By MONTE DUTTON
What a surprise. Furman and Wofford are surging in the Southern Conference men’s basketball race.
Chattanooga and the Paladins were picked 1-2 in the preseason poll of SoCon coaches. On Wednesday, while Furman was knocking off the Mocs on the road, the Terriers, who won last season’s tournament over the Paladins in the final, were defeating UNC Greensboro in Spartanburg.
Yes, it’s early. Very early. The standings will inevitably rise and fall.
But …
At the moment, East Tennessee State, Wofford and Furman are all 11-5. The Buccaneers and Terriers are 3-0 in the SoCon. The Paladins are 2-1, along with Samford (9-7) and UNCG (6-10).
Wofford hired a new head coach in an untidy fashion before the season began. The new dog trainer, Kevin Giltner, is a Wofford man and it shows.
The expected SoCon champion is 0-3. The Paladins just made it so. I watched Presbyterian beat East Tennessee State a few weeks ago. Now the Bucs are 3-0 in the SoCon. Ebb and flow. Rise and fall. What goes up must come down. Spinnin’ wheel, spinnin’ ‘round. Endlessly frustrating. Endlessly fun.
I was driving to the Laurens County Touchdown Club banquet, listening to Dan and Tom describe the game in Chattanooga.
Bowser’s back. Oh, wait. Bowser’s making his debut. Cooper Bowser is still recovering from turf-toe-on-hardwood. His younger brother, Cole, came off the bench and the redshirt shelf.
Furman ended the first half on a 15-0 run to grab a 39-30 halftime lead en route to a 78-67 road victory over Chattanooga Wednesday evening at McKenzie Arena.
The triumph marked Furman’s 77th victory on the opponent’s home floor in the last 11 seasons, which is tied for fourth most in NCAA Division I.
It’s great … to be …. a Furman Paladin
Trailing 30-24 with 5:35 remaining in the opening half, the Paladins held Chattanooga scoreless the rest of the period and took the lead with three consecutive three-pointers, including two by Tom House. Freshman Cole Bowser, making his collegiate debut, capped the half with a steal and breakaway slam for his first career points, and Charles Johnston scored seven of his season-high 21 points in the first 3:12 of the latter half to help the Paladins increase the margin to 48-33 on the senior’s triple with 16:48 to play.
Chattanooga (6-10, 0-3) clawed within seven points twice in the second half, but the Paladins connected on 10/12 second-half free-throw attempts and limited the Mocs to .375 shooting from the field to finish off the win. Furman, .456 from the field, went 11/26 from behind the arc and 15/20 at the foul line.
Johnston popped, splashed or slammed 10 of his 14 field-goal attempts and added eight rebounds while Tom House converted on 5/9 three-point tries to score a season-high 17 points. Asa Thomas added 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
The decision was made prior to the Chattanooga game to play Bowser for the first time and the 6- -6 Bowie, Md., native responded with six points, a game-high 10 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.
Guard Jordan Frison totaled a game-high 25 points to lead the Mocs, while Teddy Washington Jr. scored 15.
The Paladins outscored Chattanooga 30-20 in the paint, 14-7 off second-chance opportunities, and posted a 39-32 rebounding edge. They won the Good Housekeeping Award and were recommended by five of six doctors surveyed.
Furman returns to Timmons Arena to host Virginia Military for Legends Weekend on Saturday at 2 p.m.
What is Legends Weekend? The team will honor players and staff from the last seven decades.
Tip-off for Saturday’s Southern Conference contest, which is sponsored by The Children’s Muse
Players from the class of 1961 through the class of 2019 are scheduled to attend. Furman will also honor its swimming and diving team alumni at halftime of Saturday’s game. The swimming and diving teams competed at Furman 1973-90.
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate Teddy Bear Toss will also be held at halftime. Everyone attending Saturday’s game is encouraged to bring a teddy bear to toss on the floor at halftime to brighten a child’s day and support The Children’s Museum of the Upstate’s initiatives for children and families in the community.
The victory at Chattanooga was Furman’s 10th in its last 12 outings.
