Furman: 2026 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Cooper Bowser had 21 points and 11 rebounds as No. 6 seed Furman beat top-seeded East Tennessee State 76-61 on Monday night to secure the Southern Conference tournament title and an NCAA tournament bid.

Wofford: 2024-25 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Jackson Sivills scored a career-high 20 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in a game-ending 15-2 run as Wofford rallied to beat Furman 92-85 in the Southern Conference tournament championship game Monday night.

Wofford trailed 83-79 with 2:34 remaining. Kyler Filewich then made a layup and Sivills drilled his 3-pointer to put the Terriers (19-15) on top for good.

Sivills, a fifth-year senior, made 6 of 9 shots with four 3-pointers for No. 6 seed Wofford, which earns an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time. The Terriers won four conference titles between 2009 and 2015 and last won it in the 2018-19 season.

Justin Bailey added 19 points and seven rebounds for Wofford. Dillon Bailey scored 15 and teamed up with Justin -- no relation -- to make 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. Filewich added 13 points and six boards. Corey Tripp had 11 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

PJay Smith Jr. led the Paladins (25-9) with 27 points. He made four 3-pointers and all 11 of his foul shots. Nick Anderson had 15 points, and Garrett Hien and Charles Johnston scored 13 and 12, respectively, before fouling out. Cooper Bowser scored 11.

Wofford scored the first eight points and maintained a lead until Johnston buried a 3-pointer with 63 seconds left in the first half to help Furman go up 37-35 at halftime. Smith had a four-point play and did not miss a shot, leading all scorers with 12. Sivills hit three 3-pointers and scored 11.

Furman was aiming for its eighth tournament title and first since 2022-23. The Paladins won six of them in the 1970s.

Samford: 2023-24 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Samford men's basketball team earned its first-ever Southern Conference Tournament title with a hard-fought 76-69 win over ETSU in the championship game Monday evening at Harrah's Cherokee Center.

 

"I'm so happy for this team, I'm so happy for Samford University," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "I remember sitting in here our first year and playing as a 10 seed, we won six games and at the end of the year we lost by 35 or 40 points to Mercer. I remember we had to recruit players for my first recruiting class, and we had to convince them that we could win this league. I said in the press conference that we would win this league and win this tournament, and we did."

 

With the win, Samford earns its first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2000. The Bulldogs now have a record of 29-5, the most wins in program history. ETSU ends its season with a mark of 19-16.

 

"It's so difficult to do something like this, to win a SoCon championship, but do you know how surreal it has to be for players to be the first to do it," McMillan said. "These are the first guys to win a SoCon championship for our university, and that's so hard to do. I'm so proud to do it with this group. I told someone today that I've never wanted a team to win a championship more than this team. In a day and age where there is a lot of 'me' going on, we had so many upperclassmen come in and buy in to roles that would equal winning, so I'm just so happy for these guys and so happy for our university."

 

Samford was led in the win by Achor Achor, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, with 25 points and nine rebounds. Jermaine Marshall, a first-team All-Tournament honoree, had 23 points and eight rebounds. Jaden Campbell added 11 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Rylan Jones was named second team All-Tournament, and he had six points and four assists.

 

For ETSU, Ebby Asomoah led the way with 18 points, while Quimari Peterson tallied 17 points. Jaden Seymour led all rebounders with 11, to go along with his seven points.

 

Samford jumped out to an early 11-2 lead at the 17:30 mark of the first half following a layup by Achor. ETSU answered with a 14-4 run of its own to take a 16-15 lead with 13:42 left in the first half after a three-point play by Asamoah. With ETSU leading, 19-16, Samford scored five-straight points to take a 21-19 lead with 12:04 left in the opening half after a three-point play by Achor.

 

The Bulldogs opened up a five-point lead at 34-29 with 6:25 left in the first half after a three-pointer by Marshall. ETSU fought back to take a 36-35 lead with 3:46 to go before halftime after a free throw by Karon Boyd. The Bulldogs came back to take a 40-36 lead late in the half, and Samford took a 40-38 lead into the locker room at halftime.

 

Samford opened up a nine-point lead at 52-43 with 15:30 left after a three-pointer by Campbell. The Bucs cut the lead to five points at 58-53 at the 11:07 mark in the second half after a three-pointer by Asamoah.

 

ETSU closed to within four points at 60-56 with 9:27 to go after a layup by Peterson. The Bucs cut the lead to one point at 63-62 with 7:04 left after a jumper by Seymour. Samford stretched the lead back out to seven points at 73-66 with 1:00 remaining after a pair of free throws by Marshall. ETSU could get no closer than five points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 76-69 win.

 

Samford will learn its opponent and location for the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the NCAA Tournament Selection Show next Sunday, March 17. Details for a Selection Show Watch Party will be released later this week.

