Men's Basketball 2/9/2021 10:11:00 AM By: Jordan Caskey

Furman Basketball Travels To UNCG For Wednesday Rematch On ESPNU

Tip-Off Slated For 5 P.M.

Game 19: Furman (12-6, 6-3 SoCon) at UNCG (13-6, 8-3 SoCon)
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 – 5:00 p.m.
Greensboro Coliseum | Greensboro, N.C.
GameDay Sponsor: Wicked Weed
TV: ESPNU
Radio: ESPN Upstate (97.7 FM/1330 AM Greenville, 97.1 FM/950 AM Spartanburg, Radio.com)
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com

FURMAN NOTABLES

Furman, ranked No. 11 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and a SoCon-best No. 83 in the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings, plays its third game in five days on Wednesday when it goes for a home-and home sweep of the UNCG Spartans.
Head coach Bob Richey (85-31), now in his fourth year, ranks in the top 12 among active NCAA Division I coaches with a .733 winning percentage. He guided Furman to 23 victories in his first year as head coach before setting a school records with 25 wins in each of the last two seasons.
The Paladins have boasted 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 466 games and record 306 starts in the purple and white. Furman has switched up its starting lineup in two of the last three games after starting the same group in each of the first 15 games this season.
Colin Kenney and Garrett Hien each earned their first career start in Monday's win over the Spartans. Hien, a Charlotte, N.C., native, scored seven points and grabbed a career-best eight rebounds.
Senior Alex Hunter, a starter at point guard in 82 of the last 83 games for the Paladins, is averaging 10.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while leading the SoCon in assist-to-turnover ratio. He has shot a team-best 40.2% from behind the arc this season.
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 13.5 points per game, enters Monday's game with 975 career points.
Clay Mounce (15.3 ppg, 6.2 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 33rd in school history with 1,195 career points.
Despite having its 19-game winning streak at Timmons Arena snapped in Saturday's loss to Wofford, Furman has won 36 of its last 39 regular season contests played in the facility following a 68-49 victory over UNCG on Monday. Furman is 71-12 at Timmons over the last six seasons, including 41-6 versus SoCon opposition.

Furman vs. UNCG Series

Wednesday's game marks the 40^th meeting between Furman and UNCG in a series that dates back to the 1997-98 season.
UNCG holds a 20-19 lead in the all-time series between the Paladins and Spartans, but Furman has won three of the last five and two straight.
On Monday in Greenville, Furman jumped out to a 30-13 first half lead and held UNCG to 29% shooting to down the Spartans, 68-49. Senior Alex Hunter led the Paladins with 19 points while adding six boards and five assists. Jalen Slawson scored 14 points and blocked a career-best five shots, Mike Bothwell netted 12 points and Noah Gurley grabbed 11 boards for the second consecutive game.
Last season, UNCG spoiled Furman's return to downtown Greenville and the Bon Secours Wellness Arena with an 86-73 verdict before Furman returned the favor with an 81-67 triumph in Greensboro, N.C., in the last meeting on February 26, 2020.