Furman’s basketball teams appear to be coming together at the same.

They’re jelling. They’re coalescing. They’re bonding. They’re thickening.

On Friday night at Buccaneer Fieldhouse, Pierre Curtis’s women won for the fourth time in five games. The night before, Bob Richey’s men won its seventh out of eight over Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y.

(In the fun-facts department, Charleston Southern is in North Charleston, and Manhattan is in the Bronx. Go figure.)

Clare Coyle scored 19 points and Furman used a 9-0 run to open the second half to take command en route to a 63-51 victory over Charleston Southern. It was the Paladins’ first road triumph.

Furman (6-6) is now off until it takes on Florida in Gainesville on Dec. 28.

 Coyle, coming off a career-high 31-point performance in a 110-36 blowout win over Mars Hill on Sunday, connected on 8/18 shots and 3/4 free throws to pace Furman.  The Paladins also got 13 points from Raina McGowens and 11 from Chantelle Stuart, who all passed out five assists in her second game back after missing three contests due to injury.

Caelan Ellis led Charleston Southern (2-9) with 15 points.

 Furman took advantage of 22 Buccaneer turnovers to pile up a 24-11 scoring differential off miscues.

The Paladins trailed 15-11 with just under two minutes to go in the first quarter before finishing the period with a 6-0 run on three layups, including a pair by Coyle for a 17-15 lead.

Another Coyle layup to open the second quarter keyed another 6-0 spurt that completed the 12-0 Paladin run for a 23-15 advantage.

Leading 29-23 at the break, Furman opened the second half behind McGowens, who provided a pair of baskets, including a three-pointer, and two free throws in a 9-0 run that stretched Furman’s edge to 38-23.

 Furman enjoyed its biggest lead at 49-30 following Sophia Pearl’s three-point play late in the third quarter.

The Paladins amassed a 41-29 edge in rebounding, led by Coyle and Stuart with six each.

Take a look at the stats here.

Richey’s squad takes its turn at the Buccaneers, only this time at Timmons Arena for a 2 p.m. tip.

Furman (8-4) goes for its fifth consecutive victory when it closes out its regular season non-conference schedule on Sunday.

Last time out, Furman used a 14-3 second half run to ease past Manhattan University, 75-68. Freshman Alex Wilkins continued his sensational start to his collegiate career by scoring 18 points and dishing out seven assists while junior Cooper Bowser went 8/8 from the floor to finish with 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Wilkins leads the Paladins in scoring (16.2 ppg) and assists (4.8) and has reached double figures in 10 of Furman’s 12 games. Bowser has contributed 13.4 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting a nation-best .812 from the field. Senior Charles Johnston scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Jaspers to notch his seventh double-double of the season. The 6- 11 Sydney, Australia, native is averaging 10.1 points and a team-best 9.7 rebounds.

Sunday’s game marks the 19^th meeting between Furman and Charleston Southern with the Paladins holding an 11-7 series edge. Nick Anderson scored a team-high 14 points to pace the Paladins to a 67-46 victory over the Buccaneers in the most recent meeting at Charleston Southern on Nov. 23, 2024. The Bucs are making their first trip to Greenville since the 2018-19 season.

Charleston Southern arrives in Greenville at 8-5 following a 113-90 conquest of North Florida on Thursday. The Bucs have won three straight games and posted 107 points per game during the streak. Brycen Blaine leads the Buccaneers, averaging 19.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Head coach Doug Allison and his staff were named the United Soccer Coaches Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year. 
Allison and his staff, which includes associate head coaches Bret Boulware and Brandon Tucker and volunteer assistant coach Charlie Arndt, guided the Paladins to unprecedented success. The Paladins posted a 16-2-5 record, captured Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Men’s College Cup for the first time in school history. Furman earned a No. 3 national ranking in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
“This is an incredible honor, and I can’t believe this is happening for our staff,” said Doug Allison, who is retiring after 31 years and 365 victories as Furman’s head coach. “We have tremendous support from Furman University and outstanding student-athletes to work with each day. I’m so thankful for the hard work that Coach Boulware, Coach Tucker, Coach Arndt, and every player on our team has put into this program.

“This is surreal for our program to receive this honor at the end of my final year. It’s icing on the cake for me.”
Allison and his staff helped Furman earn a No. 16 national seed and the school’s first opening-round bye in the NCAA Tournament. The Paladins blanked Western Michigan in the second round of the NCA Tournament before advancing past Hofstra on penalty kicks in the Sweet Sixteen. Freshman Braden Dunham’s goal from 40 yards out and the outstanding play of redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Ivan Horvat and his defense helped the Paladins prevail at No. 8 seed Portland in the quarterfinals as Furman secured its first trip to the College Cup.

The magical ride came to an end in the national semifinals against eventual national champion Washington, but not before Luke Munson’s sliding clearance off the goal line and Luke Hutzell’s second-half volley landed the Paladins two highlights on SportsCenter’s Top 10.

“Being named national coach of the year in his final season as head coach is a fitting tribute to an extraordinary career,” said Furman Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Jason Donnelly. “For more than three decades, Doug Allison’s leadership, integrity and unwavering commitment to excellence have defined Furman soccer. This honor reflects the historic success of this year’s team, and the profound, lasting impact Doug has made on generations of Paladin student-athletes.”
Since 1995, Allison has become 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, his players have captured 30 All-America citations and he has mentored future U.S. National Team and MLS athletes, including Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey and Walker Zimmerman. Allison is set to be inducted into the Furman Athletics Hall of Fame in February.

The Furman staff will be honored at the United Soccer Coaches Awards Ceremony on Jan. 16, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pa., in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention. Each Regional Staff of the Year appeared on the ballot for National Staff of the Year.

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