Mercer Bears (16-16, 8-10 SoCon) vs. Furman Paladins (20-11, 12-6 SoCon)
Asheville, North Carolina; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Furman hosts the Mercer Bears after Alex Hunter scored 20 points in Furman's 94-59 win against the Citadel Bulldogs.
The Paladins have gone 12-3 at home. Furman ranks eighth in the SoCon in rebounding averaging 31.2 rebounds. Jalen Slawson leads the Paladins with 7.6 boards.
The Bears are 8-10 against SoCon opponents. Mercer averages 11.9 turnovers per game and is 6-4 when winning the turnover battle.
The teams meet for the third time this season. The Paladins won 80-50 in the last matchup on Jan. 29. Garrett Hien led the Paladins with 12 points, and Kamar Robertson led the Bears with 13 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mike Bothwell is scoring 15.4 points per game and averaging 4.1 rebounds for the Paladins. Hunter is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Furman.
Felipe Haase is averaging 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the Bears. Jalen Johnson is averaging 11.0 points over the last 10 games for Mercer.
LAST 10 GAMES: Paladins: 6-4, averaging 69.9 points, 27.3 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 6.4 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.9 points per game.
Bears: 4-6, averaging 73.1 points, 29.2 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.2 points.
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