Furman took their second loss of the season last night, dropping the home opener 64-61 against the Troy Trojans. Furman once again dug themselves an early hole, driven by 13 first half turnovers. But, unlike game one against High Point, the Paladins fought back from down 14 to tie the game at 55. The Dins grabbed a defensive rebound with a chance to take the lead, but promptly turned it over to relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
The second half gave so much to look forward to, proving that the team can make adjustments to take care of the ball and get better shots on offense. Both Troy and High Point are higher than any other SoCon team on KenPom, which is just notable to point out Furman’s high level of competition early in the season. Let’s jump into the takeaways.
First half turnovers (13) got Furman into a hole right off the bat, and kept them from scoring. Even as Troy was slow to score early as well, the turnovers added extra pressure to the defense. Furman had 5 turnovers in the first 5 minutes.
The defense looked much better (thankfully). Clearly Furman struggled defensively against High Point. Tonight Furman held Troy to 64 points, right after the Trojans had been to Kent State and scored 103. Troy also only shot 9-of-30 from three, a 30% clip. As we saw in the second half, it’s much easier to defend when turnovers are cut down. Troy scored 28 second half points, a few of them off of intentional fouls, compared to 36 in the first half.
The offensive output from Eddrin Bronson was a much welcomed addition tonight. Bronson looked a little uncomfortable handling the ball last game, but tonight he had a defined role and played into it. Bronson came off the bench as the 2 guard, ready for back cuts and catch and shoot threes. I think this role helps him feel more confidence when he is in scoring position and not have to feel the extra pressure of bringing the ball up and running an offense. Bronson ended with 14 points on 50% shooting, 4-7 from 3PT range.
Wilkins is quickly and steadily improving. Having a freshman start at point guard is going to be an adjustment, but one that will pay off in the long season. Wilkins made some early turnovers, but looked more comfortable settling in. He cut out some of the wild crosscourt passes for some lobs and better decisions, finishing with 8 assists. He looked better getting to the rim, drawing fouls and making tough shots without forcing too much. He finished with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting. If his high school career showed anything, the shooting will come along and Alex Wilkins will be a can’t miss watch every night.
Charles Johnston is a wild ride! Johnston is going to be one of those guys who can heat up in a hurry and stimulate a big run on offense. But he can also get a little out of control with his passing at points. He came out with 3 turnovers in the first 4 minutes. He did not shoot well from the field, at 2-of-6 and 1 for 4 from 3. But there he was again with double digit rebounds and a couple steals during the Dins big second half run. Johnston has double digit rebounds in both games and the Alabama exhibition.
Speaking of rebounding, Furman won the rebounding battle again this game, the same as they did against High Point. The two big lineup should keep this consistent and tonight help came from the wings. Tom House and Asa Thomas contributed 7 rebounds combined.
The Asa Thomas and Tom House dynamic will be interesting to watch. Asa started against Alabama, but Tom House has started both regular season games. Tom struggled tonight, and hasn’t had a lot of open looks. He was 0-6 today and 0-4 from three shooting, but contributed 4 rebounds 2 assists and a steal. Asa shot 3-8, with all three coming from deep. He added 3 rebounds. They play the same position but it seems like only one will start for Coach Richey this season.
Freshman class: The same four freshmen saw game time today, but trailing and attempting a comeback probably led Bob Richey to lean on his experienced guys. O’Neal saw less time than expected, but Bronson’s performance probably contributed to that. Abijah Franklin looks like he will just earn more and more minutes off the bench as he becomes increasingly polished on both ends. Ritger looked very young out there, but is going to be needed if the team wants a big off the bench.
Those are our takeaways for today! A lot to look forward to as the offense figures itself out and the freshmen figure out their roles. I didn’t even mention Cooper Bowser, who did Cooper Bowser things with a couple of thunderous dunks to boot.
Up next is a matchup with Columbia International, which will be a more valuable game this season. It should be a good opportunity to play the freshmen a lot more and get comfortable on the floor.
Final stats via ESPN:
