By Sammy Clough

Furman basketball has had a month for the ages. Both the Paladin men and women have won all but two games respectively in January, and hope to continue their hot streaks through the end of conference play.

The Paladin women have strung together multiple conference wins throughout their recent run, including an impressive 65-48 victory against first-place Chattanooga, handing the Mocs their first conference loss of the season.

Led by senior guard Whitney Bunn, the Paladins had an enormous second half to overcome Chattanooga. Bunn tallied 23 of her game high 25 points in the second half, thanks to shooting 5-for-9 from three-point range to become Furman’s all-time three-point leader.

The Furman men also want to build off their impressive run, as they remain unbeaten at home.

Junior guard Devin Sibley spoke about the impressive home court advantage. “Playing at Timmons is always fun. All the support is really a thrill,” Sibley said.

Sibley, after averaging 19.5 points per game in January, was named SoCon Player of the Month, as well as earning the Lou Henson National Player of the Week honors following a win at UNCG in which he tallied 24 points.

With a month left in the regular season, the team’s chemistry is evident.

“We’ve been playing together for a while now and we’re really starting to trust each other,” senior Kris Acox said. “The win against UNCG was big for us and showed a lot of growth among the team.”

The 73-67 victory against UNCG marked the Paladins’ first win facing the Spartans in Greensboro in four years.

Other notable home wins include a 75-62 victory against East Tennessee State and an 85-37 trouncing of Western Carolina.

When asked what to attribute the men’s team’s success to, Devin Sibley simply said that the team has been “getting buckets.”

Both the Paladin men and women hope to continue “getting buckets” in February and close their seasons on a high note.