Furman survives Samford to score key home win

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

GREENVILLE, S.C. – As the southeast braces for a second wave of winter weather, the Samford Bulldogs made the pilgrimage to Timmons Arena for a nationally-televised Southern Conference tilt Thursday with Furman.

 

This contest came down to the waning moments, but the host Paladins weathered the storm for a 78-73 victory over Samford.

 

Ben Vander Wal broke the seal in the scoring column with an old-fashioned three-point play 20 seconds into the game, sparking a 10-4 burst for Furman (15-7, 6-3 SoCon). That run featured an Alex Wilkins three and Tom House layup.

 

“That was a heck of a win tonight for our group,” said Furman head coach Bob Richey. “We’re just continuing to learn, and learning is a lot more fun when you’re winning. We have a lot of guys who are young and have been in some huge games against really good teams.” 

 

Jadin Booth drilled a three-pointer and two free throws with a Keaton Norris triple sandwiched in-between, tying the game at 12 near the 14-minute mark of the first half. A couple of moments later, Cade Norris and Dylan Faulkner each hit shots in the paint for a two-point Bulldog lead.

 

Eddrin Bronson and House each drained three-pointers for the Paladins for a three-point cushion, but Samford (10-12, 3-6 SoCon) surged ahead, 32-30 m, on a Faulkner bucket and Will Shaver layup. With under a minute left in the half, Charles Johnston notched a layup and subsequently swatted away a shot in a 10-second span. Vander Wal cashed in the extra possession with another three-point play for a 35-33 Paladin halftime lead.

 

Wilkins rattled off a personal 7-0 run that pushed the Furman cushion to 44-36 less than four minutes into the second stanza before a Norris triple sliced it back down to five. Johnston, Wilkins, and House combined for the next seven points that pushed the advantage to 57-43 with 11:24 to play. 

 

However, Samford battled back as Shaver finished strong at the rim, Booth drilled two jumpers, followed by layups from Martin and Faulkner that cut the deficit to 63-58 with 5:28 remaining. Just over a minute later, Wilkins was whistled for his fifth personal foul on a charge.

 

Furman extended the lead back to nine with a House triple, but a pair of Booth threes cut it to 75-71 with 30 seconds left. During that stretch, Vander Wal was called for his fifth foul and the Paladins committed a five-second violation on an inbound play.

 

Martin knocked down two shots from the charity stripe that cut the margin to two, 75-73, but two Bronson free throws with 18 seconds left sealed the win for the Paladins.

 

“Our group did an unbelievable job managing foul trouble with our leading scorer (Wilkins) being out of the game the last four minutes,” Richey said. “We were feeling like the momentum was slipping at that juncture of the game. We kept trying to stay calm on the sideline. My job in those situations is just to get everybody relaxed. The bench and players were getting a little stiff. It is my fault, too (on the five second violation) – I’ve got to call timeout right there. I thought our guys did a pretty good job in the last 30 seconds once we got out of some of that. Ed (Bronson) hit two huge free throws, and we didn’t turn it over in Press-O after that. We couldn’t rest anybody or take anybody out, so we had to figure out how to get the ball in and make free throws.”

 

House posted a team-high 21 points for Furman, while Wilkins tallied 20 points and Vander Wal finished with 11. Johnston added eight points and a game-high 20 rebounds. Each team scored 32 points in the paint. Weather permitting, the Paladins are slated to host Chattanooga for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday that will air on ESPN2.

 

Booth scored a game-high 23 points for Samford, while Faulkner had 19 points with a team-high 12 rebounds, and Martin added 14. The Bulldogs outscored the Paladins 13-0 in points off turnovers, 17-12 in second chance points, and 18-11 in bench scoring. Samford faces a short turnaround as it visits Western Carolina on Saturday at 12 p.m.