in each of those years. He made more than 200 tackles in his prep career, including 92 as a senior. The Irmo native also had three interceptions to help earn All-State honors in 2018, which he capped with a seven-tackle and one-sack performance in the Shrine Bowl. Like Chizik, Ryan also shines on the baseball diamond, where he hit .391 last season to earned second team All-State honors. Ryan's mother was a standout golfer at Furman, while his grandfather played pro baseball in the Minnesota Twins organization.

"Guys that are used to winning are always nice to have," Hendrix said. "Guys that have had to work and put in the grind in the offseason, and also kids that are really prepared for Furman. I think these schools have done a really good job in that."

Agbenou earned second team All-State honors after posting 133 tackles in 10 games in 2018 for Class 6A Apalachee High in Georgia. The Bethlehem, Ga. native chose Furman from 14 scholarship offers, including six from FBS programs.

Bios for all of this year's signees can be found here.

2019 Furman Football Signing Class
TB Wayne Anderson Jr., 5-10, 185, Prosper, Texas
RB Dominic Roberto, 5-11, 230, Fayetteville, N.C.
WR Jake Kimmelman, 6-2, 185, Greenville
OT Pearson Toomey, 6-3, 250, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
OG Dan Dodd III, 6-4, 285, Keystone Heights, Fla.
OG Jacob Johanning, 6-3, 260, Simpsonville
C Evan Jumper, 6-4, 240, Myrtle Beach
DL Jack Barton, 6-4, 225, Alpharetta, Ga.
DL Devonte Jones, 6-2, 307, Anderson
LB Josh Agbenou, 6-2, 227, Bethlehem, Ga.
LB/TE Bryce McCormick, 6-2, 218, Franklin, Tenn.
SPUR Jalen Miller, 5-11, 200, Duncan
CB Kam Brinson, 5-10, 180, Augusta, Ga.
CB Cally Chizik, 5-9, 170, Auburn, Ala.
S Austin Jones, 5-11, 180, Tiger, Ga.
S Hugh Ryan, 6-1, 187, Irmo

Six home games highlight 2019 football slate

Furman's 2019 schedule Photo courtesy of Furman

Of the 23 games Furman has played in Clay Hendrix's two seasons as head football coach, only nine have been at home. In Hendrix's third season, Hendrix should get to spend much more time on the home sideline at Paladin Stadium - weather permitting of course. For the first time since 2014, Furman is scheduled to host six regular season games in the 2019 schedule that was released Monday by athletic director Mike Buddie.

It's just the third time in the last 10 years that Furman has scheduled six home games. Not coincidentally, in each of those years the calendar has allowed FCS teams to schedule 12 games which Furman has done. The Paladins will open and close the regular season at home, against programs they've never faced before. Furman hosts Charleston Southern on Aug. 31 and NAIA member Point on Nov. 23. In between, there are home games against Mercer on Sept. 21, ETSU on Sept. 28, The Citadel on Oct. 19 and VMI on Nov. 9.

"We ought to be able to have six home games at least occasionally," Hendrix said. "Putting together a schedule is a challenge. We've had trouble getting home-and-home (agreements)."

Hendrix said when the Southern Conference schedule was released, Furman was the odd team out for a bye on the final weekend of the regular season. Rather than having a second bye week - and potentially two bye weeks ahead of the FCS playoffs if the season goes really well, Hendrix wanted to get a sixth home game.

With other FCS programs either already locked in for conference games or FBS opponents, and the Division II and III playoffs starting that weekend, Furman had to look at NAIA programs and West Point, Georgia-based Point answered the call. It's the first non-Div. I opponent on Furman's schedule since the Paladins opened the 2008 season against Mars Hill. No other SoCon program has gone more than the last four seasons without playing a non-Div. I opponent.

Point is located in southwest Georgia along the Alabama state line. The Skyhawks are coached by former Furman standout Julius Dixon, which certainly didn't hurt getting them on the schedule.

"Thank goodness for Point. ... I'm driving down I-85 one day and got to thinking about Julius. We were getting near to be two years in a row where we've lost a (scheduled) game), some of it by our own doing," Hendrix said. "I appreciate them working with us. Julius was a great player here and a captain on our 1988 (national championship) team.
"I think if we would've had a seventh win - against anybody, maybe that would've been the difference in making the (FCS) playoffs. We had Div. I people that could play us that wouldn't play."

