Chattanooga works its way back from 16 down in win at Furman

Chattanooga guard Honor Huff was one of three Mocs to score 16 points as the Mocs bounced back from down 16 to win at Furman Saturday.  (Photo:  Chattanooga Athletics)

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GREENVILLE, S.C. – For about 11 minutes of Saturday’s game, Furman seemed to have everything at its command. The Paladins led, 22-6, over Chattanooga, holding the Mocs to a 2-for-17 start from the floor. The game would not, however, be the landslide for which Furman hoped or its fans expected.

Instead, pebble by pebble, the wall crumbled.

The visiting Mocs overcame that early 16-point hole, a seven-point halftime deficit, and nearly everything else thrown at them. Chattanooga got 48 points from its top three scorers – exactly 16 apiece – and scored 48 points in the second half to defeat Furman, 75-71, before an announced crowd of 4,327 at Greenville’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

The decision left normally stoic Bob Richey “furious” – his word – though his face revealed little of that emotion.

“This game tonight could have gone either way,” Richey said after the game. “This was a 50-50 game with two great teams battling it out. We led for 35 minutes of the game. They led for 4:20. Those are the ones that kill you. Those are the ones that hurt you. For 35 minutes, we did a lot of good stuff. For four minutes and 20 seconds, we gave them the lead and let them come on our home floor and beat us. We didn’t finish the game well.”

Furman (15-4, 3-3 SoCon) could hardly have started the game better. The Paladins raced out to an 11-0 lead, turning away the first seven Chattanooga field goal attempts. Honor Huff connected on a jumper after over five minutes had elapsed to finally put the Mocs on the board. Once the Paladin lead stretched to the aforementioned 16, Chattanooga finally found a bit of an answer.

Bash Wieland knocked out the first layer of stone with four quick points. A mixture of dunks, free throws, layups, and five quick points from Frank Champion loosened a bit more of the deficit, quickly slicing the lead to five and knocking the home side onto its heels a bit. Furman responded, scoring eight of the final 14 points of the period, using a PJay Smith triple to create some much-needed separation before the Mocs finally cut it to seven at the break.

"They are always hard-fought in Southern Conference games and unfortunately for us, we came out of the gate poorly and like we were walking in mud again,” Chattanooga coach Dan Earl said in comments made available by the university. “I don't know why that is, because previously we came out unbelievably well, so we have to find that consistency.”

Chattanooga (12-7, 4-2) wielded its chisel in the second half, chipping away – if slowly – at the deficit. Before it could, though, it had to emerge from under another pile of rocks.

After a Trey Bonham free throw reduced the Furman lead to six, Furman tore off another 7-0 burst that pushed the home side’s lead back to 13. Chattanooga then found success where it had been elusive in the first half – in the paint.

Champion converted a layup. Bonham then converted one. Garrison Keeslar booked another. Bonham put home two more. Wieland made one. In three-and-a-half minutes, the lead that had ballooned back to a baker’s dozen was suddenly a precarious two points. The purple-clad partisans seemed stunned.

Furman then worked the lead back to eight, padding the advantage on four straight free throws. Finally, after all the chipping away and all the layers between the two teams being rebuilt in frustrating bursts, the visitors broke through. Again, the Mocs mostly got the job done in the paint.

Champion notched two more layups and Huff hit a three, but a redshirt freshman would deal the final blow.

Collin Mulholland, who came into the game to spell Latif Diouf after Diouf fouled out, grabbed a dish from Huff and went up strong to the basket. The 6-foot-10 forward finished through contact and earned a free throw, which he made to put Chattanooga ahead, 60-58, with 4:35 remaining. Furman’s Eddrin Bronson leveled the contest with a bucket, but Furman would never again lead.

The Paladins thought – for a moment, anyway – that they would have a chance to even the game with four seconds remaining, as Smith drew a foul beyond the three-point arc. Furman protested that Smith was fouled in the act of shooting; however, after a somewhat prolonged conversation, the officials ruled that Smith was fouled on the floor. Smith hit the first of two free throws and tried to intentionally miss the second, but the try was ruled not to have hit the rim. The Mocs then put away the game at the line.

