GAME 2-- NOVEMBER 18, 1997

Furman Paladins (0-1; 0-0 SoCon) vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (1-0; 0-0 SEC)

Nashville, Tennessee, Memorial Gymnasium (15,311)

7:30 P.M. CST

Probable Starters

Furman (0-1; 0-0 SoCon)

Vanderbilt (1-0; 0-0 SEC)

Head Coaches

Furman: Larry Davis (Asbury '78)

• 0-1, 1st Year at Furman
• 0-1, 1st Year Overall
• Davis vs. Vanderbilt (0-0)

Vanderbilt: Jan van Breda Kolff (Vanderbilt '74)

• 71-53, 5th Year at Vanderbilt
• 94-82, 7th Year Overall
• van Breda Kolff vs. Furman (0-0)

The Series

Furman and Vanderbilt have met only twice in basketball over the years with the Commodores winning both contests. Vanderbilt's first win over Furman was a 69-68 decision, and it came in the finals of the 1962-63 Poinsettia Classic in Greenville, S.C. The Commodores' other victory, am 87-63 verdict, was registered in Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium on Dec. 2, 1995.

While Tuesday night's matchup will be the second meeting between the two schools in Nashville, it will actually mark Furman's fourth game in Memorial Gymnasium. In 1988, Furman dropped an 88-71 decision to Stanford in the first round of the Music City Invitational before coming back to down Colgate 63-61 in the consolation game.

Tuesday night's Furman-Vanderbilt matchup will mark Furman head coach Larry Davis' first encouter with the Commodores. Vanderbilt head coach Jan van Breda Kolff is 1-0 versus Furman in his coaching career.

Noting The Paladins

FURMAN SHOCKED IN SEASON OPENER...Furman was stunned 70-69 by NCAA Division II member Newberry (S.C.) College Saturday night in Greenville in the 1997-98 season opener for both schools. Jeff Knauff's 3-pointer with less than one second to play completed the impressive comeback that saw Newberry erase Furman's seven point lead (66-59) over the final 2:19. Furman's Daniel Quigley gave the Paladins a 69-67 lead by converting one-of-two free throws with 10 seconds left in the game, but Newberry's Guy Lucas hit Knauff with a crisp inbounds pass along the left baseline, and Knauff converted the 3-pointer for the win. Newberry's win snapped a 16-game losing streak to Furman dating back to the 1951-52 season.

FURMAN'S LAST TRIP TO NASHVILLE...was not a pleasant experience as the Paladins dropped an 87-63 verdict to the Commodores on Dec. 2, 1995. The game was pretty much decided in the first half after Vanderbilt put together a 26-0 run to take a 36-8 lead with less than eight minutes to go. Furman responded with an 18-8 run to make it a 44-26 game at intermission, and the Paladins got to within nine points at 57-48 following a bucket by Daniel Quigley with 9:30 remaining, but the Commodores put the game away down the stretch. Drew Maddux paced the Vanderbilt with 18 points, and Frank Seckar added 13 points and eight assists. Furman was led by Chuck Vincent's 14 points and nine rebounds, and Daniel Quigley chipped in 11 points for the Paladins.

THE LAST TIME...Furman beat a member of the Southeastern Conference was during the 1977-78 season when the Joe Williams-coached Paladins knocked off Georgia 92-83 in Athens, Ga., on the way to a 19-11 season, Southern Conference Tournament championship, and NCAA Tournament appearances (63-62 first round loss to Indiana in East Regional). Overall Furman has played 11 of the 12 current members of the Southeastern Conference and has a combined record of 64-113 (.361) versus the SEC: vs. Alabama (0-1); vs. Auburn (1-2); vs. Florida (4-4); vs. Georgia (4-18); vs. Kentucky (0-1); vs. LSU (1-0); vs. Mississippi (2-3); vs. Mississippi State (0-4); vs. South Carolina (52-68); vs. Tennessee (0-10); and vs. Vanderbilt (0-2).

BEEN THERE...Six players on Furman's 1997-98 squad were members of Furman's 1995-96 team that dropped an 87-63 decision to Vanderbilt in Nashville. They include Chuck Vincent, Daniel Quigley, Andre Kerr, Ryan Smith, Terry McGann, and Will Coles. While the 1995-96 campaign represented the sophomore season for Chuck Vincent, the other five Paladins were freshmen in 1995-96. The six Paladins combined to score 44 of Furman's 63 points and claim 24 of the team's 32 individual rebounds in the contest. On the other side of the court, Vanderbilt's 1997-98 squad includes five players the Paladins have seen before. They include Austin Bates, Drew Maddux, Gianni Cugini, Billy DiSpaltro, and Vince Ford, all of whom combined for 34 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Furman two years ago.

