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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel will look to end the regular season on a high note as the Bulldogs make the cross-state trek to face longtime rival Furman on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.
 
Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ from inside Timmons Arena. The game will also be carried on the radio locally on 102.1FM and 1450AM with Luke Mauro, the Voice of the Bulldogs, on the radio call.
 
The Bulldogs (12-10, 5-10 SoCon) could not overcome a hot-shooting Mercer squad on the road on Monday evening as the Bears knocked down 53 percent (35-of-66) of their shots from the field in an 88-52 victory. Rudy Fitzgibbons III and Kaiden Rice led The Citadel with 10 points apiece and Brent Davis earned his first collegiate start as he replaced Fletcher Abee in the lineup.
 
In the first meeting against Furman this season, the Paladins became one of only three teams to win inside McAlister Field House this season with a 94-88 victory on Jan. 13. Five different Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Rice's 20 points, and Hayden Brown collected a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. For Furman, Clay Mounce led the way with 29 points as starters Noah Gurley (18), Mike Bothwell (17) and Alex Hunter (10) also reached double figures.
 
Normally known for its offensive prowess, The Citadel has been strong at swatting away shots this season, leading the SoCon and ranking 24th nationally with 4.8 blocks per game. The 10 blocked shots against ETSU on Feb. 10 were the fourth-most in a single game in program history. Stephen Clark, who had four blocks against ETSU, currently ranks second among SoCon players with 2.1 blocks per game, a mark that has him ranked 31st among all Division I players.
 
With 12 double-doubles this season, Brown has already moved into a tie for second place on The Citadel's all-time single-season list in the category. Brown is on pace to become the first Bulldog to average a double-double since John Sutor in the 1970-71 campaign. Across his 12 double-doubles, Brown is averaging 21.3 points and 14.2 rebounds.
 
Rice has splashed 14 three-pointers across the last four games for the Bulldogs and is up to 89 made triples on the season, the fifth-most in program history and the most by any Division I player in the nation in 2020-21. Among Bulldogs with at least 50 three-point attempts, Rice is also the team's leader in percentage, shooting at a 36.8 percent clip (89-of-242) for the season.
 
After going winless in conference play last season, The Citadel has already picked up five victories in 2020-21, easily the biggest improvement among SoCon teams. Across the nation, only Cleveland State (9 more wins), Morehead State (7) and Evansville (6) have improved their conference win totals more than the Bulldogs.
 
Bothwell leads a quartet of Paladins (15-7, 9-4 SoCon) scoring in double figures this season with 16.0 points per game; he is joined by Mounce (14.0), Gurley (13.9) and Hunter (10.7), with Jalen Slawson just behind at 9.5 per outing. Mounce is the team's leading rebounder at a 6.4 per game clip, and Hunter has dished out a team-best 82 assists while turning the ball over just 29 times in 691 minutes of action. As a team, Furman shoots 48.5 percent from the floor, and all five regular starters shoot better than 45 percent individually.
 
In its last time out, Furman downed Mercer in a hotly-contested 70-60 decision to Furman this past Saturday afternoon. The Bears chipped away at Furman's advantage and cut the deficit to just four points, 55-51, with 3:12 to play, but the Paladins responded with seven straight points to effectively ice the contest. Gurley led all scorers with 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Slawson added 12 points off the bench for the Paladins.
 
The storied rivalry between The Citadel and Furman will be renewed for the 215th time on Wednesday evening, making the Paladins the most frequent opponent in The Citadel's long history. Furman owns a 127-84 lead in the all-time series and has won nine of the last 10 meetings; the only victory for the Bulldogs over that span came in a 100-92 overtime thriller inside McAlister Field House on Feb. 3, 2018. The Citadel is seeking its first win in Greenville since a 62-56 victory on Feb. 19, 2015.
 
Following Wednesday's tilt, The Citadel will await its final seeding for the 2021 Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship presented by General Shale that is set to begin on Friday, March 5, at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. The team's originally scheduled regular-season finale against Samford on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside McAlister Field House has been cancelled due to positive COVID tests and quarantine requirements within Samford's program.