Chattanooga, Tenn. – Sophomore Mike Bothwell scored a career-high 27 points and Furman held Chattanooga without a basket for a stretch of over eight minutes in the second half en route to its seventh straight win with a 73-66 triumph over the Mocs on Wednesday night at McKenzie Arena.
 
The victory improved the first place Paladins to 14-3 overall and 4-0 in the Southern Conference, while Chattanooga slipped to 10-6 overall and 1-2 in the SoCon.
 
Trailing 50-47 after Matt Ryan's jumper with 14:38 remaining, Bothwell scored eight points in a key 14-0 run and Furman held the Mocs scoreless for 8:57 to build a 61-50 lead. Chattanooga answered with a 7-0 run of its own, but Bothwell responded with a three and scored Furman's next nine points, including a runner from the left side of the lane with under a minute to go to up the Paladin lead to 70-64. On Chattanooga's next possession, Clay Mounce stole the ball near midcourt and put the game away with a slam to extend the margin to 72-64.
 
Bothwell, a native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, connected on 12-of-16 shots, including 3-of-6 from behind the three-point arc to pace the Paladins. Jordan Lyons tallied 16 points, while Alex Hunter and Mounce posted 11 points apiece. Hunter added six rebounds and Mounce contributed six boards, three assists and three blocked shots.
 
Furman shot 51.7% from the floor, managed a 38-28 scoring edge in the paint and totaled 17 points off of 15 Chattanooga turnovers. UTC shot 72.7% in the first half, but the Paladins limited the Mocs to just 38.5% from the field over the final 20 minutes and just 2-of-8 from three-point range in the second half.
 
Stefan Lenic led the Mocs with 15 points coming off of the bench and Ryan tallied 13 points. Rod Johnson and netted 12 points and David Jean-Baptiste finished with 10.
 
The Paladins' victory marked their six straight true road win of the season, which ranks second best among all Division I schools. The 4-0 start in league play by the Paladins equals Furman's best SoCon start since going 9-0 to begin the 1979-80 league campaign.
 
Furman returns home to host the UNCG Spartans as part of a men's and women's Weekends at the Well doubleheader presented by Ingles and Healthy Blue at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Saturday, January 11. The women's team will take on Samford at 4:30 p.m. before the men entertain the Spartans at 7 p.m.
 
Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday's game by logging onto FurmanPaladins.com or by visiting the Timmons Arena Box Office. Fans can also find out all information about the "Downtown Dins" on the Weekends at the Well page.