The Furman Paladins faced off against the Eastern Tennessee State University Buccaneers for the first time of the 2024-2025 season on Jan. 15, 2025, at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
The Dins’ offense showed significant improvement against the Bucs following an at-home loss to the Wofford Terriers on Jan. 13th. The Dins shot 44.4% from the field and made 33.3% of their three-point shots. Key players for Furman featured senior guard PJay Smith Jr. as the leading scorer once again with 21 points and senior guard Nick Anderson with 14 points and a 100% three-point and free-throw record for the game. The game also featured freshman guard Eddrin Bronson’s first career start, and Bronson scored 11 points and made two assists for the Paladins.
The two teams traded a narrow lead back and forth throughout the entire match, with ETSU’s highest lead for the game at 5 points and Furman’s highest lead for the night at 8 points drawing to the conclusion of the game.
This victory marked Furman’s first win at home after five consecutive road games, beginning with the December 18th, 2024 match against Montreat and continuing until the Jan. 8th, 2025 overtime win against the Citadel. The win against the ETSU Bucs improved Furman’s overall record to 15-3 and conference record to 3-2. The Dins will face off against the Chattanooga Mocs at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena for the final time this week on Jan. 18th.