By MONTE DUTTON

Remain calm. All is well. Relax.

There’s nothing wrong with raised expectations. They are unavoidable after last season, when Furman went 28-8, won the Southern Conference and pulled off a first-round upset in the Big Dance.

Jalen Slawson is either in Sacramento, Calif., or on the road where the Kings take him. Mike Bothwell, having escaped war-torn Israel, where he had been set to play, is now playing basketball in East Kilbride, Scotland, where the terse national demeanor sits in sharp contrast to his infectious own, for the Caledonia Gladiators.

This, somehow, I know. I bet the Scots love him.

Richey put together a tough schedule to increase the resistance and make sure the machine is well oiled. The Paladins are 6-6 entering Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against Anderson at Timmons Arena.

“Our league has played 16 games against teams in the top 150 (KenPom),” Richey said. “We’ve played six of those. The rest of the conference has played 10. I’m really banking on the fact that’s going to prepare us for league play.”

The Paladins have taken some brutal hits. A buzzer beater took them down at Princeton. Three free throws after controversial foul and clock calls sent the Tulane game into overtime, where Furman lost after two such periods.

“I think what it’s going to do is like anything that’s hard in life,” Richey said. “You find out who’s determined, and then you find out who’s discouraged and disgruntled. You find out who your fighters are. Right now we’re finding some of that out with our group.”

Anderson (5-6) is a final chance to get ready for the SoCon tour, which begins next Wednesday, Jan. 3, at UNC Greensboro and remains away with Chattanooga on Saturday, Jan. 6. The Citadel visits Timmons Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

For now, though, the goal is to win at Timmons Arena for the 11^th consecutive time and inch a game above .500.

Furman, idle since a 76-61 triumph over Presbyterian on Dec. 19, enters Saturday’s final non-conference contest lacking leading scorer Marcus Foster (19.5 points per game) for the fifth straight outing.

Foster, who suffered a knee injury, could be back by mid-January. Junior guard J.P. Pegues is averaging 18.4 points and 5.8 assists. Junior Alex Williams and newcomer PJay Smith Jr. have contributed 15.6 and 11.4 points, respectively, while senior forward Garrett Hien has posted 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds a night, including 19 points and 11 boards in the win over the Blue Hose last time out.

Saturday’s game marks just the second meeting versus NCAA Division II Anderson, a member of the South Atlantic Conference. Last season, Pegues netted 20 points to lead five Paladins in double figures as Furman topped the Trojans, 106-79, at Timmons Arena. Former Furman assistant Jimmie Williams coaches Anderson.

To date, Furman has beaten North Greenville, Belmont, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina State, Bob Jones and Presbyterian. The Paladins have fallen to Liberty, Wyoming, UAB, Princeton, Arkansas and Tulane.

“Do we make excuses? Do we get discouraged? Do we get disgruntled? Or do we understand that we’re building and showing progress in some areas, but there are still areas we’ve got to improve on. For me as a coach, it’s a fine balance,” Richey said.

Happy New Year. I’m cautiously optimistic. It couldn’t possibly be worse. Oh, wait. There’s an election.

I’m thankful for your support, whether by advertising, contributing or reading.

Thanks so much for the recent contributions. My goal is to provide unique coverage of local sports. I’m aware that folks appreciate what I do, particularly the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

I used to list an address to send a check (DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325). I finally got it through my thick head that not that many people write checks nowadays. For example, me. A more convenient means might be sending a reasonable contribution to DHK Sports on Venmo.

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