Just down the road from Furman’s campus, in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (not to be confused with the outdoor version used for football), Furman avenged their January loss to the Terriers with a gutsy performance. Furman built a large first half lead with Asa Thomas scorching the nets from deep. But they gave half of it back before halftime and the rest soon after the break. Same old story some might say. But this one was different. Powered by some strong interior play, good decisions from the guards, and clutch defensive rebounding, Furman held them off and quieted the Wofford faithful. Let’s get into takeaways from an exciting weekend in Spartanburg.
Asa wanted the smoke! Asa Thomas came out of the gate already on fire and hit his first six three pointers. After his fourth, Thomas played to the crowd, asking for more from an already energetic Wofford student section. It didn’t seem to bother him as he made two more soon after, helping build a 16 point lead. Thomas finished with 18, but his gravity led to some of the drives late in the game.
The bench showed up. Furman’s bench is the key to holding onto leads and taking some of the pressure off of the starters. Alex Wilkins played 30 minutes, the most of all starters. Cole Bowser didn’t score, but grabbed five rebounds. The bench limited turnovers to 1, and made key plays in both halves. Eddrin Bronson and Tom House closed the game, attempting 0 threes, instead driving the lane and getting to the line or dishing to Bowser and Johnston.
Resilience. After giving up the lead early in the second half, it became a back and forth game. Furman wanted it more and importantly, did not rely on the three. Layups from Bronson and VanderWal, an and-1 from Johnston, and a 7 footer from Wilkins gave Furman the 8 point lead with 2 minutes to go. Wilkins, Bowser, and Bronson all made free throws down the stretch as well.
Baba Franklin had some great minutes. Last time out against Wofford, Franklin had the best game of his career: 14 points, 6 rebounds and an assist. This time, he came in for two minutes in the first half and hit a three, stole the ball, and hit another three the next possession. He really has showed flashes of what we can look forward to from him next season.
Dominant Frontcourt: Furman’s twin towers once again shot with great efficiency. They combined to score 26 points on 77% shooting. Johnston moved his game inside and looked really aggressive. He only took 1 three on the night.
Furman converted from the line (76%) and Wofford did not (53%). Quite a shift from early free throw struggles.
After a rough shooting night against ETSU where Furman put up 33 threes, they only shot 17 on Saturday, out of 52 field goals. When the game got tight, they got to the rim, shooting only 5 threes in the second half. That is an impressive adjustment and something that shows the coaching staff definitely has a grasp on what Furman has struggled with going into March. Coach Richey does love Asheville!
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