No. 6 Furman wins the SoCon Tournament title

No. 6 Furman 76, No. 1 ETSU 61

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The No. 5 seed Furman Paladins earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament on Monday night by beating regular-season champion ETSU, 76-61, in the title game of the Ingles Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Harrah's Cherokee Center.

The Paladins, who lost both regular season games to the Mocs, controlled Monday's game for much of the night, shooting 50.9 percent from the field and outrebounding ETSU, 36-24.

Forward Cooper Bowser made 9-of-12 field-goal attempts and finished with a game-high of 21 points to lead the Paladins. He also led both teams in rebounds with 11.

Furman reserve guard Tom House added 13 points and guard Alex Wilkins, who was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, contributed 12 points for Furman, which improved to 22-12 in winning the SoCon championship for the second time in the last four years under coach Bob Richey.

ETSU guard Brian Taylor II and forward Blake Barkley scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, for ETSU (23-11).

Furman shot 60 percent from the field in the opening half and held a 42-35 lead. Bowser dominated inside, making all six of his field-goal attempts as he scored 14 points before the break.

Furman eventually built a 64-48 lead before ETSU went on an 11-4 run to pull within 68-59 with 3:58 remaining. The Paladins stopped the bleeding and went on to cruise to the championship victory.

Things to know

- Going back to the semifinals, Bowser made 14 straight field goals before a miss in the second half on Monday. He finished the tournament making 21-of-30 attempts for 70 percent.

- Furman made 12-of-15 free throws for a three-game total of 51-of-61 for 83.6 percent.

- After making a total of 19 3-pointers in its first two games, the Bucs connected on just 3-of-16 attempts (18.8 percent) against Furman. The Paladins made 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) in Monday night's game.

All-Tournament Team
First team
Blake Barkley, ETSU

Brian Taylor II, ETSU

Cooper Bowser, Furman

Alex Wilkins, Furman (MOP)

Justin Neely, UNCG
 
Second team
Sola Adebisi, The Citadel

Jaylen Smith, ETSU

Tom House, Furman

KJ Younger, UNCG

Jadin Booth, Samford
 
Knight Commission Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Ben VanderWal, Furman

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 69, (5) Western Carolina 67
Game 8 - (6) Furman 81, (7) UNCG 75

Monday, March 9 (ESPN)
(6) Furman 76, (1) ETSU 61