Jan. 20, 2006

RICHMOND, Ky. - The Samford University basketball team faces one of its toughest Ohio Valley Conference road tests of the 2005-06 season on Saturday as the Bulldogs challenge the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 6:30 p.m. (CST) in McBrayer 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 (11-5, 7-2 OVC) heads into the game looking to build upon its dramatic come-from-behind victory over Morehead State on Thursday.

The Bulldogs trailed by 10 points with 1:31 remaining in the game and used three-consecutive 3-point baskets and a pair of clutch layups from junior Jerry Smith to escape with a 65-64 win. With the victory, Samford remained undefeated on the road against conference opponents.

So far this season, the Bulldogs are 4-0 versus OVC foes on the road and have picked up consecutive wins at Tennessee Tech, 68-43, Tennessee-Martin, 79-65, Jacksonville State, 90-69, and Morehead State, 65-64.

Eastern Kentucky (9-8, 6-2 OVC) enters Saturday's contest riding the positive momentum of a three-game winning streak against conference opponents.

The Colonels are currently the fourth-place team in the OVC standings and have rattled off consecutive wins versus Morehead State, 65-63, Eastern Illinois, 71-46, and Jacksonville State, 86-78. Eastern Kentucky owns a near-perfect 6-1 record at home this season and its lone home loss of the year came against in-state rival Western Kentucky, 97-89, on Dec. 3.

Senior All-OVC performer Matt Witt leads the Colonels in scoring with 18.1 points a game, while fellow-senior Jason McLeish is second with 17.4 points per contest. Darnell Dialls, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Lexington, Ky., is currently pacing the team in rebounds with 6.5 per game.

Samford's Randall Gulina has scored in double figures in 10-consecutive games and is averaging 16.8 points per game since squaring off against Jacksonville State on Dec. 8.

The Bulldogs' 6-foot-1 guard from Baton Rouge, La., tallied a career-high 22 points against Morehead State on Thursday and scored the first 12 of Samford's points in the second half. Gulina is currently ranked second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per contest.

Samford trails Eastern Kentucky in the all-time series by a narrow 4-5 margin.

The rivalry between the schools began during the 1983-84 campaign as Samford posted a 65-63 victory over the Colonels in Seibert Hall on Dec. 17. Since joining the OVC in 2003-04, Samford trails in the series, 1-4, but the teams split a pair last season with the Bulldogs defeating Eastern Kentucky, 67-61, on the road.

It's no secret that Samford relies a great deal on 3-point shooting to propel its offensive production, but more importantly to the Bulldogs' success is their perimeter defense.

So far this season, Samford has earned a near-perfect 8-1 record when shooting better than its opponent from 3-point range. In 16 games, the Bulldogs have compiled a 42.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc and are limiting their opponents to a 35.2 mark from downtown.

Last season, Samford's 3-point field goal percentage of 41.9 trailed only Oklahoma State in the final national rankings and J. Robert Merritt finished as the 10th-ranked 3-point shooter in the country at 44.0 percent.

The Samford University basketball team will attempt to shoot its way past the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Saturday as the Bulldogs look to win its fifth-straight OVC road game at 6:30 p.m. (CST) in McBrayer 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.