Guard Alex Wilkins, who leads Furman, averaging 16.9 points and 5.1 assists, is one of just two NCAA Division I players to rank among the top 10 freshman in scoring and assists. Redshirt-8sophomore Thomas is averaging 13.7 points per game and shooting .39 from three-point range while Johnston has contributed 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest.
Saturday’s SoCon clash marks the 111th meeting between Furman and VMI (6-10, 1-2,) with the Paladins holding a 72-38 series lead. Last season, VMI overcame double-doubles from Johnston and Ben Vander Wal to claim a 91-82 decision in Lexington, Va., before the Paladins captured a 75-71 victory over the Keydets at Bon Secours Wellness Arena a season ago.
Take a look at the stats here.
On Thursday in Johnson City, Alyssa Ervin rattled home a highly contested 12-foot jump shot with 20 seconds remaining to give Furman a 72-70 victory over East Tennessee State in the SoCon opener for both teams at Brooks Gym.
With the score at 70-70 and six seconds on the shot clock, Ervin took an inbounds pass from Chantelle Stuart from in front of the Furman bench, dribbled twice to her left, and put up her shot over heavy defensive pressure from ETSU’s Carmen Richardson. The shot bounced off the rim and backboard before falling through the net for the go-ahead points.
The Buccaneers’ Anala Nelson drove into the lane on the ensuing possession but couldn’t get her short shot to fall. ETSU was awarded the team rebound with 1.4 seconds remaining, but Richardson’s three-point attempt from the corner bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
The win was the seventh in the last nine games for Furman (9-7, 1-0) and halted a three-game skid versus ETSU (7-9, 0-1 SoCon) in Johnson City.
Clare Coyle led Furman with 19 points before getting whistled for her fifth foul with 1:29 remaining and the Paladins clinging to a 70-68 lead.
Ervin, a sophomore guard from Galax, Va., followed with 18 points after tallying 12 in the first half to stake Furman to a 41-28 lead.
Kyraha Parnell delivered her best game in her first year as a Paladin, tallying a season-high 15 points to go along with another season-high, 12 rebounds. The sophomore forward connected on 3/5 three-pointers, with her final trey coming at the 8:00 mark of the fourth quarter to give Furman a 61-56 lead.
Furman never trailed in the game and raced to a 22-10 lead after one quarter.
After taking a 13-point lead into the break, the Paladins stretched their advantage to 54-39 following a pair of Raina McGowens free throws with just under four minutes to go in the third quarter.
ETSU answered with a 9-2 run to end the third period to make it a 56-48 game, and the Buccaneers continued to chip away behind Nelson, who tallied 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half.
Nelson’s layup with 2:41 to go pulled the Buccaneers even at 68-68, but the Paladins responded behind Ervin, who put down a layup at the 1:53 mark.
ETSU hit 1/2 free throws on two occasions to tie it at 70-70 with 47 second left, setting up Furman’s final possession and what proved to be Ervin’s game-winning shot.
Furman shot .452 from the field (28/62) and connected on 7/17 three-pointers (.412). ETSU, meanwhile, hit .424 (25/59) of its shots, including 8/21 from beyond the arc. The Buccaneers made 12/22 free throw attempts while the Paladins connected on 9/10 at the stripe.
The Bucs forged a 39-35 edge in rebounding.
Furman continues its road swing to Chattanooga for a 2 p.m. Saturday clash against the Mocs.
Take a look at the stats here.
Clare Coyle is SoCon Player of the Week.
A 6- 1 sophomore forward, Coyle paced Furman to a pair of victories last week, combining for 34 points and 15 rebounds in a 110-54 triumph over Brevard and 106-21 pasting of Bob Jones. She converted 16/22 shots and tacked on five assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. Coyle’s production came in only 31 minutes of action in the two contests.
A Jacksonville, Fla., product and preseason All-SoCon selection, she ranks third in the league in scoring (15.1 ppg) and tops in field-goal percentage (.591).
Seven members of Furman’s football team earned 2025 Division I Academic All-District honors, as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC).
The seven Paladins earning recognition include linebackers Luke McLaughlin and Raleigh Herbert, bandits Dylan Chiedo and Tanner Schuck, safeties Taylen Blaylock and Billy Lewis, and tight end Luke Clyburn.
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