Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Mere days after topping Western Carolina at home, 64-60, the first-place Samford University basketball team will face yet another stiff Southern Conference North Division test Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs play host to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Fans unable to attend the game in person can follow along via Samford's free Live-stream. The contest will also be broadcasted locally on 97.3 FM The Zone and Live Stats will be provided on SamfordSports.com.
 
Samford (6-12, 4-1 SoCon) enters Saturday's contest riding the positive momentum of a three-game winning streak. Since falling just short versus Chattanooga on Jan. 5, 74-70, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories against College of Charleston, 62-57, The Citadel, 69-65, and Western Carolina, 64-60.
 
Samford's current winning streak is its longest since 2010. The last time the Bulldogs won three straight games was Dec. 11-20, 2010, when they earned victories against UT Arlington, Asbury University and UTSA. Samford is also in the midst of its longest SoCon winning streak since the Bulldogs defeated Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Elon and UNCG in consecutive games held Jan. 15-24, 2009.
 
Appalachian State (7-9, 3-2 SoCon) heads into Saturday's contest looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking 91-88 overtime loss at Chattanooga on Thursday. The Mountaineers led by 19 points with only 6:36 left to play in the game, but couldn't withstand a furious Chattanooga comeback held at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn.
 
Appalachian State's setback at Chattanooga snapped a season-long, five-game winning streak. On Dec. 19, the Mountaineers dropped a hard-fought 74-69 loss at South Carolina, but then went on to tally five straight victories against Presbyterian, 78-70, Milligan College, 71-51, Wofford, 50-49, Elon, 80-70, and UNCG, 83-70.
 
Appalachian State enters Saturday's contest as one of the top offensive teams in the conference. The Mountaineers are scoring 73.2 points per game this season and boast five players averaging double figures.
 
Sophomore forward Jay Canty leads Appalachian State with 15.5 points per outing, and is followed by Nathan Healy (14.8), Tab Hamilton (10.9), Tevin Baskin (10.4) and Mike Neal (10.0).
 
Saturday's game will be the ninth all-time meeting between Samford and Appalachian State. The Bulldogs are only 3-5 against the Mountaineers, but earned a thrilling 53-52 victory at Appalachian State in the teams' last meeting, Feb. 2, 2012. Samford's win snapped a five-game losing streak against the Mountaineers dating back to Jan. 28, 2010.
 
Samford's Raijon Kelly and Tim Williams are both ranked in the SoCon's top 10 in scoring this season. Kelly enters the game as the eighth-ranked scorer in the conference with a 14.6 points per contest average, while Williams is listed ninth in the league with a 14.4 points per game scoring average.
 
The Bulldogs' Williams, who is only a true freshman this season, is also highly ranked in the SoCon's rebounds standings. Williams heads into this week as the No. 4 rebounder in the conference with an average of 7.3 per game. He is currently the only freshman to be ranked among the top 20 in the league's rebounding list.
 
Kelly, Samford's 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from St. Paul, Minn., is ranked fourth in the conference in assists with 3.8 per game. He is also the top-ranked player in the SoCon with a brilliant 46.1 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
 
As a senior at Lake Wales High School in Florida, Samford's Russell Wilson was named Florida's 5A Player of the Year and led LWHS to the 5A state championship title. He averaged 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and 3.5 steals per game at Lake Wales High School and helped guide his squad to a 30-4 overall record and a No. 2 ranking in Florida.
 
Throughout the state tournament, Wilson was dubbed “The Sheriff” because he consistently locked up the opponent's top offensive player.
 
Samford fans have noticed a huge change in the Bulldogs' offensive attack this season. For the previous 14 years, Samford perennially ran its version of the Princeton offense under former Head Coach Jimmy Tillette.
 
This season, the Bulldogs have deployed an entirely different offensive theory as Head Coach Bennie Seltzer has utilized fast breaks, pick and rolls and slashing cuts to the basket.
 
Following Saturday's key North Division matchup with Appalachian State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Greensboro, N.C., for a date with the UNCG Spartans to be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide