Feb. 1, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will square off against the Appalachian State Mountaineers Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a critical two-game Southern Conference road trip at the Holmes Center (8,325) in Boone, N.C.

The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the Internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow the action live via Live Stats.

Immediately following Thursday's SoCon North Division showdown, Samford (7-14, 4-6 SoCon) will head to Spartanburg, S.C., for a meeting with Wofford to be held Saturday at Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500).

The Bulldogs head into Thursday's contest looking to rebound from a 68-52 home loss against College of Charleston on Monday. Samford's recent setback snapped a three-game home winning streak and ended a two-game stretch which featured pivotal victories over Georgia Southern, 57-55, and first-place Davidson, 77-74.

Against College of Charleston, Samford was out-rebounded 23-14 in the first half of play as the Cougars took a 38-28 advantage into the break.

Despite Samford's first-half woes, the Bulldogs still held a 24-22 advantage with 4:57 remaining in the opening 20 minutes. Tyler Hood scored on a driving, one-handed off-balance layup to give Samford the two-point advantage before College of Charleston's Antwaine Wiggins answered with back-to-back 3-point baskets to give the Cougars a 28-24 lead.

Midway through the second half of play, Samford's Raijon Kelly drained a 27-foot 3-point basket to cut the Cougars' lead to 50-42, but College of Charleston answered with a layup from Wiggins, a 3-pointer from Andrew Lawrence and a jumper from Matt Sundberg to make the score 57-42 with 4:05 left to play. The Cougars would then hit their free throws down the stretch to tally the 68-52 win.

Appalachian State (9-11, 5-5 SoCon) enters Thursday's game having been triumphant in two of its previous three contests. The Mountaineers own a stellar 7-2 record at home this season and are coming off an 81-66 victory over Elon on Saturday in the Holmes Center.

Appalachian State heads into Thursday's home game as the top 3-point shooting team in the conference. The Mountaineers are shooting 36.3 percent from beyond the arc and are averaging 7.4 3-point baskets per outing. Junior forward Jamaal Trice is Appalachian State's top 3-point threat and is knocking down an average of two 3-pointers per game this year.

A key matchup in Thursday's game will be Samford's backcourt against the Mountaineers' duo of Trice and Omar Carter.

In the last three games, Appalachian State's combination of Carter and Trice has averaged 37 points per outing in leading the Mountaineers to victories over Western Carolina and Elon. The pair has also knocked down 82.7 percent from the free-throw line and turned in a 50-percent shooting mark from the field.

The Bulldogs are in the midst of a five-game losing streak versus Appalachian State. Since opening the all-time series with back-to-back wins in 2009, Samford has been defeated in the five most recent meetings between the teams. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs and Mountaineers met in Birmingham on Jan. 5, as Appalachian State tallied a 68-63 win.

Thursday's game will determine if Samford can avenge its earlier loss to the Mountaineers. At home in the Pete Hanna Center, the Bulldogs trailed by as many as 13 points, but battled back to within 62-61 at the 2:45 mark before Appalachian State converted on a couple of key plays en route to the early SoCon win.

In the loss, Samford was hurt by its free-throw shooting down the stretch and only connected on 2-of-9 of its attempts in the final two minutes of play. The Bulldogs finished the contest with a 10-of-20 outing from the charity stripe.

Samford was paced offensively by three double-digit scorers in the first meeting against Appalachian State. Sophomore Drew Windler paced the team with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while senior guard Jeffrey Merritt followed with 14 points on a 5-of-11 performance from the field.

Merritt, who also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, led Samford with three 3-point baskets. The Bulldogs' native of Oklahoma City, Okla., is averaging a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game this season and has already earned four double-doubles this season.

Samford's Kelly played 27 minutes against Appalachian State on Jan. 5, and finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Senior center Matthew Friday also came off the bench to provide a spark in the game. Samford's 6-foot-8 native of Grapevine, Texas, tallied eight points, four steals, three rebounds and a blocked shot in only 19 minutes of playing time.

Samford's Windler heads into Thursday's game ranked fourth in the conference in scoring. Windler, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 sophomore center, has excelled in SoCon play this season and is averaging 17.1 points per game against conference rivals. He scored a team-high 15 points against Appalachian State in the first meeting between the teams.

Samford is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation in 3-point field goals per game. The Bulldogs are averaging 8.8 3-point field goals per contest this season and are shooting 34.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs are also nationally ranked in both assists per game (No. 64 - 14.5 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (No. 122 - 1.01). Samford's Merritt leads the team with 69 assists this year with an average of 3.3 assists per contest.

Since moving into the starting lineup against UTSA on Dec. 5, Samford's Hood is averaging 12.3 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 4.1 rebounds per contest during the span. Since moving into the starting lineup, Hood is playing 28.9 minutes per game and is shooting 47.4 percent from the field.

Against Elon on Jan. 19, Hood turned in the best game of his collegiate career as he scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also knocked down a career-high four 3-point field goals and pulled down seven rebounds.

Now in its 12th season of existence, Appalachian State's Holmes Center has become one of the best home-court advantages in the league. Since 2009, the Mountaineers own a 30-9 record at home and a 17-6 mark against SoCon opponents. Samford handed Appalachian State one of its rare recent defeats at the Holmes Center as the Bulldogs upended the Mountaineers, 72-63, in Boone, N.C., on Feb. 28, 2009.

Following Thursday's SoCon North Division showdown against Appalachian State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their arduous two-game road swing against the Wofford Terriers at Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,500) in Spartanburg, S.C.

Live Stats -Samford at Appalachian State
Samford Basketball Game Notes