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Samford Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will look to remain undefeated at home this season Sunday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Kentucky State Thorobreds to the Pete Hanna Center for another key non-conference showdown.
Samford (2-6) heads into the matchup boasting a perfect 2-0 record at home this season. On Nov. 8, the Bulldogs opened the 2013-14 campaign with a 79-62 victory against Martin Methodist in the Pete Hanna Center. Samford's second home win of the season occurred Friday as the Bulldogs topped Campbellsville University, 79-68.
Against Campbellsville, Samford used career-high performances in scoring from sophomore
Tim Williams and true freshman
Isaiah Williams to earn the victory. The Bulldogs' duo combined to score 53 of the team's 79 points.
Tim Williams, the Bulldogs' dynamic 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., exploded for a career-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field and added six rebounds. His personal-best scoring performance topped his previous high of 23, which was accomplished in his college debut, Nov. 9, 2012, at Austin Peay.
Isaiah Williams scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the first-half Friday and finished a near-perfect 9-of-11 from the floor. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-1 point guard from Buford, Ga., concluded the game with an unblemished 5-of-5 performance from 3-point range.
Samford took control of Friday's game early and built a 10-point lead, 32-22, with 5:31 remaining in the first half.
Isaiah Williams then scored nine-straight points for the Bulldogs as they extended the advantage to 45-31 with 36 seconds left to play in the opening period.
With 4:09 left to play, Miles Rice dropped in a 6-foot jumper to cut Samford's advantage to 68-63, but the Bulldogs quickly bounced back consecutive layups from
Tim Williams and
Brandon Roberts, as well as a pair of free throws from
Tim Williams. Samford's late run gave the Bulldogs a decisive 11-point lead as they followed through with the 79-68 victory.
Kentucky State (1-2) will enter Sunday's contest well rested from an eight-day hiatus. The Thorobreds last played Nov. 22, when they dropped a hard-fought 91-89 decision against Virginia University of Lynchburg.
Kentucky State split its first two games of the 2013-14 campaign by defeating Asbury University, 71-66, on Nov. 8, but then losing on the road to Central State, 89-79, on Nov. 16.
The Thorobreds are averaging 79.7 points per game this season, but are also allowing the opposition to score 82 points per outing.
Individually, Kentucky State's Ulysses Thomas III is scoring a team-high 19.3 points per contest, while Quentin Henderson follows as the only other Thorobred player to average double figures at 10.3. Kentucky State is averaging seven blocked shots per game. Brandon Darrett leads the team with eight blocks in three outings this season.
The Bulldogs will face Kentucky State on the hardwood for the first time in school history Sunday. Nicknamed the Thorobreds, Kentucky States competes at the Division II level and is a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Located in Frankfort, Ky., KSU was founded in 1886 and boasts an enrollment of 2,751 students.
A key mantra in Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer's philosophy is intensity. The Bulldogs' second-year coach always played with intensity throughout his illustrious playing career at Washington State, and he brings that same mindset to Samford University and his Bulldog players.
This season, Samford's practice shorts have INTENSITY prominently featured on the backside, because Seltzer wants his players to always be reminded about what it takes to win games.
From Nov. 12-26, Samford embarked upon an arduous road trip that featured consecutive away games against UT Arlington, No. 23-ranked Indiana, Louisiana-Monroe, East Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Stephen F. Austin. The exhaustive stretch included six games in 15 days and encompassed five different states as well as 5,050 miles of travel.
The road streak proved to be the Bulldogs' longest since a similar six-game road stretch that spanned from Jan. 28 - Feb. 8, 1988.
Following Sunday's game against Kentucky State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their four-game homestand against former Ohio Valley Conference-rival UT Martin. Samford's matchup against the Skyhawks will be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
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Samford Game Notes
