Paladins and Bulldogs End Night at SoCon

Jay Jacobs Published: March 9, 2025 | Updated: March 9, 2025 3 minutes read

Read Time:2 Minute, 16 Second

The Final game of Saturday at the SoCon tournament pits the Furman Paladins versus the Samford Bulldogs as Furman swept the regular season series of the two. The tournament has been unpredictable as VMI and Wofford have moved on as the lowest seed on one side sending home UNC Greensboro and ETSU respectfully. Furman comes out hot and has the lead heading into the first media timeout 13-9 with 14 minutes left in the half.

PJay Smith to Nick Anderson for 3️⃣! The Paladins take a 5-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/M6uzM5CFkv
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) March 9, 2025

Furman with 12 minutes left in the half have pulled out to 16-9 lead with Tom House going to shoot 3 after a review on the foul on him. We are down to 5 minutes left in the half and Samford has hit 2 huge 3-point shots and has cut the Furman lead down to 5 points 25-20. Furman comes out of the timeout and gets a huge three pointer by Tom House which is followed by a FT by House, and we are at 29-20. We come upon a media timeout and Furman has a 32-24 lead with 3:40 left in the half.

Tom House for THREEEEEEEE! pic.twitter.com/XRxB2dEDoP
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) March 9, 2025

The Paladin halftime stats brought to you by Beef and Rib in Westminster SC:
FG%: 48% 3FG: 50% FT%: 64%
Nick Anderson 19 points and 2 rebounds, Tom House 9 points 1 rebound 1 assist, and Ben VanderWal 3 rebounds
Furman led the entire first half and go into halftime 38-36.
https://twitter.com/FurmanMBB/status/1898562349415436349Both teams come out of halftime with the want to win the game, and Furman jumps out again but Samford fights back, and with just under 11 minutes left in the game, PJay Smith hits a huge 3 point shot to put Furman out 63-58 as we head to a timeout. PJay Smith now has 12 points, and Tom House has come out and has 18 points for Furman as Samford’s Halloway has 14 points at this point. Furman with 4 minutes to play has the lead 80-65 as PJay Smith hits yet another 3 pointer and its 15/26 3 pointers for Furman as they are pulling away from Samford.

PJay Smith drills a 3 to give Furman a 15-point lead! pic.twitter.com/VYsTYF2iSs
— Furman Basketball (@FurmanMBB) March 9, 2025

The Paladins with a 90-74 lead with 1:36 left in the game and Furman will be facing UT Chattanooga tomorrow night 4pm, and the winner will face the VMI versus Wofford game 6:30pm. The SoCon has delivered madness for sure this year as nobody’s bracket for this league can still be good. The Paladins win the game and head to the Semifinals.
Score by Period
TEAM 1 2 T
FUR 38 57 95
SAM 36 42 78