Jan. 2, 2008

Greenville, S.C. - The Furman men's basketball team returns home from a seven-game road trip to host Southern Conference rival Western Carolina in a 7 p.m. contest Thursday at Timmons Arena.

The game marks the 55th meeting in the all-time series between Furman and Western Carolina with the Paladins holding a 34-20 edge. Furman dropped the Catamounts 79-67 in Greenville last season in the only meeting of the year between the schools. The Paladins have won six of the last seven games with the Catamounts and five straight at Timmons Arena.

Furman, 1-11 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon, is coming off of a 67-62 victory over Howard on Saturday night in the consolation game of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic at St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. Freshman Justin Dehm scored a career-high 23 points to earn all-tournament honors and SoCon Player-of-the-Week accolades while Alex Opacic and George Brozos each added 12 points in the victory.

Western Carolina lost at North Carolina State over the weekend to fall to 4-8 overall. The Catamounts, losers of three of the their last four games, are 0-2 in SoCon play.

Furman, who was on the road for the entire month of December, plays six of its next seven games at home and seven of nine January contests at Timmons Arena. The Paladins continue their home slate Saturday hosting league foe Chattanooga at 4 p.m.

Furman vs. Western Carolina Notes