The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Thursday, February 14, 7 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: McKenzie Arena (10,928) -- Chattanooga, Tennessee. Television: None. Home Record: Furman 5-7, UTC 7-8. Away Record: Furman 1-10, UTC 3-7. Neutral Record: Furman 0-0, UTC 0-0. Conference Record: Furman 3-9, UTC 5-7. Series Record: UTC leads, 47-25.

GAME NOTES: The Furman Paladins will try and put a stop to their recent slide when they visit McKenzie Arena for a Southern Conference clash with the Chattanooga Mocs.

Furman enters the tilt in the midst of a four-game losing streak. After falling at home to Elon over the weekend (64-60), the Paladins were on the wrong end of a 72-66 final at Appalachian State on Monday night. The latest loss dropped the Paladins' road record to 1-10 this season.

Meanwhile, Chattanooga has rebounded from a recent four-game skid by winning two of its last three outings. The Mocs hosted Samford on Monday night and came away with a 62-59 victory in overtime. They'll wrap up a four-game homestand tonight.

Chattanooga leads the all-time series, 47-25, although Furman has won five of the last six meetings.

After falling behind ASU by 18 in the first half, the Paladins rallied to cut the deficit to one on freshman Larry Wideman's 3-pointer from the corner with a minute and a half to play in regulation. However, the Mountaineers answered right back with a three-point play, and they made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the outcome. Stephen Croone led Furman with a game-high 20 points in the loss, although he also committed a game-high five turnovers. Wideman finished with 11 points, while Kenrec Ferrara (eight rebounds) and Bobby Austin scored 10 apiece. It was a rather quiet night for leading scorer Colin Reddick, who tallied only seven points on 2-of-7 shooting from the floor. Reddick is a 52-percent shooter on the season who also paces the squad in rebounding (6.4 rpg) to go along with his 12.7 ppg average.

Leading the way for Chattanooga is junior forward Z Mason, who is tallying 14.5 points along with a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest. Freshman guard Gee McGhee is the only other double-digit scorer on the roster, averaging 11.7 ppg. However, McGhee is shooting a dismal 58.6 percent from the free-throw line on his team-high 140 attempts, and he is also shooting just 30.4 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, the Mocs are only 29.4 percent from the perimeter, and that lack of a consistent outside threat has made them an easier team to defend. On Monday night, they converted only 1-of-14 attempts from long range but made up for it with a huge 43-22 rebounding advantage, including a 17-4 edge on the offensive glass. McGhee scored 14 points, while Lance Stokes and Drazen Zlovaric finished with 13 apiece.

The Paladins have had the upper hand in the head-to-head series of late, although they have struggled on the road all season and are winless so far in the month of February.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Chattanooga 65, Furman 60