Nov. 30, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will begin its 2011-12 Southern Conference schedule Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the Western Carolina Catamounts in a key conference matchup to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the Internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The contest can also be viewed online via the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can also follow the action on GameTracker.

Samford (1-3, 0-0 SoCon) enters the matchup with a full head of steam after the Bulldogs shot their way to a 71-69 road victory at UT Arlington on Saturday. In its win, Samford knocked down a season-high 15 3-point field goals and shot 51.1 percent from the floor.

The Bulldogs finished Saturday's game with three players scoring in double figures and were paced offensively by sophomore center Drew Windler's 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Jeffrey Merritt finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four 3-point field goals and a steal, while Will Cook added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Thursday's game will determine if Samford can win its third straight conference opener. During the 2009-10 campaign, the Bulldogs opened SoCon play with a 55-31 home victory against Elon. Last season, Samford hosted Western Carolina (3-4, 0-0 SoCon) in its league opener and earned a 63-58 win.

Western Carolina also heads into the game riding a wave of positive momentum after earning a 62-46 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak against Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Northern Colorado.

Western Carolina will be playing its sixth straight game away from home Thursday. Since earning a 109-63 triumph against Montreat in Cullowhee, N.C., on Nov. 15, the Catamounts have played at Presbyterian, at Iowa State, at Northern Iowa and versus both Northern Colorado and Florida A&M in the 2011 South Padre Island Invitational.

Samford and Western Carolina, which have been SoCon rivals since 2009, will be squaring off on the hardwood for only the eighth time in school history. The Bulldogs trail the Catamounts in the all-time series, 5-2, but own a 2-1 record when playing at home in Birmingham.

Last season, Samford split its annual home-and-home SoCon series with Western Carolina. In the first game, which was held at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, the Bulldogs tallied a 63-58 conference-opening victory. Samford finished with four players scoring in double figures and were paced by Gregg Wooten who finished with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

Western Carolina streaked to an 85-63 triumph in the 2011-12 series finale between the teams held at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, N.C. In the victory, the Catamounts' Harouna Mutombo and senior Richie Gordon each tallied 16 points. Mutombo turned in an 8-of-14 performance from the floor, while Gordon knocked down 7-of-13 attempts from the field.

So far this season, both Samford and Western Carolina have struggled from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs are only shooting at a 58.5 clip from the line, while the Catamounts have also compiled a lackluster 66.4 percentage. Look for the winner of Thursday's game to turn in a better performance than its opponent from the charity stripe.

A key matchup in the game will be Samford's Cook against Western Carolina's Mutombo. Mutombo, the Catamounts' 6-foot-4 senior guard enters Thursday's game as Western Carolina's leading scorer with an average of 13.9 points per game. Cook, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, is one of Samford's top defenders and will be asked to keep Mutombo in check.

In four games this season, Samford has had a different leading scorer in each outing. So far this year, the Bulldogs have been led in scoring by freshman guard Raijon Kelly, seniors John Peterson and Merritt, as well as sophomore center Windler.

The 2011-12 season marks Samford's fourth year as a member of the SoCon. Prior to the 2008-09 campaign, the Bulldogs spent the previous five seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference and earned a 53-39 league record.

Before competing in the OVC, Samford was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (previously known as the Trans America Athletic Conference) from 1989 until 2003. During its 14 seasons in the TAAC/A-Sun, the Bulldogs earned a pair of conference championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both 1999 and 2000.

The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 599-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against Texas-San Antonio.

The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.

Samford heads into Thursday's conference-opening contest as the top-ranked team in the SoCon in 3-point field goals made per game. The Bulldogs are averaging a league-best 9.8 3-point field goals per outing this season.

Samford is also ranked among the top five teams in the conference in five additional categories. The Bulldogs are ranked second in the league in assists (15 apg), as well as fourth in the SoCon in 3-point field-goal percentage (35.1), assist/turnover ratio (0.9) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg). Additionally, Samford is the fifth-ranked team in the conference in field-goal percentage at 42.9.

Individually, Samford's Merritt is ranked among the league's leaders in a number of statistical categories. Merritt, the Bulldogs' senior guard is ranked second in 3-point field-goal percentage (57.1), third in field-goal percentage (59.4) and fourth in defensive rebounds (5.5 rpg).

Following Thursday's SoCon-opening matchup against Western Carolina, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their five-game homestand versus the UTSA Roadrunners at the Pete Hanna Center.

GameTracker - Samford vs. Western Carolina
Samford Basketball Game Notes