Charles Johnston (1) (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Perhaps the Southern Conference men’s basketball season reaches full intensity each winter when Furman plays Wofford for the first time. The late Keith Jackson sometimes previewed a SEC football rivalry by saying, in his inimitable style, “These two teams just do not like each other.” One reason …
Tag: basketball
Wilkins leads all-around Furman effort
By MONTE DUTTON Cole Bowser (6), Ben Vander Wal and Alex Wilkins (10) celebrate (Furman photo). Click here. A season ago, head coach Bob Richey was fond of referring to his men’s basketball team as “Find a Way Furman.” Same characteristics. Different players. Furman, fighting off injuries, moved into a tie for first place in …
Hose … hold … on, 71-70
By MONTE DUTTON Carl Parrish (12) aims for Jaylen Peterson (Monte Dutton photos). The Presbyterian Blue Hose – players, coaches, fans – took a deep breath after Wednesday night’s 71-70 win over UNC Asheville at Templeton Center. With 1:54 remaining, PC (9-10, 2-2 Big South) led, 69-57. Jonah Pierce scored a field goal with 3:02 …
Paladins pick up pace
By MONTE DUTTON Ben Vander Wal (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Basketball is funny. That’s my mindless observation. Joe Garagiola wrote a book called Baseball Is a Funny Game, so he began the advance of the banal. A Game Is a Funny Game. Remain Calm. All is well. At glittering new Timmons Arena, Furman calmly …
Now’s when the fun begins
By MONTE DUTTON Ah, yes, the telltale extra digits of AI illustration. Click here. 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, …
Where everybody knows your name …
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. Some play football because they love it. Some play because it runs in the family and is expected of them, some because girls seem to like it. Some like to hit and not be hit. Some just love to get after it. It has been Buddy Bridges’ frequent observation that …
Rahl picks up pieces left by Englehart’s departure
Matt Rahl coached the offensive line in two years on Steve Englehart's staff (Monte Dutton photo). Coming off one of the great seasons in Presbyterian College football history, athletics director Dee Nichols and those around her saw no need to reinvent the wheel, or the wheel route, for that matter. Following two seasons on Steve …
Continue reading Rahl picks up pieces left by Englehart’s departure
‘Piercing’ Upstate’s armor
By MONTE DUTTON Jonah Pierce (Monte Dutton photos) Jonah Pierce is a redshirt senior from Sanford, Fla., on the Presbyterian College basketball team. A knee injury cost him most of the 2024-25 season. He is back with a vengeance hidden by a perpetual smile on his face. Pierce didn’t beat USC Upstate, 86-77, by himself …
Bowled over, as usual
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. My God. I’ve had an addiction to college bowl games since I was in grade school. They’re not the same, but the games must go on because ESPN says so. As long as Duke’s Mayonnaise (which I love) ponies up, a 5-7 Mississippi State can play an 8-4 Wake Forest, …
Team effort dooms Bears, 74-72
By MONTE DUTTON Ben Vander Wal (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Imagine a basketball game in which one team, the victorious one, leads for 32 minutes, 45 seconds, but never by more than nine points. Furman’s 74-72 victory over Mercer, the first Southern Conference game for both teams, was a harbinger of what lies ahead. …
Nightrider's Lament 