BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University men's basketball will look to rebound after a season-opening loss when it travels to longtime rival Furman on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena.

The Mountaineers (0-1) suffered a 73-47 loss to Ohio in their season opener on Saturday while the Paladins (0-1) were downed by College of Charleston, 75-40, in their opener on Friday.

Wednesday's contest is the second of three-straight on the road for the Apps, who also travel to Virginia Tech on Saturday.

SCOUTING THE PALADINS
•    Furman enters Wednesday's showdown after suffering a 75-40 loss to College of Charleston on Friday.

•    The Paladins never led in the contest and struggled to hit anything from the floor, shooting just 24.4 percent (10-of-41) in the game.

•    Despite a 35-4 edge in free throw attempts, Furman scored just 18 points from the line (51.4 percent) and was even worse from long range, connecting on just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.

•    The Paladin defense was completely unable to contain the Cougars from deep as CofC hit 11-of-21 shots from beyond the arc. Anthony Stitt, who led Charleston in scoring (19), went 3-of-5 from deep.

•    Furman did not have a player score in double figures. Kendrec Ferrara and Daniel Fowler led the Paladins with eight points while Kris Acox and Kevin Chuisseu each pulled down eight rebounds.

•    The Paladins were without the services of junior Stephen Croone, who did not play due to a concussion sustained in preseason practice.

•    Croone, who ranked second in the SoCon in scoring last year (19.1 ppg) is expected to return for Wednesday's game against Appalachian.

•    In last year's meeting between the teams, Croone scored 15 points and dished out a game-high six assists.

•    Senior guard Aaron O'Neill, the son of former New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds oufielder Paul O' Neill, also suffered a concussion during the preseason and is unlikely to play on Wednesday.

SERIES HISTORY
•     Appalachian State faces a familiar foe when it travels to Furman for the second game of the season.

•    The Mountaineers and Paladins have squared off a total of 84 times in a series that dates back to the 1971-72 season. Furman holds a 45-39 edge in the all-time series, including a 27-10 advantage at home.

•    Appalachian's 84 meetings against Furman makes it the seventh-most played rivalry in Appalachian State history (Western Carolina - 187, ETSU - 125, Lenoir-Rhyne - 116, Elon - 97, High Point - 96 and Catawba - 90).

•    Appalachian has dominated the series in recent years, compiling a an 8-3 record in the last 11 meetings dating back to the 2007-08 campaign.nt, losing to Wofford in the SoCon title game.

•    Furman earned a 68-53 win when the teams last met on Feb. 22, 2014 in Greenville. Tommy Spagnolo led Appalachian with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the loss while Tab Hamilton scored 12 and Michael Obacha ripped down 11 boards.

•    Despite trailing by just four (25-21) at halftime, the Mountaineers could not stop Furman's offensive onslaught in the second half, as the Paladins shot 60.0 percent (15-of-25) over the final 20 minutes of play and outscored the Apps 43-32 in the second half.

•    In his 13 seasons as an assistant coach at Davidson, App State head coach Jim Fox helped the WIldcats to a 23-2 record against the Paladins.

NOTING THE SEASON OPENER AT OHIO
•    Appalachian's loss to Ohio on Saturday dropped it to 50-40 (.555) all-time in season openers, 0-2 all-time against the Bobcats and 2-5 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference.

•    Five different players saw their first game action for the Black and Gold (Jake Babic, Landon Goesling, Griffin Kinney, Milos Kostic and Jacob Lawson).

•    Dustin Clarke and Mike Kobani made the first starts of their careers. The duo combined for 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
•    Appalachian struggled mightily from the free throw line on Saturday, connecting on just 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from the charity stripe. It was the team's lowest free-throw percentage since making just 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) in an 81-58 win over Milligan on Nov. 26, 2011.

UP NEXT
•    Appalachian State heads to Virginia Tech on Saturday to wrap up a three-game road swing.

•    The Apps play their first home game of the year on Nov. 24 against Hampton. Appalachian will play just two home games over the first two months of the season, with the other coming on Dec. 7 against Hofstra.