Highlights
Niko Medved postgame // Players postgame

Greenville, S.C. -- Furman connected on 5-of-6 trips to the foul line in the final 25 seconds, including a pair of free throws from Geoff Beans with 12 seconds remaining, as the Paladins rallied past Mercer, 71-69, in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Monday night at Timmons Arena.

The victory improved the Paladins to 9-6 overall and 2-0 in the SoCon, while giving head coach Niko Medved's squad their 11th consecutive league victory on their home floor. Mercer slipped to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in the SoCon with its third loss in the last four meetings against Furman.

The Bears jumped out to a quick 16-6 lead and used eight second chance points to carry a 32-30 lead into halftime. After Furman grabbed a pair of brief leads in the opening two-and-a-half minutes of the second period, Mercer fashioned a 10-3 spurt to claim a 47-40 advantage on Jordan Strawberry's three-point play with 13:36 to play.

Furman continued to trail 58-53 with under seven minutes to go when Kris Acox connected on 1-of-2 free throws. Mercer missed a triple on its next possession, grabbed the offensive board and then missed two free throws. The Paladins capitalized on the Bears' misfortune as Devin Sibley scored in the paint and then drained a trey on Furman's next possession to put his team in front 59-58 with 5:44 remaining.

After Furman built its lead to as many as four points, Mercer trimmed the margin back to 66-65 on Strawberry's three-pointer with 51 seconds left. Acox missed a layup opportunity for the Paladins, but Matt Rafferty grabbed the offensive board and the Bears were whistled for an intentional foul. Acox made 1-of-2 at the foul line and Furman was awarded the ball. Rafferty drew a two shot foul and converted on both of his free throws to extend the lead to 69-65 with 24 seconds to go.

Demetre Rivers scored from the base line on Mercer's next chance, but Beans was fouled on Furman's inbounds pass and drained both of his free throw attempts with 12 seconds left to seal the win.

Sibley paced the Paladins with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Rafferty totaled 14 points and seven rebounds and Daniel Fowler added 13 points and eight boards. Redshirt freshman Jalen Williams provided seven points, seven boards and a pair of blocked shots off of the bench, while sophomore Jonathan Jean dished out a career-best four assists without committing a turnover in a season-high 22 minutes of action.

The Paladins shot just 37.5%, but made 22-of-32 free throw attempts and scored 15 second chance points, all in the second half. Furman was guilty of just seven turnovers on the night.

Strawberry led Mercer with 23 points, Andrew Fishler tallied nine points and Desmond Ringer accounted for eight points and eight rebounds. The Bears shot only 40.3% from the field and managed a 42-41 edge on the glass.

By allowing just 69 points to Mercer, it marked the 12th consecutive game that Furman held the opposition to fewer than 70 points.

The Paladins open a three-game SoCon road trip on Thursday when they face the Samford Bulldogs in Birmingham, Ala. Tip-off at the Pete Hanna Center is slated for 7 p.m. CST/8 p.m. EST and the game will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. The radio broadcast will air locally on FOXSports 1440AM and will also be available around the world via the TuneIn Radio app.

Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information