By MONTE DUTTON

Mid-major is an interesting term. It refers to every team that isn’t a large major. It’s sort of burger joint that calls a small drink “large” and a large one “jumbo.”
No one wants to be little. Mid-major is harmless hyperbole, inspirational in its pretense.
Furman (8-1) is ranked 12th in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25. Princeton (7-3) is ranked 14th.
A large game is being played in the would-be middle at noon on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Fresh off a four-game road trip, Furman returns home to play the Tigers in a matchup of mid-major powers. There’s an ugly-sweater contest and a holiday teddy-bear toss.

As Christmas time approaches, it gets no bigger in the mids. Fans can bring a blanket instead of a teddy bear, and by crackie, it’ll work just fine.
Furman is off to its best start since beginning the 2018-19 campaign 12-0. Last time out, the Paladins rallied from a 13-point deficit in the final 10 minutes on Wednesday night to down Florida Gulf Coast, 76-73, at Alico Arena in Fort Myers.
After trailing 44-33 at the break, Furman fashioned a 20-6 rebounding edge in the second half and connected on all 10 of its free-throw attempts over the final 20 minutes to win for the fourth time away from home already this season.

Senior PJay Smith Jr., who leads the Paladins, averaging 17.4 points per game, led the way with 18 points while Nick Anderson and Ben VanderWal added 10 apiece. VanderWal’s 10 points represented a season high, and the junior from Elmhurst, Ill., also recorded a career-best three blocked shots.
Princeton, the perennial Ivy League power, won its third straight, 77-69 at Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday night. Guard Xavian Lee notched a triple-double for the Tigers.

In the only previous meeting between the Paladins and Tigers on Dec. 2, 2023, in Princeton, N.J., Lee poured in a game-high 24 points and Matt Allocco drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining to lift Princeton to a 70-69 victory over Furman.

Garrett Hien paced the Paladins with 16 points and eight rebounds in last season’s encounter at Jadwin Gym.
Saturday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can listen to all the action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, and via the Audacy app.

Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, i.e., athletics director plus, Jason Donnelly has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Competition Committee.
The Committee advises the oversight committee with specific focus on health and safety, sportsmanship, integrity, game operations, game presentation, technology and statistical trends.
Donnelly’s appointment is for three years and follows his previous service on the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Regional Advisory Committee. He currently serves as chair of the Southern Conference Athletics Director Committee.

“I am honored to join the Men’s Basketball Competition Committee and will do my part in giving back to a game that has given me so much,” stated Donnelly. “College basketball continues to play an important role on campuses across the nation, bringing together communities and developing outstanding young men, and we all have a responsibility to ensure their well-being remains a priority, as well as the integrity of the game.”

Recently named 2023-24 by his peers, Donnelly is in his sixth year in charge of Furman’s athletics program, having arrived in 2019 and been promoted to Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics in 2022. His Furman tenure is marked by notable success in many areas, including transformational fundraising, overseeing a 185 percent increase in dollars raised over the last four years, headlined by the largest gift in Furman Athletics history, a $10 million commitment to lead the $40 million renovation of Timmons Arena that was announced in February 2024.

Furman’s competitive success over the last five years has been equally impressive and includes 28 Southern Conference championships and 39 NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by men’s basketball’s 2023 appearance — the program’s first since 1980 — that featured a 68-67 first round victory over Virginia.
Thirty-four Paladins have earned All-America honors during Donnelly’s tenure, and Furman has produced 18 SoCon Players of the Year and 16 SoCon Coaches of the Year since the fall of 2019, as well as six SoCon Male/Female Athletes of the Year.

Prior to arriving at Furman, Donnelly spent 14 years at Villanova University, serving in a number of roles, including senior associate athletics director and executive director of athletics development, director of athletics development, assistant basketball coach, director of basketball operations and special assistant to Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright. During his decade on the Wildcats’ bench, Villanova made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including runs to the 2006 Elite Eight and 2009 Final Four.
Indoor track and field opens the season Friday at the aptly named Clemson Opener and Saturday at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Mass.
It’s a difficult commute, Furman to Clemson and Boston and then back.

Fortunately, the Paladins will allocate their resources separately.
At Clemson, freshman Claire Cook will compete in the women’s 600 meters, while freshman Delaney Vickers is set to run the women’s 1,000. Various Paladin 4×400 teams will compete on the women’s side.
On the men’s side, freshman Owen Delaney is scheduled for the 200 dash, while freshmen Tripp Roemer and Alexander Friedli, along with sophomore Trevor Coggin, will run the 1,000. Nine Paladin men are slated to run the 3,000 at Clemson.

Seniors Dylan Schubert and Carson Williams will run in the men’s 5,000 at Boston, while senior Kaylie Armitage will compete in the women’s 3,000 and junior Carly Wilkes is set to run in the women’s 5,000.
Williams earned All-America honors in the mile at last year’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. He qualified for the meet after ranking 16th nationally with a time of with a time of 3:55.46 in the event, a Furman program record.

Women’s tennis coach Michelle Dasso released the team’s schedule for the coming season, which is highlighted by home matches versus Alabama and Ivy League foes Yale and Brown.
“This is an extremely special spring season with six seniors competing for the purple and white in their last semester of college tennis,” stated Dasso. “We will cherish the competitive opportunities and memories.”

Following scrimmages versus Charlotte at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville on Jan. 11-12, the Paladins will open the season Jan. 18 at Appalachian State, then come home to face Alabama on Jan. 20 and North Florida on Jan. 24.
Furman concluded the 2024 season with a 6-1 Southern Conference record and advanced to the finals of the league championships for the seventh time in a row.
The Southern Conference Tournament is slated for April 16-19 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Take a look at the schedule here.

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