Furman vs. Samford Game Notes
 
Greenville, S.C. – Furman wraps up the first half of the Southern Conference men's basketball schedule Thursday when it hosts the Samford Bulldogs in a nationally televised showdown on CBS Sports Network.
 
Tip-off at Timmons Arena for Thursday's SoCon matchup, sponsored by Pepsi, is scheduled for 5 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase on Furman's TicketMaster page. In addition to the CBS Network broadcast, fans can also listen to Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy call the action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, and via the Audacy app. Links for the live audio and live statistics are available at FurmanPaladins.com.
 
Furman (14-7, 5-3 SoCon) has been idle since scoring an 89-66 road victory at UNC Greensboro on Friday afternoon. Point guard Alex Wilkins, who leads the Paladins averaging 17.9 points per game, poured in a game-high 27 points and fellow guard Tom House drained seven triples to add a season-high 25 points as Furman outscored the Spartans 30-11 over the final 7:56 to snap a two-game skid. Freshman Cole Bowser contributed career bests with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Paladins, who entered the game with just seven available scholarship players.
 
Friday's triumph in Greensboro, N.C., improved the Paladins to 5-2 on the road this season and marked Furman's 79^thtrue road victory in the last 10 years, which ranks as the fourth most in the nation. Furman enters Thursday in a tie for third in the SoCon standings behind ETSU (7-1) and Wofford (6-2) with 10 league games remaining in the regular season.
 
The Paladins will go for the regular season sweep of Samford (10-11, 3-5 SoCon) on Thursday after recording a 77-73 win in Birmingham, Ala., on January 14 at the Pete Hanna Center. Wilkins netted a career-best 28 points in the first meeting to pace the shorthanded Paladins while Charles Johnston pulled down 14 rebounds.
 
Furman holds a 30-12 lead in the all-time series versus the Bulldogs and has won four straight meetings and 13 of the last 16 encounters. Last year's 72-70 victory at Bon Secours Wellness Arena marked the sixth straight Paladin victory over the Samford in Greenville.
 
Following Thursday's clash, Furman plays it second straight nationally televised game at Timmons Arena when it hosts defending NIT champion Chattanooga for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Sunday, February 1, on ESPN2.
 
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