Furman figures to get its first stern men’s basketball test at Timmons Arena on Friday night when Belmont visits for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

The reigning Southern Conference champion Paladins opened on Monday night with an 84-68 victory over North Greenville. Junior Marcus Foster led the Paladins with 18 points while freshman Cooper Bowser and junior Carter Whitt added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Friday’s radio broadcast will air on Classic Rock 101.1 FM WROQ and via the Audacy app with Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy on the call. Links for the live stream, radio broadcast, and live statistics can be found at FurmanPaladins.com.

The Paladins and Bruins have split four previous meetings, with Furman claiming an 89-74 decision in the most recent series meeting on Nov. 11, 2022, at Timmons Arena behind 25 points from Mike Bothwell. Last season’s game was tied at the half before the Paladins outscored Belmont 52-37 over the final 20 minutes.

 Belmont (1-0) began the 2023-24 campaign with an 89-87 victory at home on Monday night against Georgia State. Forward Cade Tyson, who scored 18 versus Furman last season, led the Bruins with 29 points.

Furman has won 16 of its last 18 games dating back to last season and has prevailed in 33 of its last 35 regular season non-conference matchups at Timmons Arena. Friday’s game starts a run of challenging mid-major contests for the Paladins, who travel to ESPN Events’ Myrtle Beach Invitational next week. The Paladins take on Liberty in opening-round play on Nov. 16 before facing either Wichita State or host Coastal Carolina on Friday, Nov. 17. The tournament concludes with a game against one of College of Charleston, St. Louis, Vermont or Wyoming on Sunday, Nov. 19 at the HTC Center in Conway.

The Furman women face quite the challenge in Atlanta, where they face Georgia Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Yellow Jackets’ McCamish Pavilion.

Pierre Curtis debuted as head coach with a 71-61 triumph over UNC Asheville on Tuesday.

Georgia Tech knocked off Coastal Carolina, 83-53, on Monday.

The Jackets defeated Furman a year ago in Atlanta and own a 10-2 advantage in the series.

 The Paladins welcomed the return of guards Tate Walters and Niveya Henley to action on Monday after the duo sat out last year with knee injuries.

Walters, a 5- 9 junior and product of highly successful Buford (Ga.) High School, scored a game high 21-points in the victory.

Henley, a 5-10 redshirt sophomore, contributed 18 points and eight rebounds against UNC Asheville. She  logged 15 starts during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 4.0 points and 2.6 rebounds.

Furman plays at Charleston Southern on Tuesday in a 6 p.m. game.

Three Furman men’s basketball games will air regionally as a part of the Southern Conference’s agreement with Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Furman’s trip to Chattanooga on Jan. 6, the Paladins’ rivalry matchup at Wofford on Jan. 27, and the regular-season finale at Timmons Arena versus Mercer on March 2 will be televised on Nexstar affiliates throughout the conference’s six-state footprint. All told, 10 regular season SoCon games will be broadcast by Nexstar during 2023-24.

Each game in the package will also air concurrently on ESPN+, and all 10 SoCon men’s basketball programs will be featured at some point during the season.
 Nexstar affiliates with the opportunity to air games are: ECBD (Charleston), WBTW (Myrtle Beach), WGHP (Greensboro/High Point), WJHL (Johnson City), WMYT (Charlotte), WWCW (Lynchburg/Roanoke) and WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville). Although not a Nexstar station, WMUB (Macon), Mercer University Broadcasting, will also air select contests.

Men’s Basketball games on Nexstar affiliates (all times Eastern)
Sunday, Dec. 10                Elon at UNCG; 4 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 6                 Furman at Chattanooga; 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 10        Western Carolina at ETSU; 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 13              VMI at Samford; 6 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 27              Furman at Wofford; 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3                VMI at Mercer; 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 10             Mercer at Western Carolina; 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 17             VMI at The Citadel; 1 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24             Chattanooga at The Citadel; 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 2            Mercer at Furman; 2 p.m.

Purple Points of Interest

Anna Morgan earned another honor with her inclusion on the fall watch list for the ANNIKA Award, annually presented to the outstanding Division I women’s golfer.

A senior from Spartanburg, Morgan holds a 68.6 stroke average over 12 rounds of play this fall.  Morgan’s victory at Landfall, the sixth of her career, established a new Paladin record for career wins, surpassing Paladins Betsy King, Beth Daniel, Dottie Pepper, and Jennifer Perri, who each notched five.

Morgan was also SoCon women’s golfer of the month.

Jenna Madden, of McKinney, Texas, and Eva Ringwald, of Aidlingen, Germany, have signed to join the women’s golf program next year.

Seniors Dylan Schubert, of Loveland, Colo., and Abigail Robertson, of Marietta, Ga., have been chosen the Southern Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Month for October.

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