The rest of Furman's 2019 schedule includes back-to-back FBS opponents at Virginia Tech on Sept. 7 and at Georgia State on Sept. 14. The Paladins travel to Samford on Oct. 5, Western Carolina on Oct. 26, Chattanooga on Nov. 2 and Wofford on Nov. 16.

The Paladins were originally set to visit Kennesaw State this season, but both teams needed to change the originally scheduled date. That game has been pushed back to an undetermined future season.

Furman's bye week falls right in the middle of the regular season on Oct. 12. Having two weeks to prepare for Citadel didn't go unnoticed by Hendrix.

"I'm not a big fan of having two FBS games back-to-back. I don't care who they are. They've got 85 scholarships, but going to Atlanta (against Georgia State) will be good for us," Hendrix said. "Ideally that bye in the middle is where you'd like to have it. And I think any time you have a little more time to prepare for somebody that's a little different, which Citadel is, it helps."

Hendrix and his staff will be available to answer questions about the schedule, new signees and ongoing spring practice at Furman's annual Signing Day Celebration on Wednesday. It will be held from noon-2 p.m. at American Roadside Burger in downtown Greenville.

Lyons leads Paladins past Mercer

Jordan Lyons had 24 points, four assists and two steals in Furman's
74-63 win at Mercer Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

MACON, Ga. - Furman has found a pretty good way to win on its current road trip. It's called never falling behind. For the second consecutive game - and third time in the last four - the Paladins led from start to finish in a 74-63 win at Mercer Saturday.

While the Bears attempted 24 more shots than Furman (18-5, 7-4 Southern Conference), they had two fewer makes as the Paladins shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the floor. That hot day of shooting included a 12-for-24 showing on 3-pointers. Jordan Lyons led the way as he scored a game-high 24 points. Playing before plenty of family and friends from his hometown of Peachtree City, Ga., Lyons also had four assists and two steals.

"I thought we came out and had great defensive intensity for the most part the whole game. We stayed connected," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "Obviously, we gave up 20 offensive rebounds but they only got 13 points from those. I think that shows that we were able to stay in the play. We didn't get down. We just kept flowing and flying. When we do that, usually good things happen.
"I'm so proud of Jordan. He just goes out and plays the game the right way with the right spirit and attitude and leads this group. He just lets the game come to him. ... He was complete. Tonight, it wasn't just hitting 3s. It was driving to the basket, kicking out for open shots, playing defense and talking as a leader."

After recording 19 assists in Thursday's win at The Citadel, Furman posted 16 on Saturday.

"We're back on offense. We'd gotten away from it a little bit and that's my fault," Richey said. "That's just who we are and who we have to be - cutting, moving and playing for each other. We got some wide open 3s. That's back-to-back games where our pass count has been really high and I just love the fact that they're trusting in it."

As is most often the case in a Paladin win, much of the teams success was spurred by defense. After holding Mercer to 36.2 percent shooting - including 4-of-19 on 3-pointers - in a 71-58 win in Greenville last month, Furman held the Bears to 34.8 percent shooting - including 5-of-24 on 3-pointers - Saturday.

That defensive effort was highlighted in the second half by the Paladins' play on Mercer leading scorer Ross Cummings. After scoring 14 of Mercer's 27 points in the opening half, Cummings had just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the second half. Cummings, who entered Saturday shooting 42.8 percent on 3s, was 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Bears (8-14, 3-8) were just 1-for-11 on 3-pointers in the second half.

"I think in both games (at Citadel Thursday and Saturday), we did a great job of buying in defensively. That fuels us on both ends of the court," Lyons said. "Cummings is a really good player. Once he gets going, he can be a problem. We just increased our focus on him (in the second half) and were more aware of where he was.
"The thing about guarding a prolific scorer like him is it's never just a 1-on-1 matchup. It's a whole team collective effort guarding. ... I think the way all five of us defended him in the second half was a big contributor to how we were able to extend the lead."