“I can’t wait to see the clip of PJay,” Richey said. “He was in the act of shooting when the whistle went off. I don’t understand how that – I don’t get that. It’s just one of those situations where – that stuff’s out of my control. (The officials) didn’t miss 11 free throws for us. They didn’t give them 12 offensive rebounds that turned into 17 points. I don’t want to be the one sitting up here faulting them for it. I am curious to see that call, because obviously the game was on the line when that shot goes up and he’s clearly shooting when the whistle goes. I think that’s an unfortunate situation right there.”

To Richey’s point, Chattanooga completely flipped the script in the paint in the second half. The Mocs outscored the Paladins, 26-14 below the stripe in the second half, but two other numbers troubled the Paladins’ coach. Chattanooga held a 17-3 advantage on second chance points and a 15-4 advantage on the break, which loomed large in such a tightly contested game. Additionally, both sides tried 28 free throws. Chattanooga missed just three, while Furman missed 11.

Champion, Huff, and Bowman all notched 16 for the Mocs. The trio sank 15-of-32 tries from the deck and added a 15-of-17 performance from the line that helped seal the final margin. Chattanooga finished the game shooting 44.2 percent (23-of-52) for the contest, lifted by 51.7 percent (15-of-29) shooting in the second stanza. The Mocs outrebounded the Paladins by 11 and conquered most of the statistical categories. Champion finished one board away from a double-double.

Smith led Furman and all scorers, booking 18 on 4-of-15 shooting. Nick Anderson added 15, hitting 5-of-7 from the field. Furman shot 43.1 percent (22-for-51) overall but slightly bettered that percentage by hitting 10 threes on 23 tries (43.5 percent). The Paladins converted 14 Chattanooga turnovers into 20 points.

Richey addressed after the game the search for answers he and his team now face.

“There are going to be ebbs and flows to seasons,” Richey said. “We’re not going to lose our minds. We’re 15-4. We’re not where we want to be in league play. We’ve got to go do the things we were doing successfully when we were winning at the level we were winning at. We’ve got to fight our way out of this. You find out a lot about yourself when you lose a game. We’re going to find out a lot about ourselves.

“I’m disappointed. I’m mad. I’m furious, actually. That doesn’t mean I’m discouraged and that this team can’t respond. I know we’re better than this. If you don’t like who you are, change what you do. That’s just how life works. Don’t change what you say or who you blame, just change what you do. We’ve got to be better, and I trust that we will be.”

The sides return to SoCon play later this week. Furman travels to Lexington, Va., to take on VMI Wednesday evening. Tip time from Cameron Hall is set for 6:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ offering streaming coverage. Chattanooga welcomes SoCon co-leader Samford to McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga for a 7:00 jump Thursday evening. The game will be televised on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

CHATTANOOGA 75, FURMAN 71

CHATTANOOGA (12-7, 4-2 SOCON)

Champion 6-9 3-3 16, Keeslar 1-5 0-0 2, Bonham 5-15 5-6 16, Huff 4-8 7-8 16, Wieland 2-7 3-4 7, Cusano 0-1 0-0 0, Kostel 0-0 4-4 4, Muholland 3-3 1-1 8, Melson 0-0 0-0 0, Richards 1-2 0-0 2, Robison 1-1 0-0 2, Diouf 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 23-52 25-28 75.

FURMAN (15-4, 3-3)

Hien 3-5 1-3 8, Bowser 3-8 3-5 9, Smith 4-15 6-7 18, Bronson 3-7 2-2 9, Anderson 5-7 2-5 15, Johnston 0-1 0-0 0, VanderWal 1-1 1-2 3, Molnar 2-5 2-3 7, House 1-2 0-1 2. Totals 22-51 17-28 71.

Halftime:  Furman 34-27. 3-Point goals:  Furman 10-23 (Hien 1-2, Smith 4-11, Bronson 1-3, Anderson 3-3, Johnston 0-1, Molnar 1-2, House 0-1), Chattanooga 4-13 (Champion 1-1, Keeslar 0-2, Bonham 1-3, Huff 1-3, Wieland 0-3, Mulholland 1-1). Fouled out:  Diouf (UTC).  Rebounds:  Chattanooga 38 (Champion 9), Furman 27 (Bowser 7). Total fouls:  Chattanooga 20, Furman 20. Technicals:  NA

Points off turnovers:  Furman 20, Chattanooga 14.  Points in the paint:  Chattanooga 34, Furman 22. Second-chance points:  Chattanooga 17, Furman 3.  Fast-break points:  Chattanooga 15, Furman 4.  Bench points:  Chattanooga 18, Furman 12.