SoCon MBB (2-11-23)

A recap of Saturday's games:

Both Furman and Samford won their respective games to remain tied with UNCG for first place in the standings. The Mocs also knocked off Mercer to remain in the top 6 in the conference standings.


Western Carolina 59 - Furman 93
Five players reached double figures and Furman's defense held Western Carolina to 31.7% shooting as the Paladins claimed their eighth consecutive victory with a 93-59 triumph over the Catamounts before a packed house at Timmons Arena on Saturday afternoon. The eight-game unbeaten stretch is the longest for Furman since winning 12 straight games to begin the 2018-19 campaign. With Saturday's victory, Furman claimed its 14th win in the last 15 meetings versus Western Carolina. The Paladins opened the game on a 14-0 run and led wire-to-wire to improve to 21-6 overall and 12-2 in Southern Conference play. The Catamounts dropped to 14-13 overall and 7-7 in the league. Jalen Slawson and Marcus Foster led the way with 17 points apiece and Mike Bothwell added 16. Tyrese Hughey and Alex Williams rounded out the Paladins double figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Furman finished with a 53-39 rebounding edge and committed just six turnovers. Jackson led the Catamounts with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting while DJ Campbell contributed 12 points. Western Carolina converted on just 3-of-15 threes and 16-of-28 trips to the foul line.

The Citadel 70 - Samford 76
The Samford Men's Basketball Team picked up its fourth straight victory with a 76-70 defeat of Southern Conference foe The Citadel on Saturday, Feb. 11. The win improves Samford's record to 18-9 overall and 12-2 in SoCon action while The Citadel falls to 9-18 overall and 4-10 in league play. Jermaine Marshall led the Bulldogs with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds. The junior forward shot 7-10 from the field and 2-3 from three. Logan Dye and Ques Glover both chipped in for 16 points, with Dye shooting 10-13 from the free throw line and Glover knocking down six of nine field goal attempts.

Mercer 56 - Chattanooga 73
The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team used an extremely strong defensive effort in the second half while freshmen Sam Alexis and Brody Robinson combined for 36 points to help capture a crucial 73-56 victory over Mercer in Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon in McKenzie Arena. Following the nationally televised victory, Chattanooga improves to 14-13 overall and 6-8 inside SoCon action. Mercer falls to 12-15 overall and 5-9 inside league action after the defeat. Locked up 54-54, Chattanooga ended the game on a 19-2 run while holding Mercer to a 1-of-11 finish from the floor including zero points in the final 7:54 of game time. Once trailing by 10 late in the first half, the Mocs erased a double-digit deficit against the Bears for the second time in the last three seasons with the last coming on January 13, 2021. "It was good to get a win. It was not our best basketball in the first half and early in the second half. We had a little bit of a spirited timeout, and I thought our guys responded really well," said head coach Dan Earl after the game.