While Furman never trailed Saturday, Mercer did cut the lead to 48-45 with 12:17 left. A Lyons layup followed by a Matt Rafferty steal which led to another Lyons' layup started an 18-4 run. Noah Gurley and Rafferty had layups before Andrew Brown's 3-pointer gave the Paladins a 59-49 lead with 8:02 left and they enjoyed a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

While Citadel double- and triple-teams limited Rafferty's scoring chances on Thursday, Mercer's defense and some pretty atrocious fouls did so on Saturday. Rafferty played a season-low (against Div. I competition) 27 minutes and was 3-for-3 from the floor, but still finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Just as they did on Thursday, other Paladins stepped up in the scoring column. Clay Mounce was 6-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-5 on 3-pointers, to finish with 16 points, while Noah Gurley and Andrew Brown had nine and eight points, respectively. Rafferty, Mounce and Alex Hunter all finished with four fouls. That's just the second time this season that Furman had three players with at least four fouls in SoCon play, with the other coming at UNCG.

"If people want to try to shut (Rafferty) out, we're going to have a lot of open shooters out there. There's a lot of good players in this league, but he's the best passer in this league. I know that much," Richey said. "So that's all the more reason to throw it to him. He's going to make all the right reads on the advantage and we're going to shoot wide-open shots."

When Rafferty went the to bench on his second foul with 4:36 left in the first half, Mercer cut a 31-16 deficit down to 34-27 at the half. When Rafferty checked out on his fourth foul with 7:38 left in the game, it was a different story. Furman's 10-point lead grew to 14 in Rafferty's absence thanks to a layup by Mounce and a jumper by Lyons. When Rafferty checked back in a little more than two minutes later, he assisted on a Lyons' 3-pointer on the next possession as Furman took its biggest lead at 66-49.

Furman will wrap up the three-game road trip Thursday at Western Carolina at 7:30 p.m.

Defense powers Furman to sweep of Citadel

Alex Hunter had 17 points, five assists and no turnovers in Furman's
71-61 win at The Citadel Thursday. Photo courtesy of Furman

CHARLESTON - After Furman's Matt Rafferty dominated The Citadel with 28 points and 12 rebounds in the Paladins' 101-85 win in Greenville earlier this season, the Bulldogs were bound and determined to make others try to beat them in Thursday's rematch at McAlister Field House.

And they did.

As Citadel coach Duggar Baucom told the Charleston Post and Courier, "the operation was a success, but the patient died." While the Bulldogs held Rafferty to a season-low eight points, Furman held them 29 points below their scoring average in the Paladins' 71-61 win. It's the second-lowest output for Citadel this season, and their lowest scoring output at home since a 67-51 loss to ETSU on Feb. 18, 2016.

After blowing a 17-point second-half lead in an overtime loss at Citadel last season and blowing a 10-point lead with less than four minutes to play in a home loss to Samford last time out this season, Thursday's win was a big one mentally for Furman (17-5, 6-4 Southern Conference). The Paladins forced 19 turnovers and had 19 assists on their 25 made baskets.

"Our mentality had to be ... what happened Saturday isn't going to affect what happens tonight. We had to do a better job of helping each other have success - defensively and offensively," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "We had a season-high with over 300 passes tonight. The ball movement was much more crisp tonight.
"We had our most wide-open looks of the year. I was giving them a hard time (postgame), telling them that's why we missed a few of them - we were too wide open."

Outside of one tie midway through the first half, Furman led from start to finish. While the Paladins led 34-29 at the half, it felt like Furman should've had a much bigger lead. The Paladins led by 12 with less than five minutes to go in the first half before Citadel whittled it down. Despite forcing 12 turnovers in the first half, Furman had just four points off them. Meanwhile, Citadel had 12 points off of the Paladins' six turnovers in the first half.

It took just over five minutes of the second half for Furman to push that five-point lead to 19. After Rafferty's first points of the night on a layup at the 17:03 mark, Furman got consecutive 3-pointers by Jordan Lyons, Alex Hunter and Clay Mounce to cap a 13-0 run and take a 50-31 lead.

Citadel got the lead down to 67-61 with 3:31 left and got the ball back before Jordan Lyons came up with a steal, which led to a Rafferty layup with 2:08 left. Rafferty then grabbed a big rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Citadel. That led to a Lyons' layup with 1:26 left to wrap up the game's scoring. Furman made 12 of its 15 two-point field goal attempts.

