GAME NOTES: The Cinderella story in the Southern Conference Tournament continues on Sunday night, as the 10th-seeded Furman Paladins attempt to advance to the title game, as they take on the third-seeded Mercer Bears in semifinal round action at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The winner of this game will take on either Wofford or Western Carolina for the tournament title on Monday.

Niko Medved's Paladins didn't have the best regular season to say the least, as the team managed just eight wins and wound up in the Southern Conference basement at a mere 5-13. However, all that is forgotten, as the team is now on a season-high three-game win streak. Tournament play began on Friday with a win over the seventh-seeded Citadel (73-56), then the Paladins knocked off two-seed Chattanooga in a stunner on Saturday, 69-67. Overall, Furman has had great success in this event, with six SoCon titles. However, its last was in 1980.

Mercer finished the season three games over the .500 mark overall thanks to a strong debut run through its new conference. The Bears posted a 12-6 league ledger, good for a third-place finish in the conference. The third-seeded Bears got their tournament underway on Saturday and destroyed sixth-seed VMI, 89-61.

The Bears swept the two regular-season matchups with the Paladins, but both were competitive, with Mercer winning 67-64 at home on Jan. 15 and then 74-68 on the road on Feb. 7.

The Paladins overcame a five-point halftime deficit and hit timely free throws down the stretch to pull off the upset of the Mocs on Saturday in the quarterfinals. SoCon Freshman of the Year Devin Sibley led the way for Furman with 16 points. Star guard Stephen Croone, after erupting for 27 points in the first round, had 13 points against Chattanooga, while Kris Acox, John Davis III and Kendrec Ferrara all checked in with nine points for Furman, which shot .429 from the floor. The team shot an impressive .844 from the free-throw line, outscoring the Mocs 27-13 at the charity stripe.

The Paladins were right on their season averages in the win over Chattanooga, as the team is averaging 63.9 ppg on .429 shooting this season. Despite the modest numbers, Croone is an explosive weapon with the ability to take over games at the offensive end. He is shooting .448 from the field this year and is one of the conference's top scoring threats at 17.4 ppg. Sibley has made an immediate impact in his debut season at 10.3 ppg.

Mercer left little doubt against VMI and beat the Keydets at their own game by shooting .516 from the floor and running away with the victory. The Bears held the usually potent Keydets to just 20 first-half points and took a 22-point lead into intermission before cruising to victory. The win came at a cost though, as All-SoCon senior Darious Moten was injured early on and didn't return to the game. Ike Nwamu, also an All-SoCon selection, tied with T.J. Hallice for team-high honors with 19 points each. Jibri Bryan added 14 points, while Stephon Jelks came off the bench with 12.

Mercer hasn't been as explosive as it showed against VMI on Saturday and has actually been much more methodical in its approach to the game this season. The Bears are averaging 67.0 ppg on the year on a modest .446 shooting percentage. Nwamu leads the team with 14.7 ppg. Moten is next in the scoring column at 11.4 ppg, while senior forward T.J. Hallice and junior guard Phillip Leonard check in at 9.1 and 8.3 ppg, respectively.

Furman's run has come out of nowhere and is the reason tournaments are so much fun, but Mercer should end it all here, with or without Moten on the floor.