By MONTE DUTTON

Bob Richey and his band of Dins are playing Spartanburg on Saturday at 6 p.m. It’s a one-night stand at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

Thrills! Chills! Gangs of screaming lads wearing khakis and light-blue button-downs! And tastefully dressed lasses, tossing all decorum aside.

But I stereotype. What self-respecting adherent of sports ever didn’t?

The Furman faithful must resist strolling over to Wofford with an air of men’s basketball entitlement not unlike what the feisty Terrier faithful carried with them to Timmons Arena during the Mike Young years.

Each side considers the neighbors annoying. Small differences are magnified. One side considers black and gold boring. The other sniffs at the garish purple.

Fortunately, the game gets to be played by athletes.

Over the past two weeks and couple years, Furman (11-9, 5-2 SoCon) has regained the upper hand, but it is tenuous, and Wofford (11-9, 4-3) is dangerous. Keep friends close and enemies closer. The Paladins, with health and wealth restored, have won five straight. The Terriers have fallen twice in a row.

“It’s a result of what our team, our whole team, has gone through and how they’ve handled adversity,” Furman head coach Bob Richey said. “We had to find a way to pull some pressure off last year’s team, too.

“All of a sudden, you get your top three scorers hurt, all in December, and you have to navigate all that.”

Furman began its conference season with back-to-back losses.

“Whatever it is, we’re going to go out there, and we’re going to get to the best version of this, and we’re going to just keeping better,” Richey said. “You learn every year. I’m seven years in (as a head coach), and I’m still learning new things.”

Richey always will. It is his way.

Marcus Foster was out for nine games with a knee injury. Since returning against VMI, he has averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Foster, Richey said, “used that as an opportunity to change his perspective, to change how he sees the game, and to go out and play the game with more joy.”

Wofford’s average score for the season is 77-76 in its favor. The Terriers’ three double-figure scorers – Corey Tripp (16.3), Dillon Bailey (12.4) and Kyler Filewich (10.3) – are all juniors. Bailey and Filewich are transfers. Filewich, formerly of Southern Illinois, averages 9.1 rebounds.

Furman had best build a bit of a cushion. Wofford has been unerring in close games, having won its four in the SoCon by a total of six points. The Terriers beat VMI in overtime, 87-85; Mercer, 74-73; The Citadel, 72-71; and East Tennessee State, 75-73. Only one of Wofford’s three losses, 70-66 to Western Carolina in Cullowhee, was close. UNC Greensboro thrashed the Terriers, 82-59, and on Wednesday, Wofford dropped its first home game of the season, falling 79-65 to Chattanooga.

At the House Jerry Built, Wofford is 7-1.

Recent setbacks notwithstanding, Wofford is having quite the comeback year. A season ago, Dwight Perry took the reins amidst upheaval. He became interim head coach on Dec. 5, 2022, replacing the deposed Jay McAuley, and went 12-12 the rest of the way to finish 17-16. Furman defeated Wofford, 96-82, in Spartanburg, and, 80-67, in Greenville (at Bon Secours Wellness Arena).

Furman pulled within a game of first place in the SoCon standings with a 78-68 win over first-place Samford on Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena. The victory snapped Samford’s nation-leading 17-game winning streak.

Foster led the Paladins with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Alex Williams added 16 points. Samford’s 68-point performance marked just the third time the Bulldogs were held below 75 points this season.

Furman’s return to form is a result of its top three scorers returning from injury, improved outside shooting and stingy defense. The Paladins suffered through a four-game shooting slump in which they shot just .162 (18/111) from three-point range before connecting on .422 (57/135) over the past five games. Furman, which has allowed an average of 76.3 points per game, has also limited its last six opponents to 73 or fewer points.

“We’ve got great players on this roster,” said guard and LaVergne, Tenn., product PJay Smith. “Everybody is not going to always have a great game. We’ve just got to find whoever’s hot.”

Smith tortured Samford with 11 points and three steals.

“There’s a long way to go in this thing,” Richey said. “There are 11 games left and a lot of good teams in this league, a lot of good coaches. The whole league and the people watching know we’re getting better and we’re getting our guys back. They made a decision. They could’ve complained. They could have criticized one another and argued whose fault it was. They could’ve defended themselves.

“It was ‘hey, listen, we’ve got to figure this out.’ We weren’t guarding well enough. The ball wasn’t moving. We didn’t look like a Furman team, aside from the injuries. We weren’t playing to identity.”

Now they are. It’s complicated and yet so simple.

Saturday marks the 154^th meeting between I-85 rivals Furman and Wofford with the Paladins holding a 91-62 series lead. The Paladins have won four straight.

Following Saturday’s road test at Wofford, Furman travels to face The Citadel on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at McAlister Fieldhouse in Charleston. Four nights. Two rivals. Both at their places.

Saturday’s renewal of the Furman-Wofford rivalry will air live on Nexstar affiliates throughout the region (CW 62) and will also be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, on 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, or via the Audacy app.

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