WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

03/09 03:43 CDT East Tennessee State Buccaneers and Furman Paladins play for SoCon Championship East Tennessee State Buccaneers and Furman Paladins play for SoCon Championship By The Associated Press Furman Paladins (21-12, 12-8 SoCon) vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers (23-10, 15-5 SoCon) Asheville, North Carolina; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: East Tennessee State faces Furman in the SoCon Championship. The Buccaneers have gone 15-5 against SoCon opponents, with an 8-5 record in non-conference play. East Tennessee State ranks fourth in the SoCon with 14.4 assists per game led by Allen Strothers averaging 3.0. The Paladins' record in SoCon games is 12-8. Furman averages 11.4 turnovers per game and is 7-1 when winning the turnover battle. East Tennessee State's average of 7.5 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.8 fewer made shots on average than the 8.3 per game Furman allows. Furman averages 8.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 more makes per game than East Tennessee State gives up. The teams meet for the third time this season. The Buccaneers won 78-69 in the last matchup on Feb. 18. Milton Matthews led the Buccaneers with 18 points, and Alex Wilkins led the Paladins with 21 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Brian Taylor II averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Buccaneers, scoring 14.6 points while shooting 35.4% from beyond the arc. Blake Barkley is averaging 14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds over the last 10 games. Asa Thomas averages 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Paladins, scoring 12.5 points while shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc. Wilkins is averaging 16 points and 4.1 assists over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Buccaneers: 7-3, averaging 76.9 points, 29.9 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 7.7 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.5 points per game. Paladins: 5-5, averaging 74.0 points, 32.9 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 3.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.1 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.