No. 6 Furman, No. 5 Western Carolina advance to the SoCon semifinals

No. 6 Furman 86, No. 3 Samford 81

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 6 Furman beat No. 3 Samford for third time this season, advancing to the semifinals of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament for the fifth straight year with an 86-81 win at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville on Saturday night.

The Paladins (20-12) will play No. 7 UNCG in the first semifinal game on Sunday at 4 p.m. 

Furman senior guard Tom House came off the bench for the sixth time in the last seven games and led the Paladins with 20 points.  He made seven free throws in the last 49.2 seconds to keep Samford from making a late run.

Paladins starting guard Alex Wilkins, a second-team all-conference selection, scored 19 points and Cooper Bowser added 14 for Furman.

Jadin Booth, the SoCon Player of the Year, scored 34 points for Samford (18-14). He made 10-of-17 field goal attempts including 8-of-15 on 3-point attempts.

The first half ended in a 46-46 tie. Samford led early in the second half before the Paladins took control. A 3-pointer by House gave Furman a 75-65 lead with 3:14 remaining before the late flurry by the Bulldogs.

Things to know

- Furman split with UNCG during the season, winning on the road 89-66, and losing at home, 67-64.

- House scored 15 of his points in the second half. 

- With 11 made 3-pointers, the Paladins have 13 games this season with 10 or more from behind the arc.

******

No. 5 Western Carolina 77, No. 4 Mercer 73

ASHEVILLE, N.C.-- The Western Carolina Catamounts came back from a 17-point deficit in the first half to defeat Mercer, 77-73, in the quarterfinals of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championships at Harrah's Cherokee Center Saturday night.

The No. 5 Catamounts (15-15), will play top-seeded ETSU in the semifinals on Sunday at 4 p.m. 

Against No. 4 Mercer, Western Carolina fell behind, 28-11, less than halfway through the opening half. Led by Tidjiane Dioumassi, who scored 15 of his team-leading 21 points in the first half, the Catamounts took a 36-35 lead just before intermission on a 3-pointer by Tahlan Pettway.

Mercer started quickly again and went out to a 58-49 lead midway through the second half. The Catamounts came back again and eventually took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Marcus Kell for a 73-72 lead with 31 seconds left.

Cord Stansberry scored Western Carolina's final four points on free throws, including two that gave them a 76-73 lead with four seconds remaining.

In addition to Dioumassi, Pettway (18), Kell (15) and Stansberry (13) scored in double figures for Western Carolina, which now has a seven-game winning streak.

Baraka Okojie scored 26 points to lead Mercer (15-15.).

Things to know

- WCU was the only SoCon team to beat ETSU twice during the regular season.

- The Catamounts had 27 second-chance points, compared to eight for Mercer.

- Western Carolina made 15-of-20 free throws. The Bears were just 11-of-19 from the line

2026 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 6 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 1 - (9) The Citadel 88, (8) Chattanooga 85
Game 2 - (7) UNCG 84, (10) VMI 70
 
Saturday, March 7 (ESPN+/SCETV)
Game 3 - (1) ETSU 83, (9) The Citadel 76
Game 4 - (7) UNCG 75, (2) Wofford 72

Game 5 - (6) Furman 86, (3) Samford 81

Game 6 - (5) Western Carolina 77, (4) Mercer 73
 
Sunday, March 8 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) ETSU vs. (5) Western Carolina, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - (7) UNCG vs. (6) Furman, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, March 9 (ESPN or ESPN2)
Championship game, 7 p.m.