Furman went down to Charleston on Wednesday, a place which has risen up to bite the Dins no matter the talent level or recent performances of either team. Furman got Tom House and Collin O’Neal back from their injury absences and built a 19-point second half lead. Yet, The Citadel still forced overtime for the third straight season in McAlister Field House before and stealing the victory in OT. There’s just something about playing on that court that trips up even the best of Furman’s squads (remember that loss in 2023?). Luckily, we only had to dwell on the loss for one day, while the winter weather loomed. In a rare Friday afternoon game, Furman was able to bounce back, scoring 54 second half points and finally closing out a game at their best. Shorthanded, Furman dominated the final 10 minutes of the matchup with UNCG in Greensboro.
Furman 75 - The Citadel 77
Furman started the Citadel game playing through Charles Johnston. He touched the ball at least once on nearly every possession and it paid off. He had 11 first half points and Bob Richey’s squad had a 12 point halftime lead. The offense stalled as the Bulldogs came back because Johnston’s touches shifted from the paint to the top of the key. He finished with 15 points and was 1-5 from three.
Abijah Franklin had another strong game off the bench, where he has really become a sparkplug for this team. He loves using his strength advantage over smaller guards, getting them on his hip and powering to the rim.
Alex Wilkins looked like he was forcing it a bit, trying to hit a big shot when the offense was struggling. Furman’s offense got into a rut, passing it around the perimeter before settling for threes at the end of the shot clock. Wilkins finished 4-17 from the field. Where he did look good was forcing the issue and drawing fouls, it just came a little too late. He has size on most point guards in the league and getting to the line should be a higher priority when nothing else is working.
Furman struggled not to foul while guarding man to man during the comeback. We saw the 1-3-1 come out for only a couple possessions during this stretch, causing a turnover and giving up a bucket. In a game where it seemed like every possession ended in free throws, the 1-3-1 seemed a bit under utilized.
Home clock operating cost Furman around 8 seconds. The shot clock reset multiple seconds after The Citadel rebounded a Furman miss, allowing the Bulldogs to run the clock down even further. On the final foul call, the clock continued to run after the whistle, leaving Furman with 3.3 seconds instead of around 5.1. Added together, Furman could have had almost 11 seconds to get down the court towards the rim instead of heaving a shot from half court.
A positive: Collin O’Neal didn’t seem to miss a beat after nearly two months. He knocked down his first three and probably would have seen more time if he hadn’t been on a minutes restriction.
Furman 89 - UNCG 66:
Let’s get to the good stuff.
We have to start with the offensive explosion from Tom House! House nailed 5 threes and had 17 points in the first half. He scored 8 more in the second, finishing a scorching 70% from beyond the arc (7-10). His 25 points are a season high, and second most in his career (26 vs. Mercer in 2025). Missing both Bronson and Franklin, House more than picked up the difference in scoring for them.
Down to 7 men once again due to illness, we saw Owen Ritger play a huge 20 minutes. Spelling Charles Johnston was essential after he played 40 minutes less than 48 hours before while Ritger only saw 1 minute in Charleston. In Greensboro he, most importantly, used his fouls. Justin Neely is a foul drawing machine for the Spartans which could be the worst nightmare for a Paladin team with only two subs. While Johnston did end up fouling out, he did so with the game already decided, mostly due to Ritger’s play.
One number that jumps out on the box score is 8 assists from Ben Vander Wal. UNCG tried a little zone to shake up Furman’s offense, but Vander Wal found his spot in the middle and kicked out to shooters. His pass to Cole Bowser for a three started Paladins on a 19-4 run. This offensive explosion stretched the lead from 8 to the winning margin of 23.
Alex Wilkins had 0 turnovers while still dishing out 6 assists. It’s his first flawless passing game of his career. Oh yeah, he also had 27 points. He took command late, scoring 9 points in the last 4:20 of the game.
Cole Bowser just gets better and better. He recorded his second double digit rebounding game and his first career double double. Cole has played 6 games with no tune-up before SoCon play and averages 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 59% from the field. It’s hard to say where Furman would be without him.
Furman had 5 turnovers total and shot 92% from the free throw line. Marked improvement that will pay dividends if they can keep it up.
After a gut wrenching loss at The Citadel, the UNCG game showed that this team can close opponents out. Confidence can only build from here and hopefully, this will be the last game the Dins play with only seven scholarship players.
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