Jan. 9, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will play its second home game in three days Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome the Wofford Terriers to the Pete Hanna Center for a critical Southern Conference matchup beginning at 2 p.m. (CST).

Samford has named Saturday's game against Wofford as its Youth Basketball Day and all children wearing their youth basketball jerseys will be admitted for free. Children will also receive a free kid's meal courtesy of Qdoba Mexican Grill.

Fans unable to attend the matchup in person can listen live to Samford's broadcast on WVSU 91.1 FM or via the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu.

Samford (6-6, 1-2 SoCon) heads into the pivotal early-conference matchup with an unblemished 5-0 record at home. The Bulldogs have won six-straight games at the Pete Hanna Center and have not been defeated at home since a hard-fought 64-58 loss to Morehead State on Feb. 14, 2008.

When playing at home this season, Samford is shooting a sizzling 53.6 percent from the field and is averaging 68.8 points per game at the Pete Hanna Center.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs defeated Furman 71-60 to pick up its first SoCon victory in school history. In the win, Samford's Trey Montgomery scored nine of the team's last 12 points.

Montgomery's pivotal 3-point basket with 1:44 remaining changed the momentum of Samford's inaugural SoCon home game. With Furman leading 60-59, the Bulldogs held possession with the shot clock was under two seconds when Andy King found Montgomery deep in the left corner for a fade-away 3-pointer.

With less than one tick remaining, Montgomery gathered the pass and quickly fired off the shot with a defender in his face. As the ball left his hand, the buzzer immediately sounded and Montgomery's 3-pointer fell through the cylinder, nothing but net.

The 3-point field goal was Montgomery's only attempt of the game as Samford's junior guard finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

Samford concluded the game with four players scoring in double figures and was led by Bryan Friday's 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. With his 20-point performance, Friday tied his career high that was set earlier this season in the Bulldogs' 57-50 win against Lipscomb.

Junior Jim Griffin and Montgomery both added 11 points apiece, while West chimed in with a season-high 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. West finished the game with four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

West is Samford's lone senior on the team this season. The Bulldogs' speedy native of Baton Rouge, La., was also a senior last year, but was forced to take a medical redshirt season with an injury to his shoulder. In his shortened 2007-08 campaign, West started in the first five games of the year and averaged 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest.

As a fifth-year senior this season, West has mentioned on a number of occasions that he feels as if he's getting another chance to have a special year. One of the Bulldogs' leaders this season, West is making the most of his second opportunity both at practice and during the games. He also said that sitting out last season was reinvigorating and heightened his hunger to get back on the court.

Wofford (5-6, 1-1 SoCon) is coming off a key 69-66 road victory against Chattanooga on Thursday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and was the Terriers' first road win since a 74-61 triumph at Air Force on Nov. 23.

Against Chattanooga, Wofford's Noah Dahlman scored a game-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds. The Terriers' sophomore forward from Braham, Minn., came off the bench to shoot 8-of-14 from the field and finished 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.

The Bulldogs will square off against the Terriers for only the fourth time in school history Saturday. Samford owns a 2-1 all-time record in the series and holds a 1-0 record when playing Wofford in Birmingham, Ala. The teams have not faced each other in almost 17 years since Jan. 11, 1982 when the Bulldogs earned an 82-66 home win.

In Samford's version of the Princeton offense, Jimmy Tillette's Bulldogs generally aim to get a back-door layup or a wide open look at a 3-point shot.

So far this season, Samford is averaging 7.8 three-point baskets per game and is connecting on 35.9 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs are also averaging 11.1 layups per contest and are shooting 52.3 percent from 2-point range.

Against Furman on Thursday, Samford scored a season-high 20 layups as the Bulldogs scored 42 of their 71 points in the paint.

It is safe to say that Samford's offensive style is unique. While most teams play pressure defense and tend to run the ball up the court, the Bulldogs use patience and precision cutting on offense to get either a back-door layup or a wide open look at a 3-point shot.

With that in mind, Samford's offense is hard to prepare for and often poses problems for the opposition's coaches in the league to scout. Since Tillette incorporated the Princeton offense at Samford in 1997, the Bulldogs have reeled off a 71-39 record in games played against teams that have less than three days to prepare.

Following Saturday's home game against Wofford, the Bulldogs will next be in action Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as they return to the road for a televised matchup versus the College of Charleston Cougars. The game will be held at the brand-new Carolina First Arena and will be broadcast live by CSS.

Samford Basketball Game Notes