On Feb. 25, Furman won big against The Citadel (6-11 SoCon) on Senior Night, 72-51. Following a close first half where Furman led 33-31, the Paladins pulled away in the second half with a strong offensive performance, outscoring The Citadel 39-20.
The driving factor behind many of Furman’s wins in conference play, rebounding, led them to the decisive win over The Citadel too. The Paladins outrebounded The Citadel 50-20, with 13 boards from senior forward Charles Johnston, nine from freshman guard Cole Bowser, and seven from senior forward Ben Vander Wal. The scoring leaders were junior forward Cooper Bowser with 14 points, Johnston with 13 points, and senior guard Tom House with 11.
Fan favorite senior forward Thomas Tillman finished the game off in style, leading to a win that marked head coach Bob Richey’s 200th with the team. Tillman, Vander Wal, House, Johnston, and senior basketball manager Ben Royse were all recognized for their contributions to Furman basketball in a ceremony before the game.
Furman then traveled to face Western Carolina (10-8 SoCon) on Feb. 28, falling 86-67. In a strange reversal of the trend in conference play, the Paladins lost the rebounding game. The team also gave up nine turnovers to WCU’s four and 13 points from fouls while only receiving three. In this matchup, Cooper Bowser scored 17, redshirt sophomore guard Eddrin Bronson scored 16, and freshman guard Alex Wilkins scored 14.
As a result, Furman finished conference play with a 10-8 record, earning the 6-seed and a first round bye. Although the regular season ended on a poor note, just three win-or-go-home games separate the team from a conference championship and participation in March Madness.
On Saturday, Mar. 7, Furman will face the 3rd-seeded Samford Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. in Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. Furman won both previous matchups against Samford this season, a 77-73 win away on Jan. 14 and a 78-73 win at home on Jan. 29. However, Samford has been on a tear since, winning four out of their last five games, including an overtime win against 1st-seeded ETSU on Feb. 14.
To win in Asheville, Furman must regroup from its loss to WCU and continue to leverage its advantage in rebounding and defense against the Bulldogs. Strong shooting performances could also pave the way to a title, but even with that factor, no easy games will be played during the tournament weekend.
If successful once again against Samford, Furman will then face the winner of 2nd-seeded Wofford and 7th-seeded UNCG/10th-seeded VMI on Sunday, Mar. 8 at 6:30 p.m. A victory in that matchup would set the stage for a championship game against a team from a portion of the bracket that includes top-seeded ETSU.
