March 8, 2009

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Samford basketball team will attempt to extend its winning streak to four-consecutive games Sunday as the Bulldogs square off against the homestanding Chattanooga Mocs at 7:30 p.m. (CDT) in the semifinal round of the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament.

The highly-anticipated contest will be televised live on SportSouth. Samford's radio broadcast will also be available locally at WVSU 91.1 FM or via the Internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu.

The winner of Sunday's showdown will earn a berth in Monday's SoCon Tournament championship game against either first-place Davidson or the College of Charleston. The four-day tournament is being held at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn.

Samford (16-15) advanced to Sunday's game by defeating The Citadel 76-67 in Saturday's quarterfinal-round matchup.

In the victory, the Bulldogs' Bryan Friday scored a game-high 21 points, while fellow-junior Trey Montgomery added 20. Both players grabbed seven rebounds apiece and combined to make 18-of-23 free throws.

Samford finished with four players scoring in double figures and methodically frustrated The Citadel's defense with a consistent barrage 3-point baskets and back-door layups. It was also the second-straight game that the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle and it proved to be their eighth time this season.

The Bulldogs' Josh Davis connected on three 3-point baskets and finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor. Curtis West also registered a key performance for Samford with 11 points, two assists and a rebound.

Chattanooga (16-16) held on for a 79-78 victory against Elon on Saturday to advance to Sunday's semifinal round. Chattanooga ended the regular season with a three-game losing streak, but received a first-round bye in the tournament as the North's No. 1 seed.

The Mocs tallied an 11-9 record in conference play and earned the championship title of the SoCon's North Division.

Chattanooga has played well at home this season and is 11-3 when competing in McKenzie Arena.

The Mocs' top two players this season are 5-foot-11 guard Stephen McDowell and 6-foot-7 forward Nicchaeus Doaks. McDowell earned SoCon First-Team Honors, while Doaks was named to the Second Team on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs and Mocs have faced off against each other 78 times in school history, but only twice since the 2001-02 campaign.

Chattanooga owns a 45-33 advantage in the all-time series and has been victorious in each of the last nine meetings. Earlier this year, the Mocs defeated the Bulldogs 66-56 in Birmingham, Ala., and then earned a 67-62 win at home in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Samford, in the midst of its first season as a member of the SoCon, already owns a pair of established rivalries with current members of the 12-team conference. The Bulldogs have squared off against the Georgia Southern Eagles 46 times in their history, and have also met the Chattanooga Mocs 78 times in school history.

Samford's all-time rivalry with Chattanooga is its fourth-longest, following long-time series' against Mercer (103), Birmingham-Southern (92) and Jacksonville State (88).

When the Bulldogs shoot the ball well, it generally translates into victory.

Samford owns an impressive 16-4 record when shooting better than its opponent from the field and holds a 14-5 mark when outshooting its opponent from 3-point range. In the Bulldogs' 16 victories this season, they are shooting at an average of 52 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc.

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 Head Coach Jimmy Tillette incorporated the Princeton offense at Samford in 1997, the Bulldogs have reeled off a 76-45 record in games played against teams that have less than three days to prepare.

Also, since Tillette took the reigns of the Samford basketball program in 1997, the Bulldogs have compiled a 12-11 record in postseason play. Samford has advanced to the championship game of its conference tournament three times and reached the NCAA Tournament in both 1999 and 2000.

The winner of Sunday's showdown between Samford and Chattanooga will advance to Monday's SoCon Tournament championship game against either first-place Davidson or the College of Charleston.

Monday's matchup will be televised live on ESPN and will determine which team receives the conference's automatic berth to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
SoCon Tournament Information
Tournament Central - Live Stats