CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Senior Alex Hunter tallied 20 points and six assists as Furman trounced The Citadel, 94-59, Saturday in the Southern Conference basketball regular season finale for both teams at McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C.

With the win, Furman (20-11, 12-6 SoCon) secures the No. 2 seed for the Ingles Southern Conference Tournament at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville.  The Paladins will square off against the winner of the No. 7 versus No. 10 game next Saturday at 6 p.m.  Western Carolina has earned the No. 10 seed, and the No. 7 seed will be determined later today.

The Paladins locked up a top-three seed for the seventh straight year and recorded their 20th win of the season, an accomplishment Furman has achieved five times in six tries, interrupted only by last year's pandemic-shortened 16-9 effort.  Furman head coach Bob Richey becomes the first Paladin men's basketball coach to record four seasons with 20 or more victories.

Saturday's victory completed Furman's season sweep of The Citadel (12-17, 6-12 SoCon) and marked the Paladins' eighth-consecutive triumph over the Bulldogs.

Hunter hit a team-best six three-pointers and added two steals, while Mike Bothwell contributed 17 points and three assists.  Marcus Foster scored 15 points and posted five rebounds and four assists in the win, and Tyrese Hughey added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.  Jalen Slawson dished out six assists and posted five rebounds and two blocks for the Paladins.

The Citadel's Hayden Brown, who did not play in this season's first meeting between the Paladins and Bulldogs, notched a double-double with 17 points and 18 rebounds, and Tyler Moffee added 11 points and five assists.  David Maynard scored 10 points and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.   

The Paladins took the lead for good off a three-pointer by Conley Garrison at the 17:25 mark of the first half.  Furman led by as many as 13 with just over four minutes left in the first half after putting together a 13-5 run, and, following a three-pointer by Bothwell, the Paladins took a 12-point lead into the locker room at the half. 

Furman stretched the lead to 15 early in the second half then put together an 11-2 run to push the advantage to 66-42 just before the under 12 timeout.  A layup by Joe Anderson followed by a dunk by Hughey and a quick fast break from Slawson extended the lead to 29 with 8:35 left in the game, and the Paladins outscored the Bulldogs 19-13 over the final eight minutes to claim the 35-point victory. 

The Paladins went 5-for-5 from the free throw line and shot 57.1 percent (36-of-63) from the field.  Furman made 17-of-35 three-pointers (48.6 percent) and out rebounded the Bulldogs, 36-33, highlighted by 28 defensive boards.  Furman held a 23-12 advantage in fast break points and led 36-28 in points in the paint. 

Furman's bench contributed 28 points in the effort, including eight points from Anderson and six from Garrett Hien.