Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell scored 17 points apiece to lead the second-seeded Furman men’s basketball team to its first Ingles SoCon Men’s Basketball Championship game appearance since 2015 on Sunday evening with a 71-68 victory over No. 3 seed Samford. A win would give the Paladins their 1st SoCon Title and trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1980. Furman (22-11) will face SoCon regular season champs Chattanooga, who defeated Wofford in the first semifinal game. The Paladins and Mocs are set for a 7 PM tip off.
Slawson was 4-of-8 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free throw line to finish with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Bothwell connected on 6-of-12 field goals and tallied three assists and three steals. Conley Garrison registered 10 points and fell one shy of tying his career high with five steals.
Ques Glover led Samford (21-11) with 23 points and four assists on 7-of-14 shooting and 7-for-10 at the free throw line. Jermaine Marshall contributed a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jaden Campbell made all four of his field goal attempts and finished with 14 points.
The game’s final 11:30 featured seven lead changes and neither team led by more than four points. The Bulldogs held a 50-43 lead with 11:51 remaining before the Paladins came back with eight consecutive points and led 51-50 nearly two minutes later on Slawson’s layup. The teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes until Slawson made two free throws and a layup to give Furman a 66-64 lead with 1:24 to go.
Glover made 1-of-2 free throws with 30 seconds left as the Bulldogs trailed 66-65. The team’s combined for nine free throws to close out the contest with Slawson making four straight. Campbell made his first free throw attempt with two seconds left and missed the second, but the Bulldogs got the offensive rebound. Samford turned the ball over on its next possession and Alex Hunter sealed the win with one free throw and a steal. Overall, the game featured a total of eight lead changes with the score being tied three times.
Coach Bob Richey is the first coach in program history to lead Furman to 20+ win seasons, four times. The Paladins hope the third time is the charm Monday night, as they dropped both regular season meeting to Chattanooga. The Finals of the Ingles SoCon Tournament with air live from Asheville, with "the Voice Of The Paladins" Dan Scott on the call of the game. You can hear the game on ESPN Upstate 97.7 FM/1330 AM Greenville, 97.1FM/ 950 AM Spartanburg, through the Audacy App or on the live stream player below.
