Game 15: Furman (10-4, 4-1 SoCon) at ETSU (8-5, 4-1 SoCon)
Saturday, January 23, 2021 – 4:00 p.m.
Freedom Hall | Johnson City, Tenn.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Upstate (97.7 FM/1330 AM Greenville, 97.1 FM/950 AM Spartanburg, Radio.com)
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com
 
FURMAN NOTABLES

• Furman, 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference, is ranked No. 4 in this week's College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and a SoCon-best No. 62 in the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings. 
• The Paladins fell out of first place in the league standings and had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 74-73 loss at VMI on Wednesday night. Furman's Alex Hunter converted on three free throw attempts with 9.1 seconds left to knot the game at 73-73, but Trey Bonham drew a foul with 3.2 left and connected on the first of his two trips to the line to lift the Keydets to the win.
• Furman has not lost back-to-back games in SoCon play since falling to UNCG and Wofford on the road in January of 2019.
• Junior Jalen Slawson experienced a career night in the loss at VMI by posting career-highs with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five steals. The Summerville, S.C., native has averaged 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.7% from the field and 36.4% from behind the arc.
• Junior Mike Bothwell comes into Wednesday's game at VMI leading Furman in scoring (18.4 ppg), rebounding (5.4 rpg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals per game (2.1 spg). The Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native poured in a career-high 32 points in Saturday's 78-66 win over ETSU.
• Forward Noah Gurley is closing in on becoming the second Paladin this season and 47^th all-time to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The junior, who averages 14.1 points per game, scored 12 on Wednesday night and enters Saturday's trip to ETSU with 929 career points.
• Head coach Bob Richey (83-29), now in his fourth year, ranks in the top 10 among active NCAA Division I coaches with a .741 winning percentage.
• The Paladins boast one of the most experienced starting lineups in the country with two seniors and three juniors. The lineup of senior Alex Hunter, junior Mike Bothwell, fifth-year senior Clay Mounce, redshirt-junior Noah Gurley and junior Jalen Slawson have combined to appear in 446 games and record 289 starts in the purple and white.
• Furman makes its second of three appearances on ESPNU this season when it hosts UNCG at Timmons Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. The Paladins have won 19 consecutive games at Timmons.
• Clay Mounce (15.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) grabbed two rebounds in a Dec. 15 loss at Alabama to reach 500 for his career and become just the 10^th player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 150 assists in a career. Mounce currently ranks 37^th in school history with 1,134 career points.
• Furman announced this week that the Paladins' games versus Chattanooga (Jan. 30), Wofford (Feb. 6) and Western Carolina (Feb. 13), originally scheduled to be played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, would be moved to Timmons Arena on the Furman University campus.

 
Furman vs. ETSU Series

• Furman and ETSU are meeting for the 63^rd time with the Bucs holding a 32-30 series lead.
• The Paladins have won three of the last four meetings, including a 78-66 victory over ETSU at Timmons Arena last Saturday behind a career-high 32 points from junior Mike Bothwell.
• ETSU has won six of the last seven series meetings in Johnson City and claimed a 75-66 victory over the Paladins at Freedom Hall last season. 
• Head coach Bob Richey is 4-4 all-time versus the Bucs.

 
 
Up Next:
Furman vs. UNCG
Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.
Timmons Arena | Greenville, S.C.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: ESPN Upstate