Jan. 25, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball department is hosting a special TV viewing party of the Bulldogs' critical Ohio Valley Conference matchup on the road against Eastern Illinois on Thursday at 8 p.m., at the Buffalo Wild Wings on Highway 280.

The game is being televised live on CSS/Comcast Sports and Blake Fulton will be handling the play-by-play duties from Lantz Arena, while legendary Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins will be the color analyst. CSS/Comcast Sports is not available on Samford's campus cable package.

Menu items will be discounted for those who attend the live viewing party at Buffalo Wild Wings, located in front of the Target department store.

Please come early to reserve your seat and feel free to contact the Samford basketball office at desander@samford.edu or (205) 726-2802 to let them know how many people to expect.

Samford (11-6, 6-0 OVC) has won six-straight games and is in the midst of its longest winning streak since the 1998-99 season.

The Bulldogs are undefeated against conference opponents this season and have not lost a game since dropping a hard-fought matchup on the road versus Notre Dame on Dec. 30. Since falling to the Fighting Irish, Samford has recorded key OVC wins versus Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Murray State, Tennessee-Martin, Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

Eastern Illinois (6-11, 1-5 OVC) heads into Thursday's contest as the ninth-place team in the conference and is tied with Tennessee-Martin at 1-5 against league opponents.

The Panthers have lost seven of their previous eight games on the season and their last victory came at home against Austin Peay, 63-51, on Jan. 20.

EIU has played significantly better at home this season and holds an impressive 5-2 mark while playing at Lantz Arena. The Panthers are currently being led in scoring by junior guard Josh Gomes, who is averaging 15.2 points per game. Emanuel Dildy, Eastern Illinois' second-leading scorer, is averaging 14.7 points and 3.4 assists per contest.

The Samford University basketball team will attempt to win its third-consecutive game over the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Thursday at 8 p.m., in a key OVC contest being televised live by CSS/Comcast Sports.