Greenville, S.C. – Furman and UNC Greensboro, tied for second place in the Southern Conference men's basketball standings, are set to battle on Saturday at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game, sponsored by Bon Secours, will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Tickets for Saturday's game are still available and can be purchased at
FurmanPaladins.com. There will be inflatables and a jump house for the kids and the Paladins will hold a postgame autograph session. 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.
The Paladins, ranked No. 110 in the NET Rankings and No. 93 in the Pomeroy Ratings, enter Saturday's matchup at 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon after dispatching Mercer, 84-66, Wednesday evening in Macon, Ga. Redshirt-junior
Marcus Foster poured in a career-high 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting behind the arc and added seven rebounds to guide the Paladins to their 16
th consecutive win over the Bears and seventh straight at Hawkins Arena. Foster dropped 18 of his game-high 25 points in the first half while the Paladins shot 71.4% as a team to build a 52-32 halftime advantage.
Guard
Mike Bothwell, who netted 17 points on Wednesday night, continues to lead Furman and rank 31
st nationally in scoring at 19.4 points per game. The Paladins sport one of the top offenses in the nation and rank third in effective field goal percentage, fifth in assists per game, 11
th in three-point baskets per game, and 11
th in field goal percentage. Furman's 82.1 points per game is 21
st in the country and leads the SoCon, while UNCG leads the league in fewest points allowed at 64.1 per game.
Saturday's game will be the 43
rd all-time meeting between the Paladins and Spartans in a series that UNCG leads 22-20. The schools have split the regular season home-and-home series in each of the past four seasons with Furman claiming victory in Greensboro, N.C., last year before the Spartans edged the Paladins 58-56 on February 5, 2022, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the most recent meeting.
On Wednesday, UNCG downed VMI 72-57 in Lexington, Va., to win for the fourth time in its last five games and improve to 10-8 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon. Senior Keyshaun Langley, who leads the Spartans averaging 13.5 points per game, totaled a career-best 25 in the victory over the Keydets.
Following Saturday's clash, Furman visits Chattanooga (Jan. 18) and Wofford (Jan. 22) before returning to Timmons Arena to entertain first-place Samford on Wednesday, January 25.
