Paladins Fall to ETSU » Greenville Sports Media

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ETSU held Furman without a field goal over the final six minutes and ended the game on a 12-2 run to defeat the Paladins, 72-69, in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Sunday afternoon at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn.

FINAL pic.twitter.com/tfpHLUBWNd
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 2, 2025

Trailing 67-60 with under three minutes to play, ETSU’s Jaden Seymour completed a three-point play at the foul line and Quimari Peterson converted on a pair of trips to the charity stripe on the Buccaneers’ next possession to trim the Furman advantage to 67-65. After another stop by the ETSU defense, Seymour evened the game at the foul line with 1:40 remaining.

Cooper Bowser ties the game, 56-56, with a dunk! pic.twitter.com/FlWIzdE9ny
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 2, 2025

Furman’s PJay Smith Jr. missed a potential go-ahead three, but the Paladins forced a turnover to regain possession with under a minute to go. Cooper Bowser drew a foul, but the Paladin forward missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity and Peterson finished on a drive to the basket with 29 seconds left to put the Bucs in front 69-67. Following an ETSU timeout, Smith was fouled on a drive to the basket and hit on 1-of-2 trips to the line with 14.9 to play to trim the margin to 69-68.

PJay Smith makes another Furman 3-pointer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9VVik5C4Ng
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 2, 2025

Down by a point, Furman fouled John Buggs III with 6.8 seconds to go and the guard converted on both free throw attempts. Smith pushed the ball across midcourt and ETSU fouled to send the senior to the line with four second on the clock. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the Bucs’ Karon Boyd grabbed the rebound and was fouled with three seconds left. Boyd made the first free throw to put ETSU ahead by three points. His second shot missed and was rebounded by Furman’s Eddrin Bronson, who saw his last-second heave bounce off the front of the rim from nearly 60 feet as time expired.

Ben VanderWal with the 3⃣ pic.twitter.com/P74hXoDdfB
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 2, 2025

Seymour posted a game-high 23 points while Peterson finished with 16 to lead the Bucs. Boyd registered a double-double with 12 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Buggs rounded out ETSU’s double-figure scorers with 11 points. ETSU (13-10, 6-4 SoCon) shot 46.2% from the field, connected on 18-of-22 trips to the foul line, and scored 23 fastbreak points to snap a five-game skid against the Paladins. The Bucs managed a 32-26 edge in points in the paint. Smith, the only Paladin in double digits, led Furman with 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Furman shot 49.1% from the field, including 10-for-27 behind the arc, but converted on just 7-of-13 trips to the foul line and missed its last six field goal attempts.

Charles Johnston for THREEEEEE!!! pic.twitter.com/d9M54FnmPY
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 2, 2025

Furman (17-6, 5-5 SoCon) made eight straight shots in the first half to open a 20-7 lead and stretched its advantage to 27-13 before the Buccaneers reeled off 19 straight points, including 11 from Peterson, to take a 32-27 edge. The Paladins held ETSU without a field goal over the final 3:31 of the half, but the Bucs connected on 5-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to carry a 37-32 lead into the locker room.

DUNK by Cooper Bowser! pic.twitter.com/cBetZhktnG
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 2, 2025

ETSU extended its lead to 44-32 early in the second half and led 56-52 before a 10-0 run by Furman, capped by back-to-back triples from Tom House and Smith, put Furman in front. Nick Anderson’s jumper with 6:01 left gave the Paladins a 64-58 advantage but proved to be the final made field goal of the afternoon for the visitors.

Action-packed Week Ahead 🏀 Check the Schedule!#AllDIN // #BetterTogether pic.twitter.com/Q1AjebMEKI
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) February 3, 2025

The Paladins return home to host Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Davis Field House on the campus of Bob Jones University. Tickets are available at FurmanPaladins.com.

Courtesy: furmanpaladins.com
Jordan Caskey