Alex Wilkins calmly popped a pair of free throws to nail down Furman’s 75-68 victory over Manhattan on Thursday night in Riverdale, N.Y.

This would not have seemed so impressive had not the Paladins missed nine of the 12 free throws that preceded them.

But … it was Furman’s fourth straight triumph and seventh in its last eight games.

Senior Charles Johnston posted his seventh double-double of the season and Eddrin Bronson converted on a crucial putback in the final minute. Unnecessarily tense as it was, the Paladins came through nicely when it meant the most.

Furman (8-4) trailed 50-47 with under 12 minutes to go following an 8-0 Manhattan run. Back-to-back baskets from by Wilkins and a three-pointer from Tom House restored the lead and Johnston scored eight straight points in the final five minutes to put the Paladins up 69-62.

The Paladins held a 71-64 lead with under two minutes to play when Terrance Jones hit a step-back jumper and Jaden Winston drained a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left to cut the Furman advantage to 71-68.

Johnston totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds, including eight points and six boards in the second half. Wilkins posted a game-high 18 points and seven assists while Cooper Bowser and Asa Thomas reached double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Furman shot .500 from the field, including 10/28 from three-point range, and outscored the Jaspers 38-26 in the paint to overcome 17 turnovers and a 5/14 effort at the foul line. The Paladins held a 42-36 edge on the glass and outscored Manhattan 13-12 on second-chance points.

Winston and Devin Dinkins led the Jaspers with 17 points apiece, but Manhattan (4-8) shot just .391 from the field and hit only 7/26 three-point attempts. The loss marked just the second home defeat of the year for the Jaspers, who have Presbyterian (6-7) at home on Sunday afternoon.

Furman turned in its worst free-throw performance (5/14, .357) of the season to date. The Paladins had hit foul shots at a .684 or better clip in their three previous games.

Furman returns to Timmons Arena on Sunday to close out the non-conference schedule with a 2 p.m. contest against Charleston Southern.

Take a look at the stats here.

Winners of three of its last four games, Furman women’s basketball looks to extend its momentum on Friday in a 6 p.m. road contest at Charleston Southern in the Paladins’ final pre-Christmas outing.
Furman (5-6) routed Mars Hill, 110-36, in its last outing on Sunday to improve to 5-2 at home. Friday’s clash with Charleston Southern (2-8) will offer the Paladins their latest chance to break thru with their first road victory of the campaign.
The Buccaneers fell to Clemson, 78-52, on Wednesday in North Charleston.
The Paladins claimed a 58-42 win over Charleston Southern last year in Greenville and currently own a four-game series winning streak versus Buccaneers.  Overall, Furman sports a 26-6 lead in the series and a 12-4 slate in all games played in North Charleston.

Heading up Furman’s 110-point scoring outburst against Mars Hill was sophomore forward Clare Coyle with a career-high 31 points.  She also tacked on 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes of court time to post her third consecutive double-double. The Jacksonville, Fla., preseason All-SoCon selection leads the Paladins in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg), and has seen her free-throw shooting improve dramatically over the last three games, converting 14/17 (.823) over that span.
Alyssa Ervin made her first start of the season against Mars Hill and responded with a career-high 22 points on 5/10 shooting from three-point range. The sophomore Elon transfer ranks second behind Coyle in scoring (12.4).
Another sophomore, guard Raina McGowens (10.5) rounds out Furman’s double-digit scoring trio.

Sophomore guard Chantelle Stuart, who missed three games due to injury, returned to action against Mars Hill and tallied a career-high 12 assists, a tie for the fifth most in program history.
Hampered by turnovers (22.7/game) over the first seven games, Furman has trimmed the miscue norm to 16.5 over its last five outings. Mirroring that has been improved 3-point shooting that has seen the Paladins hit on 31/82 attempts from beyond the arc (.378) over the last five games after connecting on just 34/131 treys (.259) in the first seven contests.
Friday’s game against Charleston Southern will be streamed via ESPN+.

Furman junior Diego Hernandez was named first team Top Drawer Soccer Best XI while teammates Braden Dunham, Connor Stout and Ivan Horvat earned spots on the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman Best XI teams.

Dunham scored one of the more memorable goals in school history in Furman’s 1-0 victory at Portland in the NCAA quarterfinal.

Furman (16-2-5) wound up with a No. 3 national ranking.

Furman softball is set to play 26 homes at Pepsi Stadium, including the Purple and White Classic and Paladin Invitational.

 The Chattanooga Mocs are set to host this season’s SoCon Softball Championship May 6-9 at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Furman returns five of its eight position starters from a last season’s 15-38 overall, 5-16 in the SoCon.

Take a look at the schedule here. 

Lacrosse coach Gail Wallach has hired former Paladin midfielder Sydney McClure as an assistant coach.
McClure, a native of Marietta, Ga., returns to Furman after spending the fall season on the coaching staff at Central Michigan. She will work primarily with the Paladin attackers. She began her career in Greenville before transferring to Coastal Carolina.

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