"We did what we needed to do. ... I thought we did a good job being strong with the ball, not turning it over and handling the press," Richey said. "We had some guys that made some big plays. Alex, Jordan and Clay all hit huge 3s. Defensively, Jordan's deflection (prior to Rafferty's late layup) was a monster and Matt had a couple of huge deflections.
"I can't think of a single guy who didn't impact that game tonight for us."

Citadel entered with the second-most 3-point attempts in the country, but Furman fired up twice as many as the Bulldogs did Thursday. While the Paladins didn't exactly shoot the lights out from beyond the arc at 32.5 percent (13-of-40), it was better than the Citadel's 26.3 percent (5-of-19) showing. That marked the fewest made 3-pointers for the Bulldogs in a game since last season and their fewest attempts in three years.

Citadel's Matt Frierson, who's second in the country with an average of 4.15 3-pointers per game, was held scorless Thursday on 0-of-2 shooting on 3s. In the teams' first meeting, he had three points on 1-of-5 3-pointers.

Lyons scored a game-high 20 points to lead Furman, while Hunter and Mounce each scored 17. Mounce had six rebounds and five assists, while Hunter had five assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes against Citadel's full-court press defense. Hunter was a huge key early for Furman. Of the Paladins first 10 made field goals, Hunter had four - including three 3-pointers - and assisted on four others.

"I was looking to attack and create for my teammates, but they were finding me. I was feeling good, got in a groove early and it just carried on throughout the night," Hunter said. "Coach was calling out the press breakers in the offensive sets and we just had to execute. It proved to work"

While he only had eight points, Rafferty still made life difficult for the Bulldogs. He had 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and helped force Citadel standout post player Zane Najdawi to commit eight turnovers. Najdawi had no more than four turnovers in any other game this season.

"Their whole game plan was to take Matt completely out of the game and make everybody else beat them. ... He didn't score (in the first half), but he kept his composure. He didn't worry about himself," Richey said. "He gets a handful of steals and assists, still gets double-digit rebounds and makes some big-time plays late. He's just a winner."

Lew Stallworth had 19 points, including 15 in the second half, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Bulldogs (10-11, 2-8). Najdawi had 14 points and nine rebounds and Kaiden Rice scored 13 off the bench also for Citadel.

Paladins wilt down the stretch, fall to Samford

Noah Gurley dunks Saturday against Samford. Gurley had 15 points and
seven rebounds but the Paladins fell, 75-73. Photo courtesy of Furman

As good as Furman was over the first 16 minutes of the second half Saturday against Samford, a wretched final four minutes sank the Paladins. The Bulldogs ended the game on a 14-2 run over the final 3:41 to pull out a 75-73 win before 2,300 fans at Timmons Arena. The win snaps Furman's 13-game home winning streak dating back to last season as the Paladins fall to 16-5 overall and 5-4 in the Southern Conference.

Furman had turned what was a nine-point deficit in the final seconds of the first half into a 71-61 lead on Matt Rafferty's layup with 4:21 left. While Samford sliced the lead to 71-70 with 2:06 to go, the Paladins still appeared to be in good shape when Rafferty was intentionally fouled with 21 seconds left. Rafferty hit both free throws to make it 73-70. After getting fouled two seconds later, the front end of Jordan Lyons' 1-and-1 free throw rolled in-and-out no good. It took all of five seconds for Samford to grab the rebound and streak down the court for a layup to cut the lead to 73-72 with 14 seconds left.

As Samford applied full-court pressure, Lyons had to come close to Andrew Brown to get the ball on the inbounds play and the back of Lyons' foot touched out of bounds turning the ball back over to Samford. The Bulldogs' Robert Allen drilled a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. With no timeouts, Furman raced up the court and Lyons looked to get a 3-point attempt up at the top of the circle. But as Lyons went up to shoot, he lost control of the ball as the final buzzer went off.

"It's a tough one, but you've got to give Samford credit. I thought they came out with great energy. They came out as the aggressor in the first half for sure," Richey said. "I thought we came out of halftime and played the game the right way. We had a good 15 or 16 minutes there and then it fell apart at the seams in those last four minutes."

