Greenville, S.C. – Senior Clay Mounce totaled 23 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Mike Bothwell netted 20 points to power Furman men's basketball past NCAA Division II Tusculum, 95-62, in Wednesday afternoon's season opener at Timmons Arena.

Mounce, a product of Elkin, N.C., connected on 7-of-11 field goal attempts and all seven of his trips to the foul line to lead the Paladins to their 13^th consecutive win at Timmons Arena and 18th victory in their last 19 non-conference contests on campus. Bothwell, who tallied 13 points in the opening period to propel the Paladins to a 50-30 lead at intermission, hit on 8-of-10 shots from the floor and added a career-best six assists. Freshman Garrett Hien went 8-of-8 from the field to score 17 points in his Furman debut, and junior Noah Gurley rounded out the Paladins double figure scorers with 10 points.

Furman shot 53% from the field, converted on 19-of-24 trips to the foul line and outscored the Pioneers 58-30 in the paint to secure the season opening win. Tusculum was held to 40% shooting, including just 34.5% in the second half, and lost the rebounding battle to the Paladins, 46-30.

For the game, Furman registered 25 assists, led by a career-best seven from Jalen Slawson and seven from Alex Hunter. The Paladins were guilty of only eight turnovers and allowed just six points off of their eight miscues.

Ray Tyler led the Pioneers with 13 points, while Yan Kankela chipped in with 10 points. 

Furman (1-0) returns to action on Saturday when it hosts the USC Upstate Spartans (0-1) at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the "Voice of the Paladins", Dan Scott, call the action on ESPN Upstate at 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM/ 950 AM in Spartanburg, and thru the Radio.com app. Links for the video live stream and ESPN Upstate broadcast will be posted at FurmanPaladins.com.