It’s ironic that as Furman rebuilds its arena, it is going to be rebuilding its men’s basketball team.

It’s remarkable how well Bob Richey has managed to keep his teams together. Maybe this is the year the law of averages catch up. Kids from Christy Mathewson to Kobe Bryant have made great sacrifices in pursuit of success. Maybe 17-16 wasn’t enough to please them.

Now, of course, since J.P. Pegues, Marcus Foster, Alex Williams and Carter Whitt have all entered the transfer protocol, time runs backwards. I learned this in NASCAR. Sometimes rumors spread because they make sense, not because there’s anything to them. Sometimes they make so much sense, they become true. It’s extraordinary how often carts lead horses.

May it all be for the best.

I’m an observer. Sometimes I’m looking through a camera searching for vivid expressions. At courtside, I take few notes. I fall back on the stats I once had to keep myself. A particular hobby is watching the opposition head coach. I want some insight into what makes him tick.

I could be absurdly naïve, but I never saw any outward evidence that the team was unhappy with anything other than it wasn’t winning often enough. I don’t see inward evidence at all.

Knowing full well that Pegues was great, I expected he would be sought by roughly the whole SEC. I thought perhaps he would stay because he would develop more under Richey than anyone else, but that’s where I was absurdly naïve.

Pegues seems irreplaceable, but then so, too, did Alex Hunter, Jalen Slawson, Mike Bothwell and dozens of others. The reason he seems irreplaceable is his versatility within the game. When the ball is moving and all is clicking, Pegues scores 16, hands out eight assists and makes two turnovers. When all is not clicking, Pegues can put up 30. He was the guarantor that the Paladins would stay in most every game.

I heard on the news that Foster is headed to Xavier. Marcus looks more like a spartan than a Musketeer. Jalen Slawson called him “a borderline Stoic.” Strong, silent, proud, burdened by injuries. He was the metaphor of the team’s season.

Williams, I suspect, was the most frustrated. Whitt, the first who announced, was the one I found most surprising.

Richey, I expect, is thinking furiously because thinking is something he likes to do. When Richey stops to smell the roses, it’s because he has determined that roses will be stimulating.

I do not feel a sense of urgency. I could not have a higher regard for Richey. I’ve enjoyed each of the past three seasons. Say what you will of the past season, but it provided great stories.

It makes perfect sense for PJay Smith, Tyrese Hughey, Ben Vander Wal, Cooper Bowser, Davis Molnar, Eddrin Bronson to develop because that’s what Richey and his staff do. The assembly line must speed up, but it’s still running.

That contemplation off my chest, let’s move on to less troubling affairs.

Sophomore Kiley Perry belted a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to lift Furman to a 4-3 victory in game two and doubleheader split versus USC Upstate in softball Wednesday in Spartanburg.

The Spartans claimed a 7-3 win in game one.

Denver Lauer and Taliyah Thomas combined for six hits and three RBI to lead USC Upstate in game one.

The Spartans’ first five batters of the game reached base against Furman starter Angelina Ricciardi as USC Upstate scored two runs in the bottom of the first. Furman stranded eight runners on base over the first three innings while the Spartans added single runs in the second and third innings to open a 4-0 lead.

Ricciardi (1-3) took the loss for the Paladins allowing seven runs, four earned, on 11 hits in 5-1/3 innings of work. She walked four batters and had two strikeouts.

Lauer and Thomas both went 3.4 at the plate for Upstate. Lykins worked three walks for the Paladins while Perry and Ansley Chiang added doubles.

Trailing 3-0 entering the seventh inning, Furman scored four runs, capped by Perry’s three-run blast, to rally past the Spartans in the nighcap.

Lykins reached on a bunt single to start the frame and Caitlin Goldwait reached on a fielder’s choice when Upstate’s shortstop tried to throw behind Lykins at second base after she swiped the bag. Burroughs laced a run-scoring double to center to put the tying run in scoring position before Perry launched her fifth homer of the season, a three-run shot, to the opposite field.

