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: Furman Paladins
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 …
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, …
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. …
Furman opens SoCon play with Mercer
Eddrin Bronson (Furman photo) Click here. It’s a fitting opponent that will provide a stern test as Furman opens Southern Conference men’s basketball play on Wednesday at Timmons Arena. The Paladins put a five-game winning streak on the line when they take on Mercer in a New Year’s Eve matinee that tips at noon. The …
Furman preps for SoCon on a tear
(Furman photo) Click here. Sunday afternoon’s basketball game at Timmons Arena was an affair of fits and starts, streaks and slumps. The second half was, anyway. Redshirt sophomore Asa Thomas scored a career-best 25 points and freshman Alex Wilkins added 23 and a career-high eight rebounds to lead Furman to its fifth consecutive victory with …
This time CSU takes on Furman men
Cooper Bowser (21), Ben Vander Wal (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. 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 …
Paladins solve free-throw distance when it counts
Charles Johnston has seven double-doubles in 12 games (Monte Dutton photo). Click here. 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 …
Continue reading Paladins solve free-throw distance when it counts
Nightrider's Lament 