Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's basketball team goes in search of its 16^th consecutive victory versus the Mercer Bears when it visits Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga., for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday.
 
The Furman-Mercer matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+, and fans can listen to the action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM, 1330 AM, and through the Audacy app with Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy on the call. 
 
Furman improved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in the Southern Conference with a 70-56 road victory over East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn. Redshirt-junior Marcus Foster scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to spur the Paladins to their first victory in Johnson City since the 2017-18 season. Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell added 16 and 13 points, respectively, as Furman posted its second largest margin of victory in 32 contests on ETSU's home floor.
 
Saturday's victory marked the 100^th career win for Bothwell and Slawson, who trail only Alex Hunter (111 wins) on the Paladins' career wins ledger. Bothwell surpassed 1,700 career points in Saturday's win and move past Mel Daniel for 10^th place on Furman's career scoring chart with 1,711 points. Slawson corralled seven rebounds at ETSU to become the 18^th player in program history to eclipse 700 career boards.
 
Furman, No. 99 in the latest Ken Pomeroy Ratings, enter Wednesday's game ranked fourth in the country in assists per game (19.5), fourth in effective field goal percentage, 12^th in three-point field goals per game (10.0), 12^th in field goal percentage (49.7%), and 19^th nationally in points per game (81.9). On Saturday, head coach Bob Richey's squad limited ETSU to just 33% shooting, including a 3-for-21 effort from three-point range.
 
Wednesday's meeting in Macon marks the 35^th all-time encounter between the Paladins and Bears with Furman holding a 24-10 series lead. The Paladins have won each of the last 15 meetings, including six straight at Hawkins Arena. Last season, Furman claimed an 81-66 decision at Bon Secours Wellness Arena before securing an 80-50 verdict in the second leg of the home-and-home series in Macon. The Paladins completed a three-game season sweep of the Bears with an 80-66 victory in the quarterfinal round of the SoCon Men's Basketball Championship on March 5, 2022, in Asheville, N.C.
 
Mercer feel to 7-10 overall and 0-4 in league play with a 73-45 loss at Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore forward Jalyn McCreary leads the Bears averaging 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
 
Following Wednesday's game, Furman returns to Timmons Arena to host the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. and tickets are available by clicking here.