Furman: 2022-23 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Jalen Slawson scored 20 points and Furman beat Chattanooga 88-79 on Monday night to win the Southern Conference tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980.

The NCAA field contained 48 teams the last time the top-seeded Paladins made the Big Dance. Furman coach Bob Richey had the Paladins on their way last season as the No. 2 seed until David Jean-Baptiste buried a 35-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to rally top-seeded Chattanooga to a 64-63 victory.

Furman (27-7) took care of business this time around, although adding to the program's record win total didn't come easy.

Slawson had three baskets in an 18-0 run to give the Paladins a 23-7 lead nine minutes into the game. Chattanooga (18-17) was trailing 30-11 when A.J. Caldwell scored the final five points in a 13-0 spurt to pull within 30-26. Chattanooga twice cut its deficit to three, but a layup by JP Pegues gave Furman a 38-33 lead at halftime.

Chattanooga made a late run at the Paladins, using back-to-back 3-pointers from Jamal Johnson and Caldwell's layup to close to within 69-65 at the 5:02 mark -- but the Mocs would get no closer.

Slawson made 8 of 12 shots from the floor with two 3-pointers for Furman. Pegues pitched in with 17 points despite missing all seven of his 3-point attempts and Mike Bothwell finished with 16 points, leaving him 10 shy of 2,000 for his career. Bothwell is trying to become the fifth Paladin to reach the 2,000-point plateau.

Jake Stephens paced Chattanooga with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Johnson totaled 17 points and Caldwell posted his first double-double of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

Furman made all six of its previous NCAA tournament appearances between 1971 to 1980. Its lone win was a 75-67 victory over South Carolina in 1974. They lost to Pittsburgh 81-78 in the Sweet Sixteen.

Chattanooga and former SoCon member Davidson have made the most NCAA tournament appearances in conference history with 12.

Chattanooga: 2021-22 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

Chattanooga’s David Jean-Baptiste took an inbounds pass at the opposite baseline, dribbled over half-court and fired in a long 3-point attempt at the overtime buzzer to give the Mocs a 64-63 win over Furman on Monday in the Southern Conference championship game at Asheville, N.C.

The stunning result sends Chattanooga (27-4) to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years.

Furman (22-12) had forced overtime when Mike Bothwell sank a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation.

Silvio De Sousa, a Kansas transfer, led the Mocs with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Bothwell scored a game-high 24 points for the Paladins, who haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1980.

Sun Belt Conference final

Corey Allen scored 29 points and dished out six assists as Georgia State beat Louisiana 80-71 at Pensacola, Fla., to earn its third NCAA Tournament berth in five years.

Eliel Nsoseme contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Panthers (18-10), and teammate Jalen Thomas also had 12 points.

Jordan Brown finished with 24 points and eight rebounds for the Ragin’ Cajuns, whose last NCAA berth came in 2014.

–Field Level Media

UNC Greensboro: 2021 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- — Isaiah Miller scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had six assists as top-seeded UNC Greensboro earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament with a 69-61 win over seventh-seeded Mercer on Monday night in the Southern Conference championship.

Tied with less than four minutes to play, Miller scored six points in an 8-0 run for the game's largest lead at 66-58 with 1:15 to play. But the Spartans struggled from the foul line, which kept the Bears alive, especially after Leon Ayers III made three free throws with 1:08 remaining.

Miller made 5 of 13 free throws and UNCG was 13 of 26, including six misses in the last 1:15. However, the Bears missed their last seven shots from the field.

Keyshaun Langley added 15 points for UNCG (21-8), which was in its sixth championship game and the fourth in five years. The Spartans will got to their fourth NCAA Tournament.

Ayers and James Glisson III each scored 16 points for Mercer (18-11), which was bidding to become the first SoCon team to win four games in four days since the 1939 tourney. Felipe Haase added 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Bears were in the title game for the first time since joining in 2015. They won the Atlantic Sun Conference championship in 2014 and went on to upset Duke as a 14-seed in the NCAAs.

Miller, the two-time SoCon player of the year and the first in history to also be the defensive POY both seasons, scored 16 points in the second half.

Neither team led by more than three points in the first half, which ended with Greensboro on top 37-36 after nine ties and eight lead changes.

Mercer's last lead was 53-52 on a Glisson dunk at the 6:20 mark and Neftali Alvarez hit the jumper that tied the game at 58 with 3:40 to go.

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East Tennessee State: 2019-20 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Isaiah Tisdale said he had a dream that East Tennessee State was going to win the Southern Conference Tournament.

That dream was realized on Monday night.

Tisdale scored 24 points and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as top-seeded ETSU defeated upset-minded Wofford 72-58 to win the SoCon Tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"You have to dream it to believe it," Tisdale said with a wide smile.

Tray Boyd added 11 points for the Bucs, who become only the fourth team in conference history to win 30 games. It will be ETSU's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017.

