No. 11 Auburn 83, Furman 62
GREENVILLE, S.C.--Both Furman head basketball coach Bob Richey and Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl have established themselves as two of the best in the business, and on Sunday, the two not only use their profession to benefit the community for a good cause, but both had the opportunity to improve their respective basketball teams as a byproduct of that good cause. The proceeds from the exhibition will go to Cleveland Park Restoration Fund following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene throughout the region.
As for the game, the 11th-ranked Tigers ultimately showed their quality, depth and athleticism in the second half, coasting to an 83-62 win before a crowd of 4,017 Sunday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Tigers would get a big afternoon from All-American and Naismath Award candidate Johni Broome, who posted 18 points and 14 boards, as he was one of five players in double figures to lead the Tigers. Broome finished the day 6-of-15 from the field but was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
Talented freshman point guard Tahaad Pettiford added 13 points, three steals and dished out three assists in 24 minutes off the bench. Chad Baker-Mazera gave the Tigers off the bench, as the veteran forward added 13, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists in what was a stat-stuffing afternoon for the graduate senior.
Rounding out the Tigers in double figures in the contest were Chaney Johnson and Jakhi Howard, who both added 10 points apiece off the bench. All told, Auburn's depth could be summed up in one stat--bench scoring. The Tigers held a whopping 50-21 advantage in that particular category.
Former Furman guard JP Pegues, who averaged 18.4 PPG and had a propensity for making shots in the clutch during his time as the Paladin guard, finished with just two points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field, while also adding a steal, an assist and a turnover in 20 minutes of action.
The Paladins were without starting point guard and preseason all-league selection PJay Smith Jr., as Furman's leading returning scorer is nursing a minor upper body injury and should return soon. That meant the Paladins had to face the Tigers pressing, aggressive style defense for the entire afternoon without the services of a true point guard to run the offense. It would lead to the Paladins turning the ball over 18 Paladin turnovers, which resulted in a 24-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Paladins would place three in double figures in the contest, with newcomer Nick Anderson leading all scorers with 19 points in the contest. The transfer from Barry University, who played for former Paladin coach Butch Estes (1986-95), finished the contest connecting on 6-of-12 shots from the field, including going 4-of-8 from three-point land. He was also 3-for-4 from the line. Anderson also added four rebounds.
Veteran forward Ben VanderWal added 14 points and six rebounds and added a pair of assists. He finished connecting on 5-of-8 shots from the field and was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Charles Johnston, who the Paladins acquired via the transfer portal from Cal State Monterrey Bay during the off-season, rounded out Furman's double figure scorers, finishing with 12 points, three rebounds and one steal. The 6-11 Johnston went 2-of-5 from three-point range and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
The Tigers finished the game connecting on 42.9% (30-for-70) from the field, which included a just an 18.2% (4-for-22) effort from three-point range. The Tigers rebounded from shooting just 28.6% (10-of-35) from the field in the opening 20 minutes to shoot 57.1% (20-of-35) in the second half. From the free throw line, the Tigers finished the afternoon shooting 76.0% for the game, connecting on 19-of-25 charity shots.
The Paladins closed the game with a 36.2% shooting effort (17-of-47) for the game, while connecting on just 24.0% (6-of-25) from three-point range, as the two teams combined to shoot 10-of-47 from three-point land for the game, which computes to 21.2%.
The Tigers finished with large advantages in points off turnovers (24-7), points in the paint (50-22), second-chance points (19-7), fast-break scoring (22-7), and bench scoring (50-21).
How It Happened:
For 30 of 40 minutes of Sunday's charity exhibition between Furman and Auburn, the Paladins did enough to keep the game within shouting distance with their play on the defensive end of the floor, however, it was was the final 10 minutes, which saw the depth and talent of the 11th-ranked Tigers use their style of play to finally frustrate and wear down the Paladins en route to a 21-point win.
Still, the performance by the Paladins, at least broadly speaking, was markedly better than the one that saw the Paladins lose 110-77 to a less heralded Auburn team at Neville Arena last season. That was a Furman team picked to repeat as Southern Conference champions. That one that took the court on Sunday was recently picked to finish fifth in the 10-team SoCon just a year later.
For the opening 20 minutes, Furman's defensive effort was about as good as any it had the entire 2023-24 season, as the Paladins held an Auburn team that ranked in the Top 10 in offensive efficiency last season to just 28.6% on 10-of-35 shooting in the opening half of play, as the Paladins even took the lead, 27-26, following one of Charles Johnston's two triples in the game with 2:33 remaining in the opening half.
After Jakhi Howard tied the game on by connecting on the back end of a two-shot free throw bonus following a foul be Ben VanderWal with 2:09 remaining in the half, the Paladins looked to bring the crowd to its feet on the other end when Cooper Bowser went up the ladder and tried to go over Jakhi Howard, however, despite getting high enough to complete the one-handed tomahawk highlight-reel slam, the 6-11 sophomore missed the dunk off the back iron, leading to an Auburn run out the other way and it would result to a key three in transition by Denver Jones and a 30-27 Tigers lead with 1:36 left.
From there, the Tigers would hold the Paladins scoreless from the field over the final 96 seconds of the frame, while getting a pair of dunks on steals and run-outs from Baker-Mazera and Tahaad Pettiford, as well as a pair of made free throws from Ja'Heim Hudson to take a 36-29 lead into the half. The only Paladin points over the final 2:32 of the half came from a pair of charity shots from Johnston.
In the second half, the Paladins would stay in the game for the opening 10 minutes, with Nick Anderson's back-to-back threes getting the Paladins to within five, at 46-41, with 14:42 left. However, the Tigers put together one of their patented runs with their relentless full-court pressure, outscoring the Paladins 29-8 over the next nine minutes of game action to take complete control of the contest, growing their advantage to as much as 25 points with just over six minutes left following a Howard windmill dunk, and eventually ended up settling on a 21-point win.
Furman will open its 2024-25 season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in eight days (Nov. 4) when it takes on NAIA member Columbia International (1-0) out of the Appalachian Athletic Conference in a game slated for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off. The 11th-ranked Tigers will have one last tune-up game before the season when they host Florida Atlantic on Nov. 1 at Neville Arena in an 8 p.m. EST contest against the Owls. The Tigers will open the season on Nov. 6 against America East perennial power Vermont on Wed., Nov. 6, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. EST.
Postgame Press Conference:
https://youtu.be/OaU5_uTKqB4 (Furman players Ben VanderWal and Nick Anderson)
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