By MONTE DUTTON

The best, and only decent, football game played on Friday was the only bowl contested between conference champions.
The Mid-America titlist, Ohio University, defeated Conference USA’s Jacksonville State, 30-27. Ex-Furman QB Tyler Huff led a furious comeback after the Gamecocks trailed 27-7 at halftime.
That Huff used his final year of eligibility in Alabama was understandable. He left Presbyterian with a bachelor’s degree and an Army Reserve commission, and Furman with a master’s. He now reportedly intends to spend the next 20 years rising up the military ranks.
His is quite a story. Huff starred at PC until Kevin Kelley brought in his own quarterback, Ren Hefley, who was a backup at Gardner-Webb this season. Then Huff proceeded to star at Furman and Jacksonville State, winning 29 games in three years.

This is Furman’s first trip to, uh, Hahvud.
The Paladins close their non-conference slate on Saturday afternoon when they visit Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge, Mass., to take on the Harvard Crimson.
The only previous meeting was in the 1960 Poinsettia Classic at Greenville Memorial Stadium, won by Furman, 87-69.
The Paladins arrive in New England at 11-1 following a 100-75 triumph over NAIA member Montreat (9-4) on Wednesday night at Bob Jones University’s Davis Field House.

Graduate student Nick Anderson paced the Paladins with 21 points on 5/12 shooting behind the arc, while junior Tom House connected on 5/11 triples to finish with 19 points. Junior Ben Vander Wal and redshirt freshman Eddrin Bronson recorded career highs with 16 and 15 points, respectively, and sophomore Cooper Bowser became the fifth Paladin to reach double figures by adding 10 points to go with three blocked shots.

The start to the season is the best for a Furman team since head coach Bob Richey’s 2018-19 squad began the year 12-0 to rise as high as No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25. This season’s Furman team is aiming to become just the fifth in school history to begin a season with 12 wins in 13 outings.
Harvard, which enters the game at 3-7, is the second Ivy League opponent for the Paladins in 2024-25. Furman rallied to claim a 69-63 win over Ivy League preseason favorite Princeton on Dec. 7 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville.

Furman is 7-7 all-time versus Ivy League foes and has faced every league member except Cornell. The Paladins have posted a 4-1 record away from home this season, including true road wins at Belmont, Charleston Southern, and FGCU. Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season Furman’s 68 road victories rank fifth nationally in NCAA Division I.
Tip-off for Saturday’s matchup is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Grill Marks in downtown Greenville is hosting a Paladin watch party. Fans can also listen to Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy call 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.
Following Saturday’s road test, the Paladins will be idle until Jan. 1 when they visit Western Carolina for the Southern Conference opener.

Devin Coppinger scored 15 points, and Washington used a strong first quarter to grab a commanding lead on the way to a 71-43 win over Furman on Thursday in the final game of the 2024 Husky Classic, held at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
The Huskies (9-4) scored 20 unanswered points in the first quarter to claim a 22-5 lead after one period and were never threatened thereafter.

Coppinger’s 15 points featured 4/8 shooting from the field, including 3/5 connections from 3-point range and a perfect 4/4 at the free-throw line.
She was joined in double figures by Elle Ledine with 14 points, and Hannah Stines, who tallied eight points in the Huskies big opening frame, finished with 12.
Freshman guard Raina McGowens led Furman with nine points.
Furman (9-5) suffered through a season low .258 shooting percentage (17/66), including just 3/16 from 3-point range.

The Paladins’ lone statistical win was a 42-40 edge in rebounding, paced by Kate Johnson’s seven boards.
Furman’s next game is Dec. 30 at North Carolina Central.
Men’s tennis coach J.J. Whitlinger announced a 20-match schedule for the spring
Furman’s 20-match slate features eight home matches at Mickel Tennis Center and seven versus Southern Conference opponents.
“As usual, we are excited to get started in January,” said Whitlinger, who is entering his 10th season overall with the program and sixth as head coach. “The schedule is challenging, and we are looking forward to seeing how the guys take on these programs and compete within the conference.”

The Paladins get the season started with four straight road matches beginning with the season opener at South Carolina on January 12. Furman travels to Xavier and Bellarmine Jan. 25-26 before opening Southern Conference play on February 8 at The Citadel.
The Paladins play their first home matches of the season Feb. 15-16, hosting Gardner-Webb and Georgia State.

The SoCon Men’s Tennis Championship is slated for April 17-19 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Take a look at the schedule here.
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