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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Samford University basketball team will face one of its toughest challenges of the 2013-14 campaign Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in a pivotal non-conference contest to be held at Alico Arena.
 
Last year, Florida Gulf Coast (4-4) was adopted as the Cinderella team of the 2013 NCAA Tournament after defeating Georgetown and San Diego State en route to the Sweet 16.
 
Samford (4-7) heads into Saturday's contest with a full head of steam after earning a dominant 85-63 home victory over Austin Peay on Dec. 7. The Bulldogs' 22-point win and 85 points scored both proved to be bests of the budding Bennie Seltzer Era at Samford.
 
Against Austin Peay, the Bulldogs used a phenomenal 41-9 run to soar past the Govenors in a pivotal early-season battle of former Ohio Valley Conference rivals held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford trailed Austin Peay, 39-27, with 1:59 remaining in the first half, but then closed out the opening period with back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaiah Williams and Raijon Kelly. Following Kelly's third of his game-high five 3-point baskets, momentum shifted in favor of the homestanding Bulldogs in a major way.
 
Samford's 6-0 streak to end the first half ignited an unprecedented 41-9 run which encompassed exactly 13 minutes and 11 seconds and gave the Bulldogs a 68-48 advantage midway through the second half.
 
In its biggest turning point of the 2013-14 season, Samford turned a 12-point deficit into a decisive 20-point lead with 8:48 remaining in the game.
 
Samford's momentous victory was ignited by Kelly's season-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
 
The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 native of St. Paul, Minn., returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games and answered the bell with a season-high five 3-point baskets. Kelly scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the first half and finished the contest with eight assists and two steals in 31 minutes of playing time.
 
The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 70 percent from 3-point range in the second half and posted a 65.4 shooting percentage from the field in the final 20 minutes of action. Both proved to be season-highs for Samford.
 
On Tuesday, Samford's Isaiah Williams was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Week for all games played Dec. 3–9, the league office announced Tuesday. The honor proved to be Williams' second in a row after he averaged 14.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game last week in home contests against Austin Peay and UT Martin.
 
Williams, the Bulldogs' dynamic true freshman from Buford, Ga., scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field in their victory against Austin Peay and knocked down four 3-pointers in the contest. Williams is currently ranked 16th in the SoCon in scoring (13.4 ppg) and eighth in assists (3.5 apg). He is also averaging 17.3 points per game in his last four outings.
 
Florida Gulf Coast opened its 2013-14 campaign with a 79-55 loss at Nebraska on Nov. 8, but then reeled off four-consecutive victories against Hartford, 65-51, Furman, 70-69, Eckerd, 72-55, and Ave Maria, 79-56.
 
Recently, the Eagles have dropped three straight outings versus NC State, 82-62, Iona, 90-72, and FIU, 72-61. Chase Fieler is averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game this year.
 
The Bulldogs will meet Florida Gulf Coast on the hardwood for the just the second time in school history Saturday. Last season, Samford played host to the Eagles at the Pete Hanna Center and suffered an 86-62 loss on Nov. 28. Florida Gulf Coast finished the 2012-13 campaign with a 26-11 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Bulldogs' Tim Williams has scored in double figures in nine-consecutive games and is currently ranked No. 46 in the nation in total field goals made this year. Williams, Samford's 6-foot-8 sophomore from Chicago, Ill., has already connected on 61 field goals this season and is also ranked fifth in the SoCon in the category.
 
Additionally, Williams, who was named the 2013 SoCon Freshman of the Year, heads into Saturday's game ranked No. 57 in the country in total rebounds (78), No. 76 in total points (169) and No. 83 in field-goal percentage (54.5).
 
Samford is shooting a sizzling 49.8 percent from 2-point range this season and has already registered 236 free-throw attempts.
 
Last season, the Bulldogs shot 48.9 percent from 2-point range and only attempted a total of 502 free throws in 32 games. Samford is averaging 21.5 free throws per contest this year, as compared to 15.7 in 2012-13. The Bulldogs are also averaging 15.2 layups per game since Nov. 23.
 
Samford will again square off against some of the toughest teams in the nation this season, three of which advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. On Nov. 15, Samford traveled to Bloomington, Ind., and dropped a 105-59 decision against the 23rd-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
 
Last season, Indiana advanced to the Sweet 16 in the East Region where it lost to Syracuse, 61-50. Seltzer, who worked under Indiana head coach Tom Crean for six years, returned to play at Indiana University where he spent four seasons as a key assistant coach.
 
On Saturday, Samford will embark upon a challenging three-game road stretch in which the Bulldogs play consecutive games at Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville University and Marquette. Last season, Florida Gulf Coast proved to be the darling of the NCAA Tournament as the Eagles advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 where they were eventually knocked out by No. 3-seed Florida in the South Region.
 
Marquette advanced to the Elite 8 in last year's NCAA Tournament. After defeating Miami, 71-61, in the East Regional opener, the Golden Eagles were subdued by Syracuse's match-up zone, 55-39. Samford will face Marquette on Dec. 28, in Milwaukee, Wis.
 
Following Saturday's game at Florida Gulf Coast, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for a matchup against the Jacksonville University Dolphins to be held at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

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