By MONTE DUTTON

All is tangible, and all is not.

Time, for instance. Precise. Measurable. Inviolable.

Examined another way, it is not. For me, time crawls every morning, and then it gets faster and faster until late at night, when it runs out of energy.

That’s not the same for you? It happens. You just live by a different time.

It’s my theory of relativity.

Young folks spend most of the money. It’s easy to tell from watching TV. Old folks are by and large making the same money, and everything costs more.

As Bobby Braddock wrote and George Jones and Tammy Wynette sang, No, we’re not the jet set / We’re the old Chevrolet set. Pronounce it Chevralet, not -lay. It’s quaint.

If you’re unmarried and don’t have kids or a cat, I recommend a guitar. It’s neater than a dog and serves the same purpose.

The only time she barks is when I touch her wrong / But when I pet her right, she tags along / Never minds it if I want to take her far / All my dog really is is this guitar.

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, but doggone it, there’s no Paladin baseball, and baseball’s big in Laurens County, where even PC is playing right well.

Nothing current about this, but men’s basketball fortunes rise with the acquisition of a couple transfers.

Tom House and Charleston Johnston, both to be juniors, are set to don purple.

House, 6-7, played in 51 games and started one in two seasons at Florida State.

“Tom is someone that our program has had familiarity with dating back to early in his high school career at Centerville High School,” head coach Bob Richey stated. “Tom will provide our program with character, leadership and work ethic. With Tom’s size, ability to shoot the basketball and feel for the game, we couldn’t be more excited to add him to our program.”

That plus the Dayton, Ohio, product shares the name of the relief pitcher who caught Hank Aaron’s 715^th home run in the Atlanta bullpen on April 8, 1974.

Johnston, a 6- 11 forward, averaged 13.0 points ranked fifth in Division II by pulling down 10.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Cal State Monterey Bay. He posted 13 double-doubles and became the first player in Otter basketball history to average a double (presumably rebounds) for the entire season.

“We identified Charles early in the spring as someone [who] could help improve our size and skill in the front court,” Richey stated. “Furman fans will be immediately drawn to his personality and character as soon as they interact with him. Charles has a unique blend of size and offensive versatility that will thrive in our offensive system.”

Charleston Johnston is an Aussie. From Sydney.

Further additions to Furman’s roster to be announced shortly, likely about the time I get these two out.

The athletics department honored five award winners during its Senior Student-Athlete Ceremony.

Honorees included Julian Ashby (football), Chrissy Fleming (softball), Jacob Johanning (football), Chloe Fabio (softball) and Luke Sommerdyke (mascot).

Ashby received the Dr. John M. Block Academic Award, which is presented to the male senior with the highest GPA, and the Dr. Gary Clark Student-Athlete Achievement Award that “recognizes a senior, female or male, who has embodied throughout their entire Furman career what it truly means to be a Paladin student-athlete through academics, athletics, campus involvement, and community service.”

Fleming was accorded the Elizabeth Blackwell Academic Award for the female senior with the highest GPA. 

Johanning and Fabio, meanwhile, shared the Bryce Stanfield Iron Paladin Award, recently renamed for Stanfield, the Paladin football player who died suddenly on Feb. 9. It is “presented to high achievers in the weight room who exemplify an elite standard in work ethic, attitude, and accountability.”

Sommerdyke, who served as Furman’s mascot, was presented the inaugural Shining Knight Award, given annually “to a senior Paladin who exudes positivity and optimism, has demonstrated extraordinary support of Furman Athletics and consistently puts others before self.”

It was a soggy sweep that ended the softball regular season.

Furman scored three first-inning runs in the rain-shortened conclusion of a Southern Conference series in Greenville against East Tennessee. The final was 3-2.

Rain started to fall in the bottom of the fourth inning and the game was halted in the bottom of the fifth after Ashlee Lykins, who went 2/2, was hit by a pitch to open the inning. The field became unplayable quickly with heavy rains setting in and the game was called.

With Saturday’s win, Furman (24-29, 9-12 SoCon) completed its three-game sweep of the Buccaneers (11-38, 5-16).

The Paladins took both end of Friday’s doubleheader, 11-3 and 6-5.

ETSU starter Sara Muir (4-8) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on four hits in two innings. Riley Nayadley went 3/3 at the place for the Bucs.

Furman and ETSU open play in the single elimination portion of the SoCon Softball Championship on Wednesday at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.

On Friday, Furman erupted for three runs in the fifth inning and seven in the sixth to take an 11-3 victory in the opener.

Senior Sierra Tufts, who surrendered three runs on 10 hits over 5-2/3 innings, earned the victory in the circle to improve her record to 11-9. Junior Emme Buzhardt retired the only batter she faced to earn her league-leading sixth save of the season.

Lykins, who collected her 200^th career hit, finished 3/4 in the opener.

Senior Kaitlyn Laudick posted a career-day at the plate as Furman rallied from a 5-0 deficit in game two, completing the twinbill sweep.

Laudick went 3/4 with a double, triple, homer, and career-best four RBI. Her three extra-base hits in a game also matched a school record.

Emme Buzhardt (3-6) entered the game in relief of starter Lauralee Scott in the third inning and tossed 4-2/3 innings of one-hit ball.

Five lacrosse players received postseason recognition from the Big South Conference.

A total of four players were named first team All-Big South in fifth year midfielder Hannah Dintino, senior defense Katelyn Sousa, junior midfielder Sophia Buzelis and junior attack Anna Roser. while senior attack Sophie Shaw earned a spot on the second team. Dintino was also selected all-academic.

Sousa and Dintino were named the Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, respectively. The duo become the first players in program history to receive the awards.
The third-seeded Paladins were eliminated from the Big South Lacrosse Championship Friday evening after a 19-14 defeat to the No. 2 seed High Point Panthers in the semifinals from Mercer’s Five Star Stadium in Macon, Ga.
Furman (8-10) ended its season. High Point (12-5) advances to Sunday’s championship game versus top-seeded Mercer at noon.

The Panthers trailed 13-11 with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter before reeling off seven consecutive goals over the next 14:46 to break the game open with an 18-13 advantage. High Point closed out the contest on an 8-1 run and outscored Furman 3-1 in the fourth quarter.
All-Big South selection Anna Roser became Furman’s all-time leader for goals in a season during the match.

Five different Panthers scored over the last 18:59, including two goals each from Allie Connally, Shannon Smith, and Jordan Miles.
For the second straight game, Roser scored seven goals.

Anna Morgan is SoCon Women’s Golfer of the Month for the second time in a row.

A senior from Spartanburg, Morgan won her second-straight SoCon Championship, shooting a 2-under-par 214 for the fourth-lowest score in SoCon tournament history.

Cameron Ponder and Megan Marvin are Outdoor Track Athletes of the Month in the SoCon.

Ponder, a senior from Winston-Salem, N.C., logged a personal-best 3:40.90 in the 1,500 meters at the Wake Forest Invitational on April 19.

Marvin, a senior from Chapel Hill, N.C., won the 800 meters with a time of 2:07.44 at the Electric City Invitational on April 13.

The SoCon Championship is May 6-7 in Birmingham, Ala.

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