Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's basketball team returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Spartanburg, S.C. to face the Wofford Terriers in a nationally televised Southern Conference matchup on ESPNU. Tip-off at Richardson Indoor Stadium is set for 4 p.m.
Brock Bowling and Dean Keener will call Sunday's action on ESPNU, while fans can also listen to the game 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 enters the matchup at 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the SoCon following a 77-69 road victory over the Chattanooga Mocs on Wednesday night at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn. Trailing 66-64 with under 4:20 to play,
Mike Bothwell hit a game-tying jumper and
Carter Whitt drained a go-ahead three with 2:42 left as the Paladins ended the game on a 13-3 run to claim their fifth win in their last six trips to Chattanooga.
Bothwell and fellow fifth-year senior
Jalen Slawson paced the Paladins with 22 and 21 points, respectively, while
JP Pegues scored 11 and
Marcus Foster finished with 10. The Paladins held Chattanooga's Jake Stephens, the nation's fourth leading scorer, to 18 points.
Furman, 17
th in the nation in scoring at 81.7 points per game, ranks sixth in the country in effective field goal percentage, eighth in assists per game, 12
th in field goal percentage, and 17
th in made three-point baskets per game through 20 contests. The Paladins have improved their defensive effort in SoCon play allowing just 70.3 points per game, 41.4% shooting from the field and 30.9% shooting behind the arc against league competition. Over seven SoCon games, the Paladins have shot 38% from three-point range, and head coach
Bob Richey's club has converted on 82.5% of its free throws over the last five games while averaging 17 free throws made per game.
Sunday marks the 152
nd renewal of the Furman-Wofford series, which began on November 23, 1908, with a 30-10 Paladin victory in just the third basketball game in school history. Furman holds an 89-62 series lead and last season completed a home-and-home sweep of the Terriers for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign. The Paladins claimed a 75-50 win in Spartanburg before pulling out a 70-69 victory in the rematch at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Wofford is 11-9 on the season and 3-4 in league play after a 76-71 loss at Western Carolina on Wednesday night.
Following Sunday's nationally televised showdown, Furman returns to Timmons Arena to host first place Samford on Wednesday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and tickets are still available at FurmanPaladins.com.
