Jan. 17, 2006

MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Samford University basketball team will begin a two-game Ohio Valley Conference road trip on Thursday as the Bulldogs square off against the Morehead State Eagles at 6:45 p.m. (CST), in Johnson Arena (6,500). The game can be heard live on WVSU 91.1-FM or via the Internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/WVSU.

Samford (10-5, 6-2 OVC) enters the matchup as the third-place team in the conference standings and is only a half-game behind co-leaders Tennessee Tech and Murray State.

On Saturday, in their previous outing, the Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaking 88-85 contest to Tennessee Tech in overtime. The defeat snapped Samford's seven-game winning streak and dropped the Bulldogs to 5-2 at home this season.

The Bulldogs have won three-consecutive road games and own a perfect 3-0 record against OVC opponents on the road this season. On its previous road trip, Samford rattled off consecutive wins at Tennessee Tech, 68-43, Tennessee-Martin, 79-65, and Jacksonville State, 90-69.

Morehead State (1-13, 0-8 OVC) heads into Thursday's game as the last-place team in the OVC and is currently in the midst of a 13-game losing streak.

The Eagles have not been victorious since a 123-83 win over Kentucky Christian University on Nov. 18, in their opening contest of the 2005-06 season. Morehead State is currently 0-8 against conference opponents and is coming off a hard-fought 71-66 overtime loss at Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.

Junior forward Shaun Williams leads the Eagles with 17.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while fellow junior Quentin Pryor follows with an average of 10.4 points per contest. Pryor, a native of Eupora, Miss., is a transfer from Jackson State.

Samford holds a 4-2 advantage in its all-time series against the Eagles.

The rivalry began during the 2000-01 season with the Bulldogs earning a 63-59 victory in Morehead, Ky. Since joining the OVC in 2003-04, the teams have played to a 2-2 split. Last year, Samford won both of the games in the series, including a 56-51 victory in Morehead, Ky.

Samford is ranked amongst the nation's top-10 teams in six statistical categories.

The Bulldogs are currently third in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage (43.0), sixth in fewest turnovers per game (11.5), seventh in field-goal percentage (50.8) and ninth in both 3-point field goals per game (9.2) and fewest personal fouls per game (15.1).

Samford is also ranked 10th in the nation in scoring defense and is only allowing an OVC-best 57.4 points per contest.

On Thursday, the Samford University basketball team will look to win its fourth-consecutive OVC road game, as the Bulldogs take on the Morehead State Eagles at 6:45 p.m. (CST), in Johnson Arena.

The game can be heard live on WVSU 91.1-FM or via the Internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/WVSU.