The Furman Paladins faced off against the Western Carolina Catamounts for the second time on Feb. 11, hoping to avenge their 67-79 loss against WCU at the beginning of the Southern Conference season. The result was absolute domination by the Paladins, with the Dins achieving one of the highest-scoring wins of the Southern Conference season.  

The game started off slow as both teams struggled to score and tested each other’s defensive strategies; it had been roughly a month and a half since the two teams had last faced off at Ramsey Center in Western Carolina. Two minutes into the game, Furman rallied from a series of successful three-point jump shots and lay-ups made mostly by Garret Hien, Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson. Thus, Furman expanded its lead to 14-0 with five minutes into the first half. Western Carolina would keep pace with scoring for the remainder of the first half but failed to take the lead. Furman closed out the first half of the game leading 41-31. 

The Paladins, as usual, came to life in the second half, outscoring the Catamounts 52-28 with notable contributions made by Tyrese Hughey and Marcus Foster. Furman demonstrated a relative superiority in three-pointer success percentages (36.8% compared to WCU’s 20%) and a notable rebound advantage (53 rebounds compared to WCU’s 39 rebounds). The defeat of Western Carolina served as the Paladin’s 8th win in a row and as their 21st win in overall record this season. The Furman Paladins currently stand at a 21-6 record and retain their position as the number-one seed in the Southern Conference.