"Thirty wins, I'm not sure where we stand in East Tennessee State history, but if there is a Mount Rushmore this team is on it," said ETSU coach Steve Forbes.

Seventh-seeded Wofford (19-16) was looking to become the first SoCon team since Clemson in 1939 to win four games to capture the conference tournament title after beating The Citadel, Furman and Chattanooga to reach the finals. The Terriers entered the tournament having lost their final seven regular season games, but found some magic in Asheville with an impressive tournament run.

But Wofford seemed to wear down in the second half, falling behind by 15 when Jeromy Rodriguez scored an a spinning drive with four minutes remaining.

"We ran out of gas late," said Wofford coach Jay McAuley. "Our legs started to look a little tired and you could see it in our shots."

Said Wofford point guard Storm Murphy: "The shots weren't falling in the second half, but I think ETSU had something to do with that."

Chevez Goodwin had 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field to lead Wofford. He said "a lot of people painted us as Cinderellas," but that the Terriers expected to come in and win the tournament and defend their title.

ETSU shot 9 of 21 from 3-point range; Wofford was just 6 of 25.

Tisdale came in averaging just 8.8 points per game but had 16 points at halftime, helping the Bucs build a 36-31 lead. Tisdale did most of his damage with strong drives to the hole that got him to the free throw line, where he made 10 of 11 foul shots.

"It's a different guy every night with this group," Forbes said. "Isaiah was phenomenal. He willed us to win."

Leading 40-38 early in the second half, the Bucs went on a 16-4 tear to break the game open. Patrick Good and Joe Hugley hit back-to-back 3s for ETSU to provide a huge spark while Wofford hit a dry spell.

The Terriers hung in early behind the scrappy play of point guard Storm Murphy, who hit big shots and found teammates for open looks. Murphy finished with nine points and five assists, but his hustle set the tone for the Terriers, who bounced back from an early 11-2 deficit to stay in the game in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

Wofford: Had won five of the last 10 SoCon Tournament titles under former coach Mike Young, but couldn't quite finish under McAuley despite an impressive tournament run. This was Wofford's first ever loss in the SoCon title game. This team is extremely scrappy and plays with tremendous heart but just appeared to run out of gas in the second half. They will return several key players including Goodwin, Murphy and Tray Hollwell, all of whom are juniors.

ETSU: The Bucs are a 30-win team, so they shouldn't be considered an easy out in the NCAAs by any stretch of the imagination. They have the speed, height and shooting to compete with some quality teams in the tournament. "There is a good chance that team is going to be playing for a while" in the NCAA Tournament, McAuley said.

UP NEXT

Wofford: Will wait to hear if they receive an invite to the National Invitation Tournament.

ETSU: Will await word on their seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Wofford: 2018-19 Southern Men's Basketball Champions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Nathan Hoover is the guy who never stops competing in Wofford practices regardless of the situation.

That feistiness carried over to the Southern Conference Tournament championship game on Monday night.

The junior guard scored all 20 of his points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and went 8 of 8 from the foul line as No. 20 Wofford battled back to defeat UNC Greensboro 70-58 to win the tournament title and earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"That's the way I grew up -- whatever you do, you do with all you got," Hoover said. "I'm a very emotional person, and I know when I get that way I can get the fans and my teammates fired up. And when I do I know we are very tough to beat."

Tournament MVP Fletcher Magee also scored 20 points and Cameron Jackson had 15 points and seven rebounds as Wofford (29-4) completed a perfect season against conference foes, going 18-0 in the regular season and winning three games in three days in the tournament.

It's the fifth time in 10 seasons that Wofford will play in the NCAA Tournament -- and coach Mike Young knows this is his most talented team.

"This is a really good basketball team," Young said. "Don't give me that mid-major stuff and all that garbage. This is what you see. This is a big, talented team that can score and I cannot wait to play again in that great, great tournament."

Francis Alonso scored 21 points and Isaiah Miller had 19 for UNC Greensboro.

UNC Greensboro (28-6), which lost to Wofford by 30 and 29 points in the regular season, led most of the game and was hoping to pull the upset and steal a tournament berth from a bubble team.

But the Spartans couldn't hold the lead.

UNC Greensboro led 55-50 with 5:41 left before the Terriers went on a 16-0 run, holding the Spartans without a basket for more than 4 1/2 minutes.

Hoover brought the Terriers back on two different occasions with individual 8-0 runs.

He scored eight straight points to give Wofford its first lead at 50-49 with 12:30 left in the game.

Then, with his team down five, Hoover made a floater, a 3-pointer and three foul shots to put Wofford up 58-55 with 3:23 remaining. A minute later he got a crucial steal in the frontcourt and converted two foul shots to put the Terriers up by seven.

"Some guys had brain farts in the second half and (Wofford) executed off of that," Miller said of the Spartans' late collapse.

