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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will close out its longest homestand of the 2013-14 season Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs face former Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay in a key non-conference contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford (3-7) heads into the matchup looking to rebound from a tough 89-73 setback against UT Martin on Wednesday. The Bulldogs' loss proved to be their only defeat held at home this season. Samford opened the year with consecutive home victories over Martin Methodist, Campbellsville University and Kentucky State.
 
In Wednesday's loss, Samford's Tim Williams scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., turned in a 5-of-10 outing from the floor and a solid 10-of-13 performance from the free-throw line.
 
Raijon Kelly provided a spark off the bench for Samford with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Week Isaiah Williams, as well as Russell Wilson both scored 11 apiece.
 
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field Wednesday, but only 20 percent (3-of-15) from beyond the arc. Samford committed four more turnovers than UT Martin, 14-10, while leading in second-chance points, 10-6.
 
The Skyhawks out-tallied the Bulldogs in bench points, 58-32, fast-break points, 22-6, points off turnovers, 20-11, and points in the paint, 46-30.
 
The teams played a tight game in the first half as UT Martin was leading Samford, 25-22, at the 6:33 mark in the opening period.
 
The Skyhawks then closed out the half with an 18-10 run and took a 43-32 lead into the locker room.
 
Samford battled back nicely in the second period and trimmed UT Martin's advantage to 54-50 with 14:47 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' comeback, Wilson scored eight quick points and Tim Williams notched six.
 
Throughout the middle of the second half, the Skyhawks slowly built back its lead and eventually held an 11-point advantage, 74-63, at the 6:07 mark in regulation.
 
Samford would receive buckets from Tim Williams, Kelly and Tyler Hood down the stretch, but would never come closer than 13 points.
 
Austin Peay (4-4) recently had its two-game winning streak snapped Wednesday with a home loss to East Tennessee State, 80-74. The Governors own a 1-2 record on the road this season. Austin Peay opened its road schedule with back-to-back losses at Memphis, 95-69, and Central Michigan, 90-75, but then rallied for an 88-86 victory at Youngstown State on Nov. 30.
 
The Governors' sophomore center Chris Horten is averaging a double-double this season with 12.6 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Horten is ranked second on the team in scoring, while senior guard Travis Betran boasts a leading 12.9 points per game average. Betran, a native of Harlem, N.Y., is shooting a stellar 88.9 percent from the free-throw line.
 
Austin Peay's Will Triggs and Zavion Williams are also averaging double figures in scoring this season with respective totals of 11.4 and 10.5 points per game.
 
The Bulldogs and Governors were both members of the OVC for five years from 2004-08. During that time, Austin Peay garnered a 9-3 record in the series. All-time, Samford trails the Governors, 15-6, with its last victory occurring Jan. 26, 2008, at home in Birmingham. Last season, Austin Peay earned a 75-64 season-opening win in Clarksville, Tenn.
 
In last year's game versus Austin Peay, Samford clawed to within five points, 51-46, in the second half before the Governors fought off the Bulldogs' rally to hold on for a 75-64 victory held at the Dunn Center.
 
The 2013 contest marked the first Samford game of The Bennie Seltzer Era. The Bulldogs battled hard under their first-year head coach and nearly pulled out the victory despite only shooting 8.3 percent (2-of-24) from beyond the arc.
 
Samford's offensive attack was buoyed by Tim Williams who scored a game-high 23 points in his college debut. The Bulldogs' highly-touted native of Chicago, Ill., also posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and knocked down 10-of-18 of his attempts from the field.
 
Kelly registered 11 points on a 5-of-15 performance from the field, while Hood chipped in with nine points, all of which were scored in the second half of play.
 
Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Samford mounted a furious rally in the second period to trim Austin Peay's lead to 51-46 with 11:24 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' 12-6 run, Hood scored on back-to-back fast-break layups, while Kelly, Williams and