Furman 61, Mocs 52

This one hurts. For every reason.

It's the end of a season. And the end of DeAntre Jefferson's, Jeff Smith's, Troy Cage's, and Jeremy Saffore's career.

We didn't win the SoCon Tourney on our home floor.

And the Mocs are out in their first game.

A season that had some promise has now gone by the wayside.

It hurts. It hurts a lot. It's been about 16 hours, and it still stings. I guess if it stops stinging, then I'd stop caring, and I'd stop writing this blog. There would be no point if it didn't hurt a little.

There have been questions about the Mocs desire and passion. I tend to agree. The passion is not there. There was no urgency in this game. The Mocs played tight. Why were they tight? Before the game as I sat there in the stands, I wondered if they would be tight playing in front of the home crowd and if the pressure would be too much for them.

They played like it was.

According to the Times Free Press, Keegan Bell cried after the game. They also said that the team was silent before the game- a sign of a tight team.

The Mocs came out and could not rebound. They could not stop Furman, and before anyone knew it, the score was 13-0 Furman. The Mocs battled back, and Ricky Taylor had a breakaway dunk to tie the game. He missed it. Furman went on a 10-4 that spanned the end of the first half and the beginning of the second hald, taking a 32-24 lead.

The Mocs continued to fight and struggle, but never could make the big shot. That included free throws, where the Mocs were a pathetic 15 of 29, including 12 of 25 in the second half. It was bad.

Very bad.

Yes, the officiating was awful. One official actually followed Coach Shulman into the huddle to argue with him, which was more than a little outrageous.

The Mocs rebounded better in the second half, but still couldn't get shots to fall.

Sam Watson played the game of his life. His defense was very good. He brought it against Furman. He only scored two points and got two rebounds, but he was a spark of energy. No one else provided that. No one.

Furman's Jordan Miller scored 21 points. He did not play well against the Mocs in the first two games, but he has now played well in the both games in the SoCon Tournament. If he keeps on playing like that, and Saaka adds 15 and 10 (like he did last night), Furman will be tough for College of Charleston to beat tonight. Of course, playing their third game in three nights will make it extraordinarily difficult.

Chris Early was awful. He fouled out. He did not bring any energy to the game, and was clearly not completely into the game. His head was not there. Why not? I'm not sure. Was it the pressure? I'm not sure.

DeAntre Jefferson was not good in the first half, but played much better in the second half, even though he scored just four points. His seven rebounds and second half energy helped spark several surges.

This is the time of year to evaluate the season, the coaching situation, and where to go from here. But not now.

For now, I'm just letting it sting for a little while.