The Furman men’s basketball team holds a record of 14-6 at the season’s two thirds mark, with a 5-2 Southern Conference record following a home loss to East Tennessee State University and a home win over Samford in the past week.
The Paladins have been especially good at home, boasting an 8-2 record at Timmons Arena. Furman’s strong point is its offense, as it averages just under 80 points per game and has put up 100 points in four contests this season. The defense, while not quite as dominant, has only given up 90 points to two opponents, Duke and Winthrop .
The Paladins opened the season at .500, with home wins over Bob Jones and Elon before losing at Duke and Butler. The team finished the non-conference section of its schedule winning seven of the remaining nine. The losses came at home to Winthrop and on the road to Tennessee. Furman kept its momentum coming into its conference games, reeling off four straight wins before losing at Wofford.
The team is led in scoring by senior guard Devin Sibley, who puts up 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 0.8 steals a game. The Paladins boast a well-rounded roster, with three other players scoring in double digits (senior guard Daniel Fowler, junior forward Matt Rafferty, and senior guard John Davis III). Rafferty also leads the team in rebounding with 7.9 , steals with 1.7 (tied with Davis III), and blocks with 0.9.
More recently, Furman’s toughest loss of the season came Thursday to ETSU. The 62-61 thriller saw Furman down by 12 points only to come back and grab a 61-60 lead with twelve seconds left to play. ETSU senior Desonta Bradford sunk a short jumper to give his team the lead and the win, crushing Furman’s hopes of defeating one of the best teams in the Southern Conference. ETSU’s in-conference record rose to 6-0, leading the SoCon, following the victory.
Furman’s usually explosive offense was dampened by poor shooting, going 7 for 26 from three point range and shooting barely over 36% from the field. By contrast, ETSU managed to sink 9 of their 21 three-point attempts while also outscoring the Paladins 28-20 in the paint. Furman was led in scoring by Rafferty, with 13 points, while season-leading scorer Sibley was kept to only 11 in the contest, missing most of the game due to injury.
In a bounceback effort Sat. against Samford, the team put the close ETSU loss behind them to vanquish the Bulldogs, 78-67. The Paladins were led by Fowler, who put up 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Rafferty, with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Both junior guard Andrew Brown and Davis III also netted over ten points.
Where Furman really beat Samford was on the glass. The taller and more active Paladins snagged 34 rebounds to the Bulldogs’ 23, giving Furman numerous second-chance opportunities and allowing them to take nine more shots. While Samford shot better (49% from the field to Furman’s 45%), the Paladins aggressively pursued the ball and managed to eke out a strong win.
With a 5-2 SoCon record after this week’s games, Furman’s eyes are firmly on the postseason. There are 12 games left in the season, two of which will be opportunities for redemption as the Paladins host Wofford and travel to ETSU, the two conference opponents who have beaten them thus far this year. If the team can maintain its momentum and continue scoring in bunches, there could be a new addition to the Timmons Arena trophy case.