Young said Hoover was his player of the game.

"He put us on his shoulders when you get right down to it," Young said.

Hoover said he took advantage of open looks created by the Spartans because they were paying so much attention to Magee and Jackson.

"I was able to get open shots and they went down," Hoover said. "It just boosted everything."

LONG DISTANCE STRUGGLES

The Spartans didn't help themselves by shooting 3 of 16 from 3-point range.

Wofford, conversely, was 7 of 23. But what hurt the Spartans just as much is they fouled the Terriers three separate times on 3-point attempts and Hoover and Magee made them pay by making all nine free throws.

"You're trying to contest because they shoot it so well," said Spartans coach Wes Miller.

MAGEE'S QUEST

Magee finished with four 3-pointers, leaving him with 502 for his career -- two behind the NCAA Division I all-time leader Travis Bader from Oakland. Magee will have a chance to break the record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

YOUNG'S SUCCESS

Nobody will ever say that Young can't win the big one. The Wofford coach is now 5 for 5 in Southern Conference championship games with wins in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2019.

BIG PICTURE

UNC Greensboro: The Spartans played a near-perfect game for 35 minutes but went cold down the stretch, perhaps the result of having a short bench. Alonso and Miller attacked the basket well, taking advantage of their playmaking ability. The Spartans have a terrific recruiting class coming in next season.

Wofford: The Terriers have won 20 straight games heading into the NCAA Tournament and on Monday claimed their highest AP Poll ranking in school history at No. 20. With a tough inside-out game and strong backcourt play, the Terriers will be a popular pick to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

UNC Greensboro: Will likely have to await a call from the NIT.

Wofford: Will play in the NCAA Tournament.

UNC Greensboro: 2017-18 Southern Men’s Basketball Champions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- When 6-foot-9 forward Jordy Kuiper was in high school, his coach would make him run "suicide" sprints if he took a shot outside the lane.

That changed when Kuiper arrived at UNC Greensboro, where coaches began working on his jumper.

"They told me by the time I was a senior I would be able to knock down big shots," Kuiper said.

Kuiper did just that on Monday night, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the second half to help UNC Greensboro defeat East Tennessee State 62-47 to win the Southern Conference championship and earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2001.

Demetrius Troy added 13 points, and James Dickey III dominated the paint in the second half. He finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five blocks for the Spartans, who avenged last year's championship game loss to ETSU.

The Spartans broke open a tie game at halftime behind Kuiper, as the lefty knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to spark a 9-0 run. The Buccaneers went nearly eight minutes without a field goal to open the second half and never recovered.

Kuiper scored off an offensive rebound with 4:40 left to give the Spartans their first double-digit lead. Troy added the dagger with 1:30 left when he buried a 3-pointer from the left wing to stretch the lead to 14.

UNCG held ETSU to 30.6 percent shooting.

The Buccaneers made just 3 of 16 shots from beyond the arc and went nearly eight minutes without a field goal to start the second half.

"You have to give Greensboro the credit. We just couldn't get it going offensively," ETSU coach Steve Forbes said. "They took us out of our rhythm. When we did get to the basket we just couldn't finish."

That defense allowed UNCG (27-7) to prevail despite a poor shooting night from leading scorer and tournament MVP Francis Alonso, who was held to six points on 2-of-11 shooting.

BIG PICTURE

ETSU: The Buccaneers need to find some offense next year after struggling in the championship game from the field, particularly from beyond the arc.

UNCG: The Spartans have some skill players, but a lack of overall size and depth could hurt them in the NCAA Tournament.

INCENTIVE

As painful as it was, UNCG coach Wes Miller kept last year's runner-up trophy on display in his office so his players could see it every time they came in for a visit.

"It motivated us," Miller said.

It was the second straight year UNCG entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Last year, the Spartans' second-half defense began to crumble in the loss to the Buccaneers.

"It left a bad taste in our mouths," UNCG senior Marvin Smith Jr. said. "We got away from our defensive principles last year. We knew defense would lead us to the championship because that is what we preach."

FORBES' FUTURE

Forbes' name continues to pop up in coaching circles despite recently signing a contract extension through the 2022-23 season. He said he expects to stay at ETSU unless something were to come along that would be a "life-changing experience."

McLOUD LEADS THE WAY


Jalan McLoud had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead ETSU (25-9) on a night when Desonta Bradford and David Burrell missed time with ankle injuries.

WANTED: BETTER SHOOTING

Alonso and Smith combined to shoot 2 of 13 from 3-point range, to which Miller quipped, "Yeah, you guys can't do that in the NCAAs."

UP NEXT

ETSU: Forbes said he doesn't expect the Buccaneers to receive an NIT berth despite a solid season. He said it will likely be the team's final game since playing in the CIT isn't what his team signed up for.

UNCG: The Spartans are dancing for the first time in 17 years and likely will be a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.