Final: Furman 84 - Ch. Southern 76
The Paladins stacked their fifth win in a row, continuing an undefeated December, without preseason All-Conference member Cooper Bowser. Charleston Southern has become a much stronger program this season, after the Dins defeated them 67-46 in last season’s matchup. The Buccaneers came in at 8-5, on a 3 game winning streak. The first half was controlled by Furman early, but the shooting numbers evened out as CSU took the lead before halftime. Furman built as much as a 19 point lead in the second half before letting it slip away under the 4 minute mark. Asa Thomas scored 8 points after that, assisting Charles Johnston for another bucket as well. Free throws by Wilkins and Bronson put away a gritty victory. Time for some takeaways:
Asa Thomas set his career high of 25 points. Asa now has 10 double digit scoring games, and four 20+ point performances. After a slow start team wide from three, Thomas has improved his shooting to just over 40% from deep. He also made multiple clutch player down the stretch to win the game for Furman
His back-down turnaround midrange jumper put the Paladins up 1
The next play was a fastbreak, where Thomas pump faked, opening up the drive. The defense rotated, leaving the dish to Johnston wide open.
The dagger three off of a dribble handoff. Self-explanatory
Alex Wilkins was a constant threat. He came out aggressive early, and put together a tremendous 24 point night. Lex limited his turnovers to 3, repaid those turnovers with 3 steals of his own, and dished out 4 assists. He used his length at the guard spot, leading the team in rebounding with 8. What a game for the freshman.
It’s clear the team missed Bowser. Furman has only been outscored in the paint in 2 games prior to this one, against High Point and Troy (by 2). Southern outscored the Dins by 16 in the paint, with Furman really lacking a post presence on defense. Offensively, when the jumpshots weren't falling, they missed the outlet of a lob or post-up for Bowser to get easy buckets.
Bowser has a turf-toe injury, and is estimated to miss at least a month. It’s unfortunate timing with Furman preparing to start conference play against Mercer, which has a dominant big man of their own, and Western Carolina which has a 7-footer. With that said, Furman can win tough games without him (like yesterday), and the potential of this team in February with O’Neal and Bowser back in the lineup is something to look forward to.
Baba continues to be a steady guy off the bench during O’Neal’s absence. He is always aggressive in transition, getting to the line and hitting both free throws today. He also nailed a three and grabbed 5 rebounds. His growth is such a bonus to lengthen the rotation, especially when his freshman compatriot Collin O’Neal returns.
VanderWal established himself early, as he usually does. He was going hard towards the rim and drawing fouls, making 5-7 from the line. He even nailed both free throws on one trip! VanderWal really rebounds. He’s only had 2 games with less than 5 rebounds this season, and has 6+ rebounds in 6 straight games.
The two runs by Charleston Southern to grab the lead at the end of both halves may be due to fatigue. A lot of defense yesterday involved chasing guys around screens, particularly #3, A’Lahn Sumler. He heated up and had 26 by the end of the game. Charleston Southern played 12 guys, while Furman stuck with their 8 man rotation, hampered by the injuries to Bowser and O’Neal. We can’t forget Davis Molnar either, injured in the preseason, who would have been a great extra body down low. We’ll need to see some quick growth from Ritger in the backup big role.
Asa’s three to send Furman up by 6 really came out of nothing.
The original play with a horns set at the free throw line didn’t lead to a ton. Tom House was cut off on his drive. But the positioning of Johnston at the key gave Thomas an opportunity to run off his hip and receive a dribble handoff. Asa was feeling it, and he drilled it.
Defense to end it: Just straight-up man to man, well-executed. Ed Bronson entered the game for VanderWal and ended up chasing A’Lahn Sumler. Ed had fresh legs to follow Sumler off of screens, who may have been tiring out himself. He missed a free throw late in the game, while Bronson knocked down two free throws to put it out of reach.
The Paladins are looking good compared to the SoCon in a lot of important stat categories after the non-conference.
Furman is 2nd in PPG at 78.6. Only 1.9 points behind Mercer.
Tied for 1st with ETSU in field goal percentage at 48.6%
Furman is the best rebounding team, with 39.8 per game
Leading the league in assists per game, with 17.3
Full stats from the game vs. Charleston Southern are below, via ESPN:
