Dec. 27, 2011

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Samford University basketball team will continue play in its three-game road swing Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Sam Houston State Bearkats in a non-conference matchup to be held at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100).

Fans unable to attend the action in person can follow along via GameTracker.

Samford (3-7) heads into the game looking to rebound from an 82-50 loss against the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Dec. 20.

Kentucky, which was Samford's highest-ranked opponent since the Bulldogs opened the 2006-07 season at No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Florida on Nov. 10, 2006, extended its home winning streak to 41 games. Samford also played in front of its largest crowd in school history, a contingent of 21,984 fans at Rupp Arena.

The Bulldogs' loss at Kentucky snapped a two-game winning streak in which Samford tallied home victories against Lindsey Wilson, 82-56, and Spring Hill, 90-64.

On the road at Kentucky, the Wildcats scored the first 11 points of the game and jumped out to an early 15-5 advantage following a layup from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. At the 12:48 mark in the first half, Samford used a jumper from Drew Windler and a driving layup from Jeffrey Merritt to trim the Wildcats' lead to 20-9.

The Bulldogs continued to grind out buckets in the opening period despite only shooting 9.1 percent from 3-point range. Samford finished the first half 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, but following a layup from Windler and the team's lone 3-point basket from Tyler Hood, the Bulldogs trailed Kentucky 29-18 at the third media timeout.

The Wildcats closed out the first half with a 16-4 run to take a 45-22 advantage into the intermission. Samford played better in the second half of play and was only outscored by Kentucky, 37-28. The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 43.5 percent from the field, but only 18.8 percent from 3-point range (3-for-16).

Windler and Hood both scored 11 points to boost Samford's offensive attack, while the Wildcats finished with four players scoring in double figures.

Sam Houston State (4-8) has been defeated in three of its previous four outings and the Bearkats are coming off a 63-45 loss at Cleveland State on Thursday.

Sam Houston State is being led in scoring this season by junior Wake Forest transfer Konner Tucker. Tucker, a 6-foot-4 guard from Fort Worth, Texas, is averaging 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest this season. Senior Marcus James and sophomore Demarcus Gatlin are also bolstering the Bearkats' offensive attack this season with 8.8 and 8.4 points per game, respectively.

A key matchup in Wednesday's game will be Samford's backcourt against Sam Houston State's Tucker. The Bulldogs' guard combination of Devin McNeil, Will Cook and Merritt will aim to put the clamps on Sam Houston State's lone double-digit scorer.

Samford's faster-paced offensive attack this season is averaging 66.7 points per game, while Sam Houston State is only scoring at a 55-point clip in 2011. The Bearkats will look to slow down the Bulldogs with their half-court sets tonight as Samford will hope to push the floor and get some easy layups or wide-open looks from 3-point range.

Wednesday marks the Bulldogs' second all-time meeting with Sam Houston State. The first meeting between the teams occurred Dec. 3, 1970, as Samford earned a 92-87 win at home. The Bearkats will be the Bulldogs' third Southland Conference opponent this season. Earlier this year, Samford defeat UT Arlington, 71-69, but lost to UTSA, 74-52.

Samford is looking for its third straight victory when playing in the state of Texas. Dating back to Dec. 20, 2010, the Bulldogs have earned consecutive road wins at UTSA, 74-73, and at UT Arlington, 71-69, on Nov. 26. Samford's last loss when playing in Texas was a 74-53 defeat against Texas Tech on Nov. 28, 2009.

Since moving into the starting lineup against UTSA on Dec. 5, Samford's Hood is averaging a team-high 14.2 points per game.

Hood, a 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman from Kingston, Tenn., has made an immediate impact for the Bulldogs and is also averaging 5.2 rebounds per contest during the span. Since moving into the starting lineup, Hood is playing 30 minutes per game, shooting 49 percent from the field and knocking down 40.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Against Mercer on Dec. 7, Samford's Hood registered the first double-double of his young career as he scored a personal-best 17 points and grabbed a career-high 10 points. He finished 7-of-17 from the floor and knocked down a pair of key 3-point field goals.

With junior Gregg Wooten's season-ending injury in the offseason, Samford's coaching staff turned its point guard duties over to talented true freshmen McNeil and Raijon Kelly. McNeil, a native of Birmingham and a standout at Central Park Christian High School, scored a career-high 19 points against Western Carolina on Dec. 1.

Earlier this season, Kelly paced the team with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field against Youngstown State on Nov. 12, including a team-high four 3-point baskets. The Bulldogs' talented native of St. Paul, Minn., also tallied a game-high five assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes of play.

McNeil is currently the only Alabama native on the Bulldogs' roster. McNeil, who starred at Central Park Christin High School in Birmingham, Ala., is also the first Birmingham native to play at Samford in 10 years. Prior to McNeil's arrival in 2011, Will Gardner proved to be the last Birmingham native to play for the Bulldogs since the 2001-02 season.

Following Wednesday's road contest at Sam Houston State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their three-game, year-ending road trip in College Park, Md., against the Maryland Terrapins. The contest will be held at Maryland's Comcast Center (17,950).

GameTracker - Samford at Sam Houston State
Samford Basketball Game Notes