SOCON OPPONENT NO. 2...Tuesday night's Furman-Vanderbilt game will mark the second regular season game for both the Paladins and Commodores and the second consecutive Southern Conference foe Vanderbilt will play on the young season. The Commodores disposed of East Tennessee State 81-53 on Saturday night behind Austin Bates' 16 points. Reggie Todd led the Buccaneers with 16 points. East Tennessee State and Furman finished last in the Southern Conference North and South Divisions, respectively, last year. Furman, however, defeated East Tennessee State 67-54 in Johnson City in the only meeting between the two schools during the 1996-97 season.

THINNED RANKS...With junior forward/center Will Coles (stress fracture) and sophomore guard Michael Campbell (broken nose) already on the injured list, Furman, which only sports a 12-man roster, could not afford any more injuries, but the Paladins received further bad news Saturday night when forward/center Patrick Garner sustained a broken left thumb in the Paladins' season opening, 70-69 loss to Newberry. Garner, who tallied nine points and claimed four rebounds in 12 minutes of action prior to his injury, is expected to miss at least two weeks of action. Coles, meanwhile, may be back next week, with Campbell expected to return to practice in two weeks.

GOING HOME...Furman's 1997-98 squad includes a pair of Tennessee products who will be making the trip back home for Tuesday night's contest against Vanderbilt. While expected to make the trip, junior forward/center Will Coles (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) will not dress due to a stress fracture in his lower right leg sustained early in the pre-season. Coles graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in 1995 after helping lead his prep squad to consecutive marks of 20-8, 29-6, and 20-9 in his three seasons of varsity competition. The other Nashville area product in Furman's program is junior guard Bubba Smith (Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville High School), who will get the starting nod at second guard. Smith, now in his third year as a starter at Furman, is a 1995 graduate of Hendersonville High School. As a senior in high school, Smith averaged 26.6 points per game and later played on a Tennessee Travelers AAU squad that included former Kentucky standout Ron Mercer.

FURMAN IN PRE-SEASON P0LLS...Furman was a consensus Southern Conference South Division third place pick in a pair of pre-season polls conducted by league head coaches and media. Chattanooga, which last year advanced to the NCAA Tournament's "Sweet 16", was the consensus pick to repeat as the SoCon's South Division champion, and The Citadel was selected second in both polls. Furman finished last (fifth) in the South Division last year with a 10-17 overall record and 4-10 league mark.

VINCENT NAMED SOCON PRE-SEASON PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR...Furman senior forward/center Chuck Vincent was selected by Southern Conference head coaches as the league's pre-season player-of-the-year two weeks ago at the conference's annual tip-off in Greensboro, N.C. A three-year starter, two-time all-conference performer, and former league freshman-of-the-year pick, Vincent averaged 16.2 points and a league leading 9.7 rebounds per game a year ago. He entered the 1997-98 season ranked 20th on Furman's all-time scoring ledger and 12th on the school's career rebounding chart, and has already moved up to 11th in rebounding (728) after grabbing a team high 10 boards in the Paladins' 70-69 loss to Newberry Saturday night. If Vincent makes good on the pre-season tab, he will become the first Paladin to earn Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year honors since Jonathan Moore (1980).

VINCENT, KERR NAMED TO PRE-SEASON ALL-SOCON TEAM...Furman senior forward/center Chuck Vincent and redshirt sophomore forward Andre Kerr were named to the Southern Conference's pre-season all-conference team. While Vincent's selection was no surprise, Kerr's pick comes after the 6-foot-6 Augusta, Ga., product missed virtually all of the 1996-97 season with a sore back. Two years ago Kerr was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In the last five games of the 1995-96 campaign, Kerr shot 63.2% from the field and averaged 20.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Included in that stretch was a season high 29-point performance against eventual league tournament champion Western Carolina.

PALADINS SPLIT EXHIBITION GAMES...Furman split a pair of pre-season exhibition games, dropping a 90-83 decision to the Upstate Converse All-Stars on Nov. 3 before coming back to claim a 78-64 decision over Drobe-Juta from Lithuania on Nov. 8. Chuck Vincent led the Paladins in scoring in both games, tallying 28 and 20 points, respectively. Andre Kerr, meanwhile, claimed a game high 15 rebounds against the UpState All-Stars. Against Drobe-Juta, the Paladins got solid production from freshman guards Marcus Dilligard (12 points) and P.J. Brown (15 points).

TIMMONS ARENA NEARING COMPLETION...A little over a year after construction began, Timmons Arena, the school's new 5,000-seat, multi-purpose home, is rapidly nearing completion. As it stands now, Furman will play its first men's basketball game in Timmons Arena on Dec. 30 when the Paladins host Northeastern Illinois. Furman's Lady Paladin basketball squad will actually play the first game in Timmons Arena when it hosts Georgia Southern on Dec. 20. Timmons Arena will be the home court to the school's two basketball programs and Furman volleyball, and will serve as the home of Furman football, sports information, and strength training. Furman University will officially dedicate Timmons Arena on Jan. 17 prior to the Paladins' game against long-time Southern Conference rival Davidson.