By MONTE DUTTON
While Furman’s Thursday-night men’s basketball opponent is known as Manhattan, the Paladins are actually playing in the Bronx.
The game at Draddy Gymnasium on the Manhattan University campus is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Furman (7-4) has won three straight games and six of its last seven. The Paladins have been idle since scoring a 105-57 victory over Bob Jones on Dec. 9 at Timmons Arena. Junior Cooper Bowser, who leads the nation in field goal percentage at .792, led the Paladins in their final pre-exams contest by scoring a career-high 24 points on 11/14 shooting. Furman’s 105 points and .594 field-goal percentage both marked season highs.
It marks the sixth all-time meeting between the Paladins and Jaspers and the first since Furman claimed a 94-76 victory on Jan. 14, 1974, at Greenville Memorial Auditorium. Furman holds a 3-2 lead in the series and is facing Manhattan in New York for the first time since a 92-80 win on February 4, 1954. The previous victory at Manhattan came just nine days before the Paladins’ Frank Selvy made college basketball history by scoring 100 points in a 149-95 win over Newberry on February 13, 1954.
A Jasper, by the way, is a treasurer. The term is biblically derived from one of the three wise men who visited the Baby Jesus.
Manhattan (4-7) looks to end a two-game slide. Last time out, the Jaspers dropped an 82-53 decision to Fordham in the 166th Battle of the Bronx.
Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy are on the call the action at 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. Links for the broadcast, live audio and live statistics are available at FurmanPaladins.com.
Following its trip to Manhattan, Furman returns to Timmons Arena on Sunday to close out the non-conference schedule with a 2 p.m. contest against Charleston Southern.
Coincidentally, Presbyterian is scheduled to play at Manhattan on Sunday afternoon at 2.
Furman starting quarterback Trey Hedden has reportedly entered the transfer portal.
As a sophomore, Hedden completed 287/420 passes for 2,967 yards, for 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
In two seasons with the Paladins, Hedden, from Tampa, Fla., played in 23 games, throwing for 4,734 yards. Furman was 9-14 in his two seasons. He made the Southern Conference All-Freshman team as a freshman.
Defensive end Joshua Stoneking made first team All-American, becoming 77th player to be thus designated.
A 6- 4, 264-pound redshirt sophomore, he posted FCS highs in sacks (14.5), tackles for loss (23.0), and tackle yards for loss (132). In addition to his team-leading 79 tackles, he also totaled nine quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, and one blocked kick.
The Raleigh, N.C., native was named Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week a league-best three times and was accorded first-team all-conference honors in voting by league head coaches.
Stoneking is among three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually by Stats Perform to the top defensive player in the FCS. This year’s winner will be announced on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tenn.
Furman placed three players on Stats Perform FCS All-America teams.
Stoneking made first team. Offensive guard Luke Petit of Akron, Ohio, made third team, and wide receiver Evan James of Apopka, Fla., was all-freshman.
Reports surfaced this week that James, too, is entering the transfer portal.
The Furman men’s soccer team finished the season ranked third in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll.
In head coach Doug Allison’s 31st and final season, the Paladins posted a 16-2-5 overall record, claimed the Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles, and reached the school’s first NCAA Men’s College Cup. The No. 3 final ranking in the United Soccer Coaches poll tops the Paladins’ best previous finish of fifth following a 21-2-1 record and Elite Eight appearance in 1999.
Furman posted a 4-1-1 record in six games against teams ranked in the final top 25 with the only loss coming against national champion Washington, which downed the Paladins 3-1 in the national semifinals on Friday, Dec. 9.
Allison will receive a United Soccer Coaches Letter of Commendation at the association’s annual convention.
Each year the association recognizes a select few for their special contributions to the sport and the association’s membership. Allison, a member of the United Soccer Coach since 1993, will be honored, along with Arthur “Skip” Roderick and Charles Straw, at the Awards Ceremony on Friday, Jan. 16, in Philadelphia.
Allison is the winningest coach in Southern Conference history, leading the Paladins to 12 regular-season titles, 11 tournament championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight in 1999, a Sweet Sixteen in 2002, and this season’s NCAA College Cup. He has developed 152 All-SoCon players, 30 All-Americans, and mentored future U.S. National Team and MLS athletes, including Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, and Walker Zimmerman. As a player, he set scoring records at the University of South Carolina and was inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
Volleyball athletes Izzy Castelloe, Tennyson Gorman, Emily Navarro and Kennedy Seekford were selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
Members of all-district teams are required to maintain at least a 3.50 GPA, play in 90 percent of their team’s games or start at least 66 percent of the contests.
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