Greenville, S.C. – The 2020-21 Furman men's basketball team's quest for a championship trophy came up short, but the Paladins continued to establish themselves as a consistent contender in the Southern Conference and one of the top mid-major programs in the country.
Furman concluded the season at 16-9 overall and 10-5 in the SoCon, securing the program's sixth consecutive winning record and sixth straight top three finish in the league standings. The Paladins, who spent the entire regular season ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, concluded the season a league-best No. 75 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings, a SoCon-best No. 92 in the Pomeroy Ratings (KenPom.com) and No. 90 in the RPI. On Sunday, Furman appeared among the last four out in the National Invitation Tournament Selection Show after the tournament's field was shortened this year from 32 to 16 teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head coach
Bob Richey, who continues to build the Paladin program into a SoCon frontrunner, was rated among the top coaches under 40 by ESPN and CBS Sports. Richey concluded the season with an 89-34 career record in four seasons at Furman and his .724 winning percentage ranks in the top 15 among active NCAA Division I head coaches.
One of the hallmarks of Furman's success in recent years has been its dominant play at home, which continued during 2020-21. The Paladins posted an 11-1 record at Timmons Arena this season to improve to 74-12 overall and 44-6 versus SoCon opposition in the building since the start of the 2015-16 campaign. With its win over The Citadel in the regular season finale, Furman notched its 23
rd win in its last 24 games in the facility and 39
th in its last 42 regular season contests at Timmons. The Paladins will enter next season having won 20 straight non-conference games at Timmons.
Leading the Paladins for the final time in 2020-21 was fifth-year senior
Clay Mounce. The Elkin, N.C., native garnered third team All-SoCon honors and NABC All-District accolades after contributing 13.8 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. Mounce joined Furman greats Bruce Evans, Jonathan Moore, Matt Rafferty, Karim Souchu and Derek Waugh as one of only six players in school history to post at least 1,200 points, 600 rebounds, 150 assists and 100 steals in a career as a Paladin. Along with senior guard
Alex Hunter, who plans to return for a final year in 2021-22, the 2021 senior class ranks third in school history with 89 wins, trailing only the 2020 (96 wins) and 2019 (90 wins) senior classes.
Joining Mounce in receiving postseason honors were guard
Mike Bothwell and forward
Noah Gurley, who were named second team All-SoCon. Bothwell, a junior from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game en route to all-conference honors and NABC All-District 21 Second Team honors. His fast start to the season that included 26 points in a victory at College of Charleston and 23 in an 83-80 loss at SEC champion Alabama helped earn him a spot on the Lou Henson Award Watch List for mid-major player of the year.
Gurley finished the season averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing. The Fayetteville, Ga., product caught fire over the final few weeks as he poured in 24 points and grabbed 10 boards in a victory at Mercer, totaled 21 points and nine rebounds in the home finale versus The Citadel and tallied 29 points and seven rebounds in the regular season finale at Wofford. In Furman's SoCon Tournament loss to VMI, Gurley posted a career-high 30 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.
With four starters and a wealth of experience returning, the 2021-22 season looks to be another exciting year as the Paladins chase a SoCon title and NCAA Tournament berth.