Samford (12-10, 3-6) entered Saturday's game less than 48 hours removed from a heartbreaking 107-106 overtime loss at the buzzer at Wofford. The Bulldogs blew a six-point lead with less than 30 seconds left in Spartanburg and found a way to lose despite shooting 66.7 percent from the floor, including 73.3 percent on 3-pointers, and 95 percent from the foul line.

There were no lingering affects for Samford on Saturday though. The Bulldogs built a 39-30 lead before Rafferty's layup with seven seconds left in the first half cut the deficit to seven at the break. They did so thanks to the stellar play of point guard Josh Sharkey, who had 17 points, four assists and three steals in the first half. Perhaps most importantly, Sharkey's elusive, speedy play helped saddle Furman point guards Alex Hunter and Tre Clark with three fouls apiece in the first half.

"It hurt us, but that's on us. There weren't any schematic changes we made at halftime to our ball-screen coverages," Richey said. "It's not what we do, it's how we do it. In the first half, we were just a half-step slow. We didn't have active hands and only had 10 deflections by halftime."

Six straight points on two layups and a dunk by Clay Mounce to open the second half cut the deficit to one, but the Paladins really gained control when they finally got hot from the perimeter. Furman was 3-of-16 on 3-pointers when Brown hit one with 12:30 left to cut the lead to 47-46. Then Noah Gurley hit one. Then Hunter hit one. Then Lyons hit one. After Lyons missed one, Gurley got the offensive rebound and it led to a Rafferty three-point play which gave Furman its first lead since 2-0 at 58-57 with 8:48 left.

When Lyons pulled up in a 1-on-4 fastbreak and popped a 3-pointer with 7:59 left to push the lead to 63-57, the home crowd went nuts as Samford called timeout. But after that incredible high in which Furman hit 5-of-6 shots from beyond the arc, the Paladins missed their final nine 3-pointers. After Rafferty's layup with 4:21 left, Furman went 0-for-7 from the floor, including six 3-pointers, and suffered three costly turnovers.

"You've got to close games and be precise in your details late," Richey said. "We just had about four or five things ... where you've got to make sure those plays are made when you can control them.
"Those (3-pointers) are what we practice and what we do. I thought we had three looks to push the lead and I didn't think any of them were necessarily bad looks. It's one of those things where if you make it and push the lead to 13, then all of sudden we're probably sitting here (in postgame) pretty happy right now."

While the final four minutes were particularly tough for Lyons, Furman would've never been in position to win without his defense. Lyons proved to be the only Paladin who could stay with Sharkey and limited him to four points on 2-of-10 shooting in the second half.

"We're not back in that game if Jordan doesn't come out and play the defense he played in the second half," Richey said. "We couldn't guard Sharkey in the first half. Nobody could. Jordan's intensity and his defense, along with Matt Rafferty and some other guys, that's what turned that game around.
"We didn't have the right collective mentality defensively tonight and that's on me, but he did and I was proud of him for that. There's a multitude of reasons why we didn't get this done."

On a day that Rafferty was honored for surpassing the 1,000-point mark in his career, the loss spoiled another awesome stat line for the senior. Rafferty had 21 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals to lead the Paladins. Gurley finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, Mounce had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Hunter had 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and managed to not foul out.

Sharkey, who was coming off a 19-point and school record 16-assist performance at Wofford, finished with 21 points, 12 assists and three steals Saturday. Richey said Sharkey also disrupted at least "three or four plays" designed to go to Rafferty inside due to his ball pressure denying the entry pass.

After blowing a 10-point lead late in the second half Saturday, next up for the Paladins is a road trip to the place where they blew a 17-point lead late in the second half last season. Furman travels to Charleston to face Citadel at 7 p.m. Thursday. That will begin a three-game road trip.

"We've just got to learn from it. In every loss, there's a bunch to learn. This one is going to be tough to watch," Richey said. "In those last four minutes, Samford made some shots but man, we absolutely shot ourselves in the foot in a lot of different ways."

Furman football opens "spring" practice

Furman coach Clay Hendrix
Photo courtesy of Furman

There was nothing really spring-like when Furman opened its spring football practice schedule Friday morning at 6 a.m. Temperatures were in the upper 20s at Paladin Stadium as 73 active Paladins officially began preparations for the 2019 season.

"I'm not going to go out there if it's 20 degrees, but if it's 30 I think we can manage that," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "They were all there and it was a good, productive first day. They understand what our plan is and everybody's excited on the first day."

