Feb. 24, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will begin its final regular-season road trip of the 2009-10 campaign Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a key Southern Conference North Division showdown to be held at the Ramsay Center (7,826).

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

Following Thursday's game at Western Carolina (19-10, 9-7 SoCon), Samford (11-17, 5-11 SoCon) will travel to Boone, N.C., for Saturday's regular-season finale against Appalachian State.

The Bulldogs head into Thursday's matchup with aspirations of bouncing back from a hard-fought 83-77 loss against Georgia Southern on Monday. In the Senior Night defeat, Samford finished with five players scoring in double figures, but Georgia Southern shot a torrid 53.6 percent from 3-point range and knocked down a season-high 15 3-point field goals.

Samford suffered its seventh home loss of the season and finished conference play with a 2-7 home record.

Western Carolina heads into Thursday's game as the second-place team in the North Division. The Catamounts trail first-place Appalachian State by two games and don't have a chance to win the division title. Western Carolina was swept by Appalachian State earlier this season and has been defeated in two straight games against The Citadel and Kent State.

On Saturday, the Catamounts played at Kent State as a part of the annual ESPN BracketBusters competition and fell short in a 74-72 contest. Earlier this season, Samford opened its 2009-10 campaign at Kent State and similarly dropped a last-second decision 69-66.

Western Carolina has been defeated in five of its last six games. After three straight losses to Appalachian State, Elon and Davidson, the Catamounts rallied for a 75-70 setback at UNC Greensboro on Feb. 15.

The Catamounts' Brigham Waginger, a hard-nosed senior from South Webster, Ohio, heads into Thursday's game as the SoCon's leader in both steals and turnover margin.

Waginger is averaging 2.5 steals and only 1.7 turnovers per game this season. The Bulldogs' backcourt comprised of Kaylin Johnson, Josh Davis and Montgomery will aim to limit their turnovers tonight in a hostile road environment. In last year's annual road trip to the Ramsay Center, Samford was forced into 22 turnovers in an error-filled 65-58 loss.

Samford will square off against Western Carolina for only the fifth time in school history Thursday. The Catamounts own a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series and are 2-0 versus the Bulldogs at home in Cullowhee, N.C. Last year, the teams split the home-and-home series, while Western Carolina defeated the Samford 62-50 in Birmingham, Ala., earlier this year.

In the team's previous meeting this season, Samford trailed by as many as 15 points early in the second half, but fought back to tie the score at 39-39 with 8:51 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' 20-5 run, senior Bryan Friday tallied six of his 10 points, while Andy King, John Peterson and Davis all knocked down key 3-point field goals.

Montgomery also added a driving layup during the stretch while sophomore Jeffrey Merritt tied the game at 39-39 with a layup of his own.

Samford finished the game with three players scoring in double figures, but only shot 31.3 percent from 3-point range. Western Carolina connected on 52.6 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and knocked down 10-of-19 attempts from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Davis who scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. Samford's native of Lubbock, Texas, got into some early foul trouble, but drained 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc. Davis also tallied three rebounds and a steal in only 23 minutes of playing time.

Merritt, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Oklahoma City, Okla., shot a sizzling 80 percent from 3-point range last week as he finished 8-of-10 from beyond the arc. In home games versus Chattanooga and Georgia Southern, Merritt averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Against Chattanooga on Saturday, he exploded for a career-high 18 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds. Merritt finished 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in Samford's 60-54 come-from-behind win. On Monday, he came off the bench to equal his career-high in scoring with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Merritt also tallied eight rebounds in only 26 minutes.

Montgomery, Samford's 6-foot-4 guard from Destrehan, La., is only four points shy of reaching the historic 1,000-point plateau.

Heading into Thursday's game, Montgomery has scored 996 points in his career and is currently ranked 21st on Samford's all-time scoring list. Montgomery is a three-year starter at the point guard position and is averaging 17 points per game in his previous three outings against Wofford, Chattanooga and Georgia Southern.

In what has been an anomaly for the Bulldogs' this season, Samford is shooting the ball significantly better from 3-point range in road games. At home in the Pete Hanna Center, the Bulldogs are only shooting 32.9 percent from beyond the arc, while they are knocking down 40.6 percent of their 3-point attempts on the road. Therefore, Samford is shooting 7.7 percent better in away games.

So far this season, the Bulldogs are 9-1 when leading with five minutes remaining in the game. Conversely, Samford is 1-15 when trailing with five minutes left to play. Additionally, the Bulldogs own an 11-3 record when outshooting their opponent, but are 0-14 when the opposition turns in a better field-goal percentage.

Following Thursday's game against Western Carolina, the Samford basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season schedule with a road game versus the Appalachian State Mountaineers to be held at the Holmes Center (8,325).

Samford Basketball Game Notes
GameTracker - Samford at Western Carolina
Webstreamed Radio Broadcast