Dec. 3, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will continue its Southern Conference-opening homestand Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in another key conference showdown to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

Fans unable to attend the game in person can listen live to Samford's radio broadcast on WVSU 91.1 FM or via the Internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. GameTracker and live video webstreaming will also be available at www.SamfordSports.com.

Samford (5-3, 1-0 SoCon) enters Saturday's contest looking to maintain its positive momentum from a two-game winning streak. After losing to Jacksonville University on Nov. 24, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories against Georgia State 70-61 (OT) and Western Carolina 63-58.

In Samford's SoCon-opening win versus Western Carolina on Thursday, the Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures for the first time this season. Sophomore guard Gregg Wooten led the way with a career-high 14 points, while Josh Davis and Jeffrey Merritt followed with 12 points apiece. Senior center Andy King added 11 points on a 3-of-5 shooting performance from 3-point range.

Samford led by as many as 12 points in the first half, 25-13, with 5:15 left to play until halftime, but didn't score another basket until Wooten's layup at 12:42 in the second half to trim Western Carolina's lead to 29-27.

During the Bulldogs' 12:33 drought, the Catamounts used a 16-0 run to turn a 12-point deficit into a four-point lead, 29-25, at the 13:58 mark in the final period.

With 7:26 to play in the game, Western Carolina held a similar four-point advantage, 41-37, before Samford received a driving dunk from Merritt, a 3-point basket from Davis and a hanging layup from Kaylin Johnson to regain momentum and a 44-43 lead.

Once the Bulldogs moved into the double-bonus with 3:27 remaining in the contest, Samford closed out the game by making 13 of its final 16 free throws to hang on for the victory.

Samford opened the season with some struggles from the charity stripe, but has since knocked down 41-of-54 shots from the free-throw line in its previous two games for a solid 75.9-percent mark.

Saturday's game will determine if Samford can open SoCon play with a 2-0 record for the first time in school history. In only their third season as a member of the talent-laden SoCon, the Bulldogs can open the 2010-11 campaign with a 2-0 record by defeating Appalachian State (2-3, 0-1 SoCon).

Samford started conference play with an 0-2 mark in 2009 and a 1-1 record in 2010. The Bulldogs defeated Western Carolina 63-58 to open their 2010-11 SoCon schedule Thursday.

Appalachian State heads into Saturday's game looking to end a current three-game losing streak. Since opening the season with back-to-back victories against Tulsa 89-86 and Montreat College 101-71, the Mountaineers have suffered consecutive losses to Mississippi State 76-74, Vanderbilt 86-73 and Chattanooga 81-69.

In Thursday's SoCon-opening loss at Chattanooga, Appalachian State held a four-point lead at halftime and Donald Sims posted 28 points in the effort, but was unable to save the Mountaineers from their third-straight road loss.

Omar Carter tallied the team's first double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. The junior was 5-of-14 from the floor as Appalachian shot just 39.1 percent from the field in the game compared to 48.3 percent for the Mocs.

The Mountaineers head into Saturday's game averaging a conference-high 81.2 points per contest this season. In five games this year, Appalachian State has already scored a total of 406 points and is being paced by the SoCon's leading scorer Sims. Sims, the Mountaineers' senior guard, is averaging a league-best 26.8 points per game this season.

Appalachian State is in the midst of its first season under the tutelage of young head coach Jason Capel. A former standout at North Carolina, Capel was named the head coach of the Mountaineers after Buzz Peterson left to take the coaching job at UNC Wilmington in the offseason. Appalachian State was predicted to win the North Division of the SoCon and received nine first-place votes in the preseason poll taken by the league's 12 head coaches.

The SoCon media also tabbed Wofford and Appalachian State as the favorites to capture the conference's divisional men's basketball titles in 2010-11. The Terriers and Mountaineers were also selected favorites by the league's head coaches last week in preseason balloting. Appalachian State earned 22 first-place votes and recorded a total of 170 points.

The Mountaineers were followed by Western Carolina (146) which received eight first-place votes. Chattanooga (126) was tabbed third while Samford and Elon tied for fourth place with 64 points apiece. UNC Greensboro was slotted in sixth place with 60 points. Samford returns three starters and nine letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with an 11-20 record.

Samford will square off against Appalachian State for only the fifth time in school history Saturday. The Bulldogs and Mountaineers head into the game currently deadlocked at 2-2 in the all-time series. Samford swept the home-and-home series between the teams in 2008-09, while Appalachian State returned the favor in last season's games.

A key matchup in Saturday's game will be Samford's SoCon-leading defense against Appalachian State's SoCon-leading offense. The Bulldogs enter the game boasting the conference's best defensive unit. Samford is only allowing an average of 61.1 points per contest this season and will attempt to stifle the Mountaineers' top offensive group in the SoCon, which is tallying 81.2 points per game.

With a win against Appalachian State, Samford would record its 1,000th victory in school history. Since its inception in 1901, the Bulldogs' basketball program has accumulated a 999-1,193 all-time record for a historic winning percentage of .456. In strictly Division I games, Samford owns an all-time record of 474-579 dating back to the 1972-73 campaign.

Following Saturday's SoCon showdown against Appalachian State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their four-game homestand with a non-conference matchup against the UT Arlington Mavericks to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
GameTracker - Samford vs. Appalachian State