The Paladins traveled to Fayetteville on Monday to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (5-3) of the SEC. Furman’s leading scorer Marcus Foster (guard) did not suit up for the game as the severity of his injury is becoming a growing concern. Arkansas had also been missing their leading scorer, Tramon Mark (guard), in games prior to this, but he was able to come off the bench and play limited minutes. Furman’s starting lineup included Alex Williams (forward), Tyrese Hughey (forward), Garrett Hien (forward), PJay Smith Jr. (guard), and JP Pegues (guard).
Williams was on fire from the jump, knocking down four threes in the first half, three of which came in the first four minutes. The Dins were favoring the three-point line early on, making eight in the first half alone. The length and athleticism of Arkansas forced the Dins to be aggressive from the outside. Six of the times Furman was brave enough to drive to the basket, they were rejected by the tough Razorback defensive rotation. On the Arkansas side, the scoring was spread out with ten players putting up points. Nevertheless, the consistency of the outside shooting kept Furman in the game as they went into the half trailing 40-35.
Arkansas saw much more success in the second half off of set plays. When they were able to slow the game down and run their desired set, it usually resulted in an open shot. Furman on the other hand, did not choose to steer away from the three pointers, firing from all over the floor. Due to the amount of threes Furman was taking, they were able to corral long offensive rebounds and look for second chance points. As the second half progressed, Arkansas was able to take advantage of sporadic Furman turnovers and mount a more significant lead down the stretch. Arkansas’ Khalif Battle shined with 18 of his 24 points coming in the second half and tried to put the Dins out of reach. Furman continued to fight in the final minutes as Pegues hit a three with a minute to go to cut the lead to seven. The Razorbacks took care of business from the free throw line after that to seal the 97-83.
The Paladins now find themselves in unfamiliar territory at 4-5, their first losing record since Nov. 26, 2014. There is no doubt the Paladins are well coached, talented, and have fallen victim to a difficult non-conference slate. They look to reset against Bob Jones at home on Saturday, Dec. 9.