Friday marked the first of 15 spring practices that are tentatively set to be held through the end of February with a schedule of Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting next week. There will be four practices on the natural grass of the Bob King practice fields and 11 at Paladin Stadium, including the annual Purple-White scrimmage which will be held Feb. 23 at 1 p.m.

The 6 a.m. start time will be typical of the spring practices. Because of class schedules and sharing the facility with lacrosse, the early morning time is the best option for having just about all of the football players available and for the longest time.

"It's really the only time that we're uninterrupted. Our kids don't take a class before 9:30, so you have a 6 a.m. to 9:30 window. One kink in that is our business kids are part of that block, which is an 8:30 to 12:30 schedule so we have to let them slip out a little bit early," Hendrix said. "The only other option would be practicing at night. I'd rather go early and I think our kids would too.
"They come in, get their work in and they're done. And it forces them to go to bed at night."

While no starting position will ever likely be sealed in the spring, there are 16 returning starters back from Furman's 2018 Southern Conference championship team that won six of its final seven games in 2018.

There will still be plenty of competition starting this spring, most notably at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Darren Grainger and Hamp Sisson are battling to replace Harris Roberts. With JeMar Lincoln leaving via transfer and the graduation of holder Reese Vita, the lone other quarterback on the roster is sophomore Jack Hardin.

"The quarterbacks had a pretty good day. Both those two and Jack Hardin is a guy I like. He's a really bright kid," Hendrix said. "Those three will get all the reps and we've got to be a little smart. We have to be careful about overdoing it with those guys. We may have to start counting how many balls they throw in a practice, because normally you have five guys out there."

Furman has had transfers come in and participate in spring drills in the past, but this may be the first season that early enrollees who completed their high school credits are on the spring roster. The Paladins have three in safety Austin Jones, center Evan Jumper and spur linebacker Jalen Miller. While the trio were still playing high school football just two months ago, they were ready to go on Friday.

"It's kind of funny. They've been not quite two weeks in class and had college football today," Hendrix said. "Evan Jumper got all the No. 2 reps at center. Austin Jones got a bunch of safety reps. At Jalen's spot, we've got a couple more guys.
"It certainly concerns you a little bit about how they're going to make that adjustment, but all three seem to be handling it pretty good. I'm glad we've got them in here."

Hendrix said having all five of his starting offensive linemen - and four reserves along the line - will be huge this spring. It's a projected starting line that went through some growing pains last season, but this year will have four juniors and a senior. That one senior, Andy Godwin, is currently out as he's recovering from another shoulder surgery.

"I think as much as any group, that (offensive line) group here on day one is so much different (from last season)," Hendrix said.

Redshirt freshman noseguard Cameron Coleman is the only other Paladin out for the spring. He's currently recovering from an emergency procedure on his lower leg and needs approximately six weeks to recover. Hendrix said he was looking forward to Coleman getting a lot of reps this spring as he's among those looking to replace graduated Jaylan Reid.

Roster changes
Friday's opening practice was the first official chance for some Paladins to try a new role. After switching from defense to tight end prior to last season, Dillon Vann is back on defense again at a bandit linebacker. Bandit is also where junior Davonta Porter is now after switching from safety. Coming off his FCS-best 15-sack season in 2018, sophomore Adrian Hope projects to be the new starter at bandit in place of the graduated Chris Washington. Sophomore Ben Page has shifted to tight end.

Wide receiver Cam Burnette, who caught 20 passes for 247 yards in 2018 and nine passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2017, is transferring out of the program. Running back/first baseman Deon Sanders, who had one season of eligibility left is no longer on the football roster, as he will concentrate on baseball the rest of the way. Sanders had nine carries for 74 yards last season. His 45-yard run at Clemson was the second-longest allowed by the FBS national champions all season.

Signing Day party
In the midst of spring football practice will be the second - but more traditional - signing day. Furman's annual Signing Day Celebration will once again take place at American Roadside Burger in downtown Greenville. The event will be held from noon-2 p.m. on Feb. 6.

In addition to discussing the nine players who signed with the Paladins in December, Hendrix and his staff will be on hand to talk about the new players that fax in their paperwork that day. They will also be available to answer other questions about spring practice and the football program.