Final: Furman 70 - 75 ETSU
Well, it happened yet again. Furman has now had five double digit second half leads that have been cut to 4 or less, or ended in a loss. On Wednesday night, Furman held a 51-37 lead with 10:20 remaining and within 5 minutes, the game had been tied at 53. Furman fought back to a three point lead for multiple possessions but could not extend it and missed a couple free throws as well. Jaylen Smith hit a clutch three to tie it and Furman was unable to get off a good shot for the win.
It has become a disturbing trend for the Paladins to give up double digit leads, but it is also the speed at which the leads dissipate which may be the most concerning. It wasn’t a gradual back and forth battle, but a 16-2 run in which ETSU scored on six straight possessions. Three turnovers led to easy buckets and three fouls on the defensive end. Though Furman was able to get it to Cooper Bowser a couple times, they were both tough shots at the end of the shot clock.
21 turnovers was the difference in the game, 11 from Alex Wilkins. The only other games which Furman has turned it over 20 or more times, were the VMI and High Point games. They lost the High Point game by 26.
Cooper Bowser was back and extremely effective. He just looks stronger than he even was before the injury. He warded off Blake Barkley many times from even attempting a shot and grabbed 8 rebounds. He finished with 18 points and hit two clutch free throws with a minute left.
Furman got almost nothing from the bench scoring wise, with a three in overtime from Cole Bowser being the only bucket. Bronson was limited immediately with 2 quick fouls and Collin O’Neal didn’t look very comfortable when he was out there. We still saw no minutes from Abijah Franklin, as multiple starters played 35+ minutes. Tom House played 41 minutes.
Furman elected not to foul and defend with 15 seconds left, which seemed like a good idea given ETSU’s shooting numbers. But they completely lost track of Jaylen Smith on the perimeter, who finished 3-3 from beyond the arc with the game tying shot.
It will be interesting to see if there will be any adjustments if Furman gets in another situation like this. They’ve been able to pull out a few of these close games, but the losses to Wofford, The Citadel and ETSU were all games they could have managed better. An underrated aspect is the number of big threes Asa Thomas would hit when games got within reach for the opponent.
3 games in March is all that matters! Furman still has a shot at all three of the other top four teams in the conference, including revenge against ETSU at home
Asa Thomas will be back for the game against UNCG. It will be the first time Furman will have an intact starting lineup since December 18th.
If you’d like to help Furman Hoops Insider continue to grow, pledge a subscription or use the button below for a one-time gift: