The Furman Paladins are a true Cinderella, going 5-13 in conference play and 11-18 overall heading into the SoCon Tournament, but now they are forty minutes away from going to dancing in the NCAA Tournament.
If you heard Furman was behind and in danger of their season ending in the second half of the semifinal against Mercer, you weren’t wrong. Furman was behind at halftime and things looked like Spring Break in Florida was coming. By midway through the second half, the Paladins stormed back and come up with another come-from-behind win. That also happened against Chattanooga on Saturday when they trailed 31-25 at halftime and were down 46-40 in the second half. It is what happened again Sunday when the Paladins trailed Mercer 31-23 at halftime, and 39-28 over seven minutes into the second half.
Furman’s opponent is a familar name to the NCAA Tournament the past few years. Wofford (27-6) has been here before, and even beat NC State in the closing game of Reynolds Coliseum earlier this year. Last night, Wofford was taking on Western Carolina in Asheville, and it was a bonafide road game for the Terriers.
Rhett Harrelson was a warrior for Western Carolina, throwing his body around late in a desperate attempt to get the Catamounts back in the game. James Sinclair did everything he could do, but he was chased around by Karl Cochran all night and forced into a bad night from the floor. That was one of the biggest differences: Cochran looked fresh; and Sinclair did not.
The Catamounts did not go away without a fight, however, but shot just 38.1 percent from the floor against the Terriers, while Wofford shot 55 percent. It was the 14 offensive rebounds by Western Carolina and just five by Wofford that kept Western Carolina in it, but Western was unable convert on the second chance points. The Catamounts just did not do that enough. That is why Wofford is still playing and Western Carolina is turning the uniforms in until next season.
So will Cinderella (Furman) keep dancing at the ball or will clock strike midnight and Wofford turn them into a pumpkin? Tune in tonight to find out at 7pm on ESPN2.
(Feature image: soconsports.com)