Feb. 3, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will begin play in a critical three-game Southern Conference road trip Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs face off against The Citadel Bulldogs at McAlister Field House (6,000) in Charleston, S.C.

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.

Samford (9-13, 3-7 SoCon) heads into Thursday's matchup with aspirations of snapping its current three-game losing streak. Since earning back-to-back conference road contests at Elon and UNC Greensboro, the Bulldogs have dropped a trio of SoCon decisions against Furman 63-58, Appalachian State 68-55 and Western Carolina 62-50.

During Samford's recent slide, the Bulldogs were without the leadership of Head Coach Jimmy Tillette. Tillette suffered a seizure against UNC Greensboro on Jan. 23 and heeded the doctors' advice in taking a leave of absence from the team until Monday, Feb. 1. Samford's associate head coach Paul Kelly ran the team in Tillette's absence.

Tillette became the first coach in school history to reach the 200-win plateau on Dec. 22 as the Bulldogs defeated Eastern Michigan on the road 58-56. In his 13th season at Samford, Tillette owns a 204-174 overall record and an impressive 134-94 mark against conference opponents. He is Samford's all-time winningest coach and piloted the Bulldogs to NCAA Tournament appearances in both 1999 and 2000.

On Nov. 14, 2004, Tillette earned the 150th win of his career as Samford posted an 83-59 home victory against Tennessee Temple. He reached the 100-win plateau on Nov. 25, 2002, with a 70-61 win at home versus Arkansas State.

The Citadel (10-12, 4-6 SoCon) also enters Thursday's matchup in the midst of a losing streak. The Bulldogs' have dropped consecutive games at Georgia Southern and Davidson.

The Citadel heads into the game boasting a pair of double-digit scorers. Junior guard Cameron Wells leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points per game, while fellow junior guard Zach Urbanus is averaging 10.5 points per game this season.

A key matchup in the game will be Samford's defense against The Citadel's Cameron Wells. Wells, The Citadel's speedy 6-foot-1 guard from Houston, Texas, singlehandedly defeated Samford in the teams' first meeting in January.

During their 51-50 win, Wells finished with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting and also tallied seven rebounds and five assists. He proved to be The Citadel's go-to guy down the stretch and scored 10 of the team's final 13 points. Wells enters tonight's contest as the third-ranked scorer in the conference at 18.5 points per game.

After trailing by as many as 14 points (20-6) in the first meeting between the teams, Samford battled back in the second period to take a 37-35 lead with 10:49 remaining. The Bulldogs' comeback was paced by senior Bryan Friday and junior Andy King. Friday scored nine of his team-high 16 points in the second half, while King tallied all 12 of his points in the final period.

Following Trey Montgomery's second made free throw, The Citadel was then able to force the ball inbounds to close out the hard-fought 51-50 victory. Montgomery finished with eight points, six rebounds and four assists. He was also 3-for-5 from the field and only committed three turnovers in a season-high 36 minutes of playing time.

Samford will square off against The Citadel for only the sixth time in school history Thursday. The Citadel owns a slight 3-2 advantage in the all-time series and defeated Samford by a score of 51-50 earlier this year in Birmingham, Ala. Since joining the SoCon, Samford has never played in The Citadel's McAlister Field House.

This game will determine if Samford can begin the second half of its conference schedule with a key road victory. Exactly halfway through their 2009-10 SoCon season, the Bulldogs sit in fifth place in the league's competitive North Division and own a 3-7 conference record.

Samford, which is 1-5 at home and 2-2 on the road in league play this season, will close out its SoCon schedule with six games on the road and only four contests at home.

Inexplicably, Samford is shooting the ball much better from 3-point range on the road than it is at home this season. The Bulldogs enter tonight's game shooting 40.8 percent on the road and only 32 percent at home.

Samford has connected on a total of 160 three-point baskets this season (80-of-196 on the road and 80-of-250 at home). The Bulldogs knocked down their 80 three-point baskets in only nine road contests, as opposed to 11 games at home.

Thursday's game will feature the top two defensive teams in the conference. Both Samford and The Citadel are tied atop the SoCon's leader board in the category by only allowing opponents to score an average of 59 points per game. In the teams' first meeting earlier this season, Samford and The Citadel combined to score a total of 101 points, as The Citadel earned a 51-50 victory at the Pete Hanna Center.

In Samford's version of the Princeton offense, 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 7.9 three-point baskets per game and is connecting on 35.4 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs are also averaging 10.1 layups per contest and are shooting 57.1 percent from 2-point range.

Following Thursday's key SoCon matchup at The Citadel, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their pivotal three-game road trip against the College of Charleston Cougars at Carolina First Arena. Saturday's matchup will be televised live on SportSouth.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
GameTracker - Samford at The Citadel
Webstreamed Radio Broadcast