Game 12: Furman (8-3, 2-0 SoCon) vs. VMI (6-5, 1-1 SoCon)
Saturday, January 9, 2021 – 2:00 p.m.
Timmons Arena | Greenville, S.C.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Upstate (97.7 FM/1330 AM Greenville, 97.1 FM/950 AM Spartanburg, Radio.com)
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com

FURMAN NOTABLES

• Furman, ranked No. 4 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and a SoCon-best No. 56 in the initial NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings of 2021, looks to remain unbeaten in SoCon play when it hosts the VMI Keydets on Saturday afternoon.
• Last time out, the Paladins downed Mercer, 83-80, at Timmons Arena on Saturday to claim their 18th consecutive victory at Timmons Arena and 34th in their last 36 regular season games in the facility.
• Senior Clay Mounce drained 5-of-9 three-point attempts to total a career-high 27 points in Saturday’s victory, while fellow forward Noah Gurley added a season-high 23 points.
• Junior Mike Bothwell, who leads Furman in scoring (17.7 ppg), rebounding (5.5 rpg), assists (3.9 apg) and steals per game (1.9 spg), contributed 15 points, five boards, five assists and a career-high six steals versus Mercer en route to earning SoCon Player of the Week honors.
• The Paladins recorded 14 steals in the victory over the Bears, which ranked as the most by a Furman team against an NCAA Division I opponent since claiming 14 in an 83-72 win over UNC Asheville on Dec. 5, 2017.
• Furman has won eight straight SoCon games at Timmons since a loss to Wofford on Feb. 23, 2019 and have captured victory in 18 of their last 20 league contests in the facility.
• Clay Mounce (15.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) grabbed two rebounds in a Dec. 15 loss at Alabama to reach 500 for his career and become just the 10th player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 150 assists in a career.
• Head coach Bob Richey (81-28), now in his fourth year, ranks in the top 10 among active NCAA Division I coaches with a .743 winning percentage.
• The Paladins boast one of the most experienced starting lineups in the country with two seniors and three juniors. The lineup of senior Alex Hunter, junior Mike Bothwell, fifth-year senior Clay Mounce, redshirt-junior Noah Gurley and junior Jalen Slawson have combined to appear in 431 games and record 274 starts in the purple and white.

Furman vs. VMI Series

• Saturday’s game will mark the 101st meeting between Furman and VMI with the Paladins holding a 66-34 all-time series lead.
• The Paladins have won 10 straight in the series and have swept the yearly home-and-home series with the Keydets in each of the past five seasons.
• Last season, Jordan Lyons connected on 10 triples and scored 40 points in an 89-73 victory over the Keydets in Lexington, Va., on New Year’s Day before Lyons’ three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation helped the Paladins to force overtime in an eventual 74-72 triumph at Timmons Arena on January 29, 2020.
• VMI’s last victories over the Paladins came in a season sweep during the 2014-15 campaign.
• Head coach Bob Richey is 6-0 all-time versus the Keydets.

Paladins Add Four Televised Games During SoCon Schedule
Furman will make three appearances on ESPNU and will face off versus Wofford on Feb. 6 in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week on Nexstar affiliates throughout the southeast, it was announced in December. The Paladins will host ETSU on ESPNU on Jan. 16 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville before entertaining co-SoCon favorite UNCG on ESPNU Jan. 25 at Timmons Arena. The Paladins and Spartans will battle on ESPNU at the Greensboro Coliseum on Feb. 10 in Furman’s third appearance of the year on the ESPN family of networks.

Furman’s “Weekends at the Well” Series Returns In 2021
Furman basketball returns to downtown Greenville once again during the 2020-21 season with four “Weekends at the Well”! The Paladins host SoCon rival ETSU at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on January 16 before entertaining the Chattanooga Mocs at the Well on January 30. On February 6, Wofford and Furman will stage a rematch of last season’s thrilling showdown at the Well. The final trip to BSW in 2021 takes place on February 13 versus Western Carolina. Get your tickets now for all four “Weekends at the Well”!

Up Next:
Furman at The Citadel
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.
McAlister Field House | Charleston, S.C.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Upstate