Greenville, S.C. – Furman, winners of seven straight games and 10 of its last 11, look to maintain at least a share of first place in the Southern Conference standings when it entertains the Western Carolina Catamounts in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week on Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
 
Saturday's matchup, set for a 2 p.m. tip-off. The game, sponsored by Ingles, will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be seen on Nexstar affiliates throughout the region. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM, 1330 AM, and via the Audacy app.
 
Furman (20-6, 11-2 SoCon) enters the weekend tied atop the SoCon standings with Samford and UNC Greensboro following a 94-63 rout of VMI on Wednesday night in Lexington, Va. The victory, Furman's seventh straight overall and sixth consecutive road triumph, secured the Paladins their sixth 20-win campaign in the last seven seasons and 15^thin school history. Sophomore Alex Williams led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds at VMI as Furman registered 30 assists on 36 baskets, went 19-of-22 from two-point range, and buried 17 three-pointers. Wednesday's victory left the Paladins in a tie for second behind nationally-ranked Houston (8 straight road wins) for the longest road winning streak in Division I basketball.
 
Fifth-year senior Mike Bothwell continues to pace the Paladins averaging 18.5 points per game, and fellow fifth-year senior Jalen Slawson comes in averaging 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.6 blocked shots per contest. Redshirt-junior Marcus Foster is scoring 10.9 points per game while sophomore JP Pegues, who has scored in double figures in eight straight games and netted a career-high 26 points at Wofford last month, has contributed 10.7 points and four assists per game.
 
This weekend's matchup represents an opportunity for Furman to avenge one of its two defeats in SoCon play, a 79-67 loss to Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C., on December 31. The Catamounts (14-12, 7-6), who enter Saturday in fourth place in the league standings, rallied from a nine-point deficit to snap a 13-game losing skid versus the Paladins on New Year's Eve.
 
Western Carolina arrives in Greenville having claimed back-to-back SoCon wins versus Chattanooga on February 4 and in double overtime at Wofford on Wednesday night. Tre Jackson poured in 47 points in the victory over the Terriers while Vonterius Woolbright added 30 points.
 
Saturday's doubleheader begins with the Furman women's team hosting UNC Greensboro at 11:30 a.m. The women's basketball game will continue to be seated as a "general admission" event. At the conclusion of the women's game, reserved ticketing and seat assignments for the men's basketball game will be implemented. All fans are asked to sit in the seats designated on their reserved tickets.