Junior Lauralee Scott retired the Spartans in order in the bottom of the seventh to up her record in the circle to 6-1. She limited USC Upstate (15-15) to one run on one hit in 2-2/3 innings of relief.

Goldwait collected two hits, Hana Hashioka had two hits and a walk, and Perry finished 1/3 with a homer, three RBI, and a base on balls. Ashlee Lykins, who started the rally, singled and walked in game two. She has reached base safely in 28 of the last 29 games.

he Spartans grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third inning by taking advantage of an error. Alanna Deal lofted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Abigail Pippen with the first run of the game.

Maddie Drerup (5-7) took the loss for USC Upstate. She surrendered four runs on eight hits in seven innings. Abby Polk collected two hits in game two for the Spartans.

Furman (17-15, 3-0 SoCon) jumps back into Southern Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at UNC Greensboro. First pitch of Friday’s doubleheader at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, is set for 1 p.m. and the series finale is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Furman outscored Wofford, 8-4, in the second half Wednesday evening as the Paladins opened Big South Conference action with a 12-10 victory over the Terriers at Paladin Stadium.
Furman, which extends its winning streak over Wofford to seven consecutive games, improves to 3-7 overall and 1-0 in the Big South. The Terriers drop to 3-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Wofford jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first quarter with Emma Stalteri and Bria Foley combining for all four goals. Anna Roser, who reached 100 career goals on Wednesday, scored twice in the opening two periods with her second cutting the Paladins’ deficit to 5-3. The teams traded goals over the final five minutes with the Terriers holding a 6-4 lead at halftime.
Furman used a 4-1 run to start the second half to take the lead for good. Roser and Molly Faul teamed up for all four goals in the third quarter with Roser’s fourth of the contest putting the Paladins in front, 8-7, with 1:27 to go.

Wofford answered back with goals from Stalteri and Carley Irvin before Sophie Shaw sealed Furman’s win with 4:02 left in the game.
Furman heads to Boiling Springs, N.C., on Saturday for a 1 p.m. opening draw versus Gardner-Webb.

Will Morlan tied for 28th Tuesday to lead the Paladins at the Hootie at Bulls Bay, which was hosted by the University of South Carolina in Awendaw. 

Morlan shot even-par 72 in the final round. 

Jack Lundin (-6) of Missouri defeated South Carolina’s Frankie Harris (-6) on the third playoff hole to win individual medalist honors. LSU’s Jay Mendell (-6) was knocked out on the first playoff hole.

No. 37 LSU (-15) won the tournament by six strokes over 19th-ranked New Mexico (-9).  No. 31 Purdue (-7) finished third, followed by College of Charleston (-6) in fourth place.  Host South Carolina (-4) completed the top five. Furman (+20) finished 13^th.

The Paladins wrap up the regular season at Vanderbilt’s Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn., April 5-7, then turn their sights to the SoCon Championship, which will be held April 21-23 in Greensboro, Ga.

Furman’s Abigail Robertson is Southern Conference women’s outdoor track athlete of the week.

Competing at the Bob Davidson team challenge in High Point, N.C., Robertson won the 1,500 meters, posting a time of 4:26.10 to lead the Paladins to a sweep of the top six finishers in the event. The Marietta, Ga., native’s time leads the SoCon and ranks 19th in the East Region.

For the second time in five weeks and the fifth time this season, Furman’s Anna Morgan is Southern Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week. 

Morgan fired a 7-under-par 209 (64-73-72) to finish third at the Clemson Invitational and posted the lowest round of any golfer during the three-day event with an 8-under 64 in the first round.

Following a three-week break, Furman will travel to Hilton Head Island on April 14-16, for the SoCon Women’s Golf Championship.

Will work for food, but contributions would be better. Besides, I had a steak before Jim McLaurin’s funeral. I’d forgotten how good they are.

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