No. 1 Furman 83, No. 4 Western Carolina 80 (OT)

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Top-seeded Furman looked to be cruising into the championship early, only for No. 4 seed Western Carolina to storm back in the second half to send it to overtime, but the Paladins managed to clutch out an 83-80 win in the semifinals of the 2023 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville.
 
The Paladins advance to face the winner of No. 6 Wofford and No. 7 Chattanooga in Monday’s final at 7 p.m.
 
Mike Bothwell scored the game’s first points on a tough driving layup to give Furman the early advantage. The Paladins jumped out in front by seven just before the first media timeout, but an 11-3 run from Western Carolina flipped the advantage in favor of the Catamounts. The lead changed hands over the next few minutes until Furman began to pull away, ending the half on a 28-13 run to head into the break with a 15-point advantage. JP Pegues caught fire over the last eight minutes of the half as he put up 11 points in that span and 15 for the half. Jalen Slawson and Bothwell both joined Pegues in double figures at the midway point, posting 11 and 10 points, respectively. Vonterius Woolbright led the Catamounts offensively with 13 points at the half, hitting all five attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Tre Jackson hit a 3-pointer to give the Catamounts the first points of the half but would be its only bucket for the first four minutes as Furman immediately responded with an 8-0 run. Western Carolina tried to mount a comeback and cut the deficit to 13 multiple times and eventually reduced the lead to 11 just after the halfway mark of the period. Woolbright brought the fans to their feet with a big 3 to force a Furman timeout. The Paladins pushed it back into double figures for a moment, but it would not last long before the Catamounts fought back to score the game’s next seven points. The run was capped off by 3 from Bernard Pelote to bring Western Carolina within three and then shortly after came to within two of Furman. After trailing since midway through the first half, the Catamounts leveled the score with just over one minute in regulation off a nice drive and layup by Jackson, forcing another Furman timeout. Western Carolina forced a shot-clock violation on the very next possession and wasted no time taking its first lead of the half on a Woolbright lay-in. Bothwell connected on a pair of free throws to bring it back to an even game with just 22 seconds on the clock. Russell Jones Jr. had a look at the end of regulation, but his step-back jumper fell short to send the game into overtime.
 
Western Carolina won the tip in the extra period and took the lead on a Jackson 3. Bothwell evened the score twice in the last minutes, first on a shot from long range and then again with two makes at the charity stripe. Woolbright restored the Catamount lead by hitting the back end of two free throws only for the Paladins to connect on a pair of free throws of their own to climb back on top for good.
 
Bothwell highlighted a quartet of Paladins in double figures with 26 points, including seven of his team’s 11 points in overtime. Pegues posted the second-best scoring day of his career, pouring in 24 points over a team-leading 41 minutes on the court. Slawson, the SoCon Player of the Year, fell just one rebound shy of a double-double by scoring 15 points and pulling down nine boards before fouling out late in regulation. Garrett Hein chipped in with 12 points in the win.
 
Western Carolina’s Woolbright matched his season high of 30 points in the losing effort, finishing off the double-double with 11 rebounds. Jackson tied his fourth-best scoring output this season with 22 points. Tyzhaun Claude also managed a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Catamounts were the better team in the post, winning the rebounding battle 46-36 and scoring 46 of their points in the paint, compared to 30 for Furman.

RECORDS: No. 1 Furman 26-7 | No. 4 Western Carolina 18-15
 
STATS TO KNOW
- The win was Furman’s school-record 26^th of the season, breaking ties with the 25-win 2018-19 and 2019-20 squads.
- Furman will be playing in its second straight title game, marking its first consecutive appearances since 1979 and 1980.
- Western Carolina lost its first overtime game since 2021 after winning its last five.
- Bothwell recorded his 12^th 20+ point outing of the season and 30^th of his college career.
- Furman’s 30 made free throws and 46 attempts were its most since 2012.
- The Catamounts posted better field goal, 3-point and free-throw percentages. The Paladins made up for it by getting to the charity stripe 27 more times and making 15 more from the Catamounts.


No. 7 Chattanooga 74, No. 6 Wofford 62

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 7 seed Chattanooga and No. 6 seed Wofford were separated by just one point at the half, but the Mocs used an 11-0 outburst out of the break to run away with a 74-62 win in the semifinals of the 2023 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville.
 
The Mocs advance to face top-seeded Furman in Monday’s final at 7 p.m.
 
Wofford’s Messiah Jones and Jackson Paveletzke combined to score the Terriers’ first eight points and give the team an early lead. Wofford remained in front until midway through the first half, as Chattanooga took its first lead of the game. The Mocs used a 19-5 run to surge out in front by 10, capped off by a pair of 3-pointers by Jake Stephens and A.J. Caldwell. The run would stop there, as Wofford cut into the deficit to head into the half down by just one. Wofford’s Paveletzke led all scorers at the break with 13 points, but Chattanooga’s Stephens was close behind at 12 points.
 
Chattanooga raced out to a 12-point lead, scoring 11 before the Terriers managed to get on the board for the first time in the half. The Mocs jumped out by as much as 14, but Wofford fought back again to cut the deficit in half. Chattanooga wasted no time in extending its advantage back into double figures, which lasted for the next 4:30 until Paveletzke hit just the third basket from behind the arc for the Terriers to cut it to seven, but the momentum would be short-lived as the Mocs held on for the win.
 
Stephens recorded his third 20-point outing of the tournament with 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals, as four of Chattanooga’s five starters reached double figures. Dalvin White hit for 13 points and dished out a trio of assists, while Jamal Johnson and Caldwell contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively. Johnson also led his team with seven rebounds. The Mocs shot far better from behind the arc and hit nine 3s, compared to just three for Wofford.
 
Paveletzke led the Wofford offense with 20 points and knocked down two of his team’s three baskets from distance. Quarterfinal hero B.J. Mack added 16 points and seven rebounds after hitting the game-winner in Wofford’s last outing. Jones was the final Terrier to touch double digits, pouring in 12 points to go along with seven boards.
 

RECORDS: No. 6 Wofford 17-16 | No. 7 Chattanooga 18-16

 
STATS TO KNOW
- Chattanooga’s win sets up a rematch of last year’s title game, which the Mocs won in dramatic fashion. The game will be the first SoCon title game rematch since ETSU and UNCG met in 2017 and 2018.
- The Mocs are the third seven-seed to reach the championship in the last four years.- Wofford outrebounded Chattanooga 34-30, but the real difference was in offensive boards, where there Terriers pulled down 13 compared to four for the Mocs.
- Both teams made 24 field goals, but nine of Chattanooga’s makes were from 3-point range and Wofford only connected on three from distance.

2023 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
 
Friday, March 3 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) Mercer 66, (9) The Citadel 41
Game 2 - (7) Chattanooga 92, (10) VMI 72
 
Saturday, March 4 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Furman 73, (8) Mercer 58
Game 4 - (4) Western Carolina 69,  (5) ETSU 57
Game 5 - (7) Chattanooga 85, (2) Samford 82
Game 6 - (6) Wofford 67, (3) UNCG 66
 
Sunday, March 5 (ESPNU/ESPNEWS)
Game 7 – (1) Furman 83, (4) Western Carolina 80
Game 8 – (7) Chattanooga 74, (6) Wofford 62
 
Monday, March 6 (ESPN)
(1) Furman vs. (7) Chattanooga, 7 p.m.