By MONTE DUTTON

Thanksgiving was great, which has not always been the case. It’s my favorite holiday. All good. None of the pettiness that accompanies other celebrations. Everyone gets along. It was great to reacquaint myself with the five kids of my nephew and his wife.

A rough year began with a month in the hospital and I’ve been slowly recovering, both physically and financially.

The last time I spent Thanksgiving at Ray and Jessica’s house, I made my worst decision of the year when I opted not to take a plate of food home with me. I deeply regretted it the next day. This time I had a couple sandwiches before the first round of football games started. I’m going to eat again after the Furman-Illinois State basketball game. I do not expect to leave the house again today.

In every game, Furman’s basketball team shows glimpses of what is coming. The Paladins aren’t there yet, but they’re on the way.

For the third straight season, Bob Richey heads a team that is vastly different from the one before it. There’s a lot of firepower there. Coordinating the bombardment is the trick.

Richey put the Paladins in a 1-3-1 zone for most of opening-round victory over Richmond. Against the Redbirds, Furman (4-4) went mostly man-to-man.

Illinois State (6-2) shot .577 (15/26) in the second half and held Furman (4-4) to 29 points in the final 20 minutes to trim the Paladins, 72-65, in the finals of the Imagination Bracket at the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational at State Farm Field House on Friday in Kissimmee, Fla. 

Tied at 52-52 with under 10 minutes to go, the Redbirds put together an 8-0 run, including a pair of fadeaway jumpers from tournament MVP Ty Pence, to take a 60-52 lead. The Paladins trailed by seven points, the final margin, in the final two minutes before Asa Thomas drilled a three with 1:17 left.

After Walker made 1/2 free throws for Illinois State, Alex Wilkins scored from the edge of the paint to trim the margin to 68-65 with 39 seconds remaining, but the Redbirds’ Johnny Kinzinger hit a jumper from the middle of the lane with the shot clock running down to seal the outcome.

Pence, a junior, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Illinois State (6-2) while Walker scored 14 points and Boden Skunberg and Ty’Reek Coleman tallied 12 and 11, respectively. The Redbirds shot .456 for the game, managed a 35-30 edge on the glass and posted a 12-4 advantage on second-chance points with the help of nine offensive boards.

Against Richmond the night before, Furman led most of way. The Redbirds kept the Paladins coming from behind.

Illinois State connected on five of its first seven three-point attempts to build a 19-8 lead. Furman answered with 20 points from its freshmen in the first half as freshman Alex Wilkins scored eight points and fellow freshman Collin O’Neal drained four triples to help Furman rally. The Paladins ended the half on a 10-0 run and held the Redbirds scoreless over the final 3:58 of the period to carry a 36-33 advantage into the locker room.

Wilkins finished with a game-high 25 points, his fourth 20-point performance in eight games. O’Neal and Cooper Bowser totaled 12 points apiece.

The Paladins visit Elon on Wednesday night at 7. Harvard visits Timmons Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

Alyssa Ervin scored 15 points, and Furman used a powerful late third-quarter run to take command en route to a 74-67 victory over UNC Asheville (2-5) in women’s basketball on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

Ervin scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half and combined with Clare Coyle, who scored all of her 14 points in the game’s final 20 minutes, to fuel an 18-3 outburst over the final 3:21 of third quarter that helped Furman erase a one-point deficit and take a 61-47 lead after three periods.

Furman led 72-57 with four minutes remaining, and it proved to be enough to hold off a late charge by UNCA that included a pair of three-pointers by Aileen Marquez, whose 6/-9 shooting from beyond the arc carried her to a game-high 20 points.

Ervin’s 15 points led a parade of four Paladin double-figure scorers that included 14 points apiece by Coyle and freshman point guard Sophia Pearl, who also contributed six steals and five assists in 32 minutes of action in her first career start. Raina McGowens scored 11 points for Furman.

Both teams shot .400 from the field. 

Furman (3-5) hosts Presbyterian on Wednesday night at 7.

Take a look at the stats here.

NCAA tournaments – or any kind of championships, really, pro, college, high school, Y league, even individual competitions – do not determine the best teams. They determine the best at the end of the season.

Injuries decimate some teams more than others. Some just get in a rut. Some answer a wake-up call. Some let it ring.

It doesn’t matter whether the College Football Playoff is four teams, or 12, or 24. Some team that’s deserving is going to be left out. Several, undoubtedly.

On the other hand, few are the teams that genuinely have a shot at winning the title. Tulane isn’t going to win it. I’m glad they get a shot, though.

So many schools have fired their coaches, there aren’t enough prominent candidates to fill them.

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports).

Or, if you’d like to make a contribution by check or cash, my mailing address, for now, is: Monte Dutton, 11185 Hwy. 56 N., Clinton, S.C.  29325.

Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

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