The East Tennessee State University (ETSU) men’s basketball team lost 76-61 to Furman in the Southern Conference (SoCon) Men’s Basketball Championship title game on March 9 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
This marks the second consecutive year that the SoCon’s outright regular season champion was defeated in the final. The Buccaneers, who finished their season with a record of 23-11, briefly took an early lead before Furman’s Asa Thomas hit back-to-back three-pointers to spark a run for the Paladins. Furman extended its advantage with a series of scoring runs and led by seven points at halftime.
In the second half, Furman maintained its double-digit lead until ETSU’s Taylor dunked with just under four minutes left to cut the deficit to nine points. However, Furman responded quickly as Alex Wilkins scored four of the game’s final six points, securing Furman’s second SoCon tournament crown in four seasons.
Taylor led ETSU with 16 points, while Barkley contributed 14 and Smith added 10. Barkley also led ETSU in rebounding for the fourth straight game with four rebounds. Smith had three assists, and both Taylor and another teammate recorded two steals each. As a team, ETSU shot 48 percent from the field but struggled from beyond the arc and at the free throw line, making only three of sixteen three-point attempts and ten of seventeen free throws. Furman outrebounded ETSU decisively by a margin of 35-24.
With this loss, ETSU will now look for opportunities to participate in other postseason tournaments.
