'Tiny Old Furman' Pulls Stunning Upset over No. 8 Villanova, Sends 'Cats on Rare Skid
First, it was Loyola. Next came Villanova.
One by one, Furman is picking off teams from last year’s Final Four and proving to be the surprise story of the first month of the college basketball season.
Jordan Lyons scored 17 points, Matt Rafferty had 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Furman stunned the defending national champion and eighth-ranked Wildcats in overtime, 76-68 on Saturday.
“We’re just tiny old Furman,” coach Bob Richey said. “Most people ask us what state we’re in, what city we’re in. Now all of a sudden people are starting to figure out who Furman is.”
If opponents and fans aren’t paying attention to the team from Greenville, South Carolina, they’d better start now.
5-0 start ✅
Defeat the defending National Champions and #8 ranked team on their floor ✅
Be featured on @sportscenter AGAIN ✅
Post game celebration ✅✅✅#AllDIN #BetterTogether pic.twitter.com/jHY7gDznit— Furman Basketball (@FurmanHoops) November 18, 2018
Clay Mounce added 15 points and Noah Gurley and Alex Hunter scored 13 apiece for the surging Paladins, who have started 5-0 for the first time in 30 years.
Lyons and Rafferty delivered huge buckets in overtime to key a 7-0 spurt that put the Paladins ahead 69-63 in the final minute, enough cushion for them to hang on for the victory in front of a shocked sellout crowd at the recently renovated Finneran Pavilion.
“It almost can bring me to tears to think about how proud I am of the resolve, the resiliency and the fight this team has,” Richey said. “They play together, they play connected. It’s the definition of a team.”
Phil Booth scored 20 points and Colin Gillespie had 19 for the Wildcats (2-2), who were coming off a 27-point loss to Michigan in a rematch of April’s national championship game.
This is a rare losing streak for Villanova. It marked the first time Villanova lost back-to-back games since March 2013.
“It’s not that shocking, to be honest,” Booth said. “They’re a very good team. We’re still a young team trying to find our way.”
Furman has only played Villanova twice in history.
Both went overtime.
The Paladins won both.
12 more stats about @FurmanHoops:
? https://t.co/ewAuuijoXp pic.twitter.com/mxXyEepywP— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) November 18, 2018
Trailing 58-53 with under four minutes to play in regulation, Joe Cremo hit a 3-pointer, Booth scored and Gillespie made a layup in transition to put Villanova in front, 60-58, in the final minute.
After Lyons hit two free throws to tie the game at 60, Booth missed on the other end and Hunter misfired on a long 3-pointer in the final seconds. Cremo was called for a foul while going for the rebound, but Rafferty couldn’t connect on the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2.6 seconds left, setting the game up for OT.
Rafferty said his teammates picked him up and told him to make up for the missed free throw in overtime — which he did.
“This was incredible,” Rafferty said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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