Final: Furman 98 - 83 Northern Iowa
Welcome back Bob Richey! Furman avenged a 2025 loss to the Panthers with a dominant win powered by more tremendous shooting from the perimeter. The Paladin’s defense in the first half helped them build a 13-point halftime lead that was never relinquished. Northern Iowa led by a small margin early in the game, but the Paladins quickly pulled ahead, leading for 36:24 of the 40 minutes. Steady play down the stretch was important as UNI made a run, but contributions from across the board made it feel comfortable.
Career night for Baba! Two Furman starters, Abijah Franklin and Tom House, reached career highs in scoring on Saturday. Baba has rebounded after a somewhat disappointing season opener, and put in 21 points including 6 from the line. Abijah got onto the boards from the 2 spot, grabbing 7 rebounds (3 offensive).
Career night for House! Tom House is flaming hot to start the year, dropping a career high 30 points, a stark contrast from his cold shooting start last season.
Tom in 2025 vs. UNI: 0-7 (0-5 from 3). Tom in 2026 vs. UNI: 9-14 (7-11 from 3). House has taken on his role as the focal point of the offense and it seems like he can drop it in from everywhere. A look at the shot chart from his career high night:
Furman played 10 guys and all 10 scored. Along with 4 guys in double figures, Collin O’Neal has been a tremendous bench piece, averaging over a steal a game (1.3) on top of his 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. This is all without Cole Bowser and Mason Smith available as well.
Paint defense: The numbers here could be an early sign of a weakness for the Dins. UNI outscored Furman in the paint by 18, and Bethune Cookman won in the paint by 10. Now when the threes are going in and Furman wins the assist numbers, this isn’t an issue. It will be something to keep an eye on as the season continues.
Jerrin Samuel played limited minutes (6), but effected the game positively with 4 rebounds and a big time three in the first half. Samuel will have to fight for playing time all year with the tremendous depth of the lineup, but Bob Richey specifically mentioned liking what he saw from the young guard.
“He just does everything single thing that I like preferentially, and he does it as hard as he can do it..to me, we’ve gotta find a way to play him”
- Bob Richey on Jerrin Samuel
The extra pass: Furman is out-assisting their D1 opponents by 9.5 per game so far. Everyone, even the bigs, are willing to make the extra pass (Johnston: 4 assists). Toews is living up to his reputation coming from BC, looking comfortable on the ball and staying away from forced shots. The added bonus is Cam Elwer, who has come in and immediately run the second unit with similar efficiency. Both point guards finished with 3 assists vs. UNI.
Jaxson Bell has been unable to see the court in the two D1 games. He was second in scoring while coming off the bench at Army (12.2 ppg). With the depth of this lineup, some guys won’t be able to see the floor every game. Bell will have his moments, and Coach Richey will have his job cut out for him choosing who plays in what could be a 13-man rotation.