Bob Richey’s resurgent Furman Paladins are off to another stern men’s basketball test in the abode of the Southern Conference leader.
The last time Furman (15-12, 9-5 SoCon) and Samford (23-4, 12-2) played, the Paladins ended the Bulldogs’ 17-game winning streak with a 78-64 victory at Timmons Arena on Jan. 24.
That victory is unlikely to make the task easier on Wednesday night at 7:30 (EST). Pete Hanna Center is located on the Homewood, Ala., campus of Samford University, near Birmingham.
Richey relishes the opportunity to knock off Samford a second time.
“Bucky (McMillan, Samford’s head coach) has done an incredible job with that group, and you know it’s going to be a great environment,” Richey said. “They’re going to have a great crowd.
“We’re excited about the opportunity. We’re excited about the challenge.”
Four games remain in the regular season. Samford leads UNC Greensboro (19-8, 10-4) and Chattanooga (18-9, 10-4) by two games, Furman by three, Western Carolina (19-8, 8-6) and Wofford (15-12, 8-6) by four, East Tennessee State (13-14, 5-9) and Mercer (12-15, 5-9) by seven, The Citadel (10-17, 2-12) by 10 and Virginia Military (4-12, 1-13) by 11.
The top six seeds – Samford, UNCG, Chattanooga, Furman, Western Carolina and Wofford – are closing in on first-round tournament byes. The higher the seed, the more advantageous the path to the championship game. The Catamounts and Terriers are three games up on seventh place with four to play.
The Paladins are coming off what was likely their best performance of the season, an impressive 82-65 victory over Chattanooga.
“What we’ve learned in the past six weeks is anybody can beat anybody on any given night in this league,” said Ben Vander Wal. “You need to come ready to play and do what you can do every single night to be ready to play.
“One thing we need, and can do, is defend and play hard. We’re trying to train ourselves to bring it every night. We don’t know if the shots are going to fall, but shots tend to fall when you play hard. It’s amazing how that works sometimes.”
Furman comes off an impressive 82-65 victory at Timmons over Chattanooga on Sunday.
The Paladins produced one of their best defensive efforts of the season by holding the Mocs to .339 shooting, including an 8/28 performance from three-point range.
J.P. Pegues connected on 4/8 threes to pace Furman with 22 points while Marcus Foster contributed 15 points and six rebounds.
Foster, the Paladins’ leading scorer at 18.6 points a game and third in the SoCon, said, against Chattanooga, “I felt like I didn’t need to force too much because everybody contributed something. … It was a great team win.”
The Paladins, who trailed 43-20 at halftime in a January loss at Chattanooga, built a 48-24 first half advantage on Sunday. The Mocs trimmed the margin to 11 in the second half before Furman responded with a 14-3 spurt.
Foster continues to lead the Paladins, who have won nine of their last 12 games, by averaging both the 18.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, seventh in the SoCon. Pegues has added 16.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while shooting .869 at the foul line. The Paladins rank second in league play, allowing just 71.1 points per game.
Samford’s Achor Achor is the SoCon’s 10th leading scorer at 15.6 points per game and 12th in rebounding at a 6.0 norm.
Foster led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Paladins held Samford to its lowest offensive output in 14 SoCon games this season in the earlier meeting.
Entering Wednesday’s rematch, Furman holds a 26-10 series lead versus the Bulldogs. The Paladins have won the last four encounters and nine of the last 10 between the league rivals. In its last trip to Samford, Furman captured a 93-79 win in the 2023 regular-season finale to earn a share of the SoCon championship and the top seed in the tournament, which it subsequently captured.
Samford received the second chink in its SoCon armor on Saturday when Mercer upended the Bulldogs, 88-84, in Macon, Ga., where the Bears also upended Furman on Feb. 7, 78-69.
Fans can listen to Wednesday night’s action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, on 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, or via the Audacy app. Television coverage is available on ESPN+.
Following Wednesday’s road test, Furman returns to Timmons Arena on Saturday to host the Wofford Terriers at 2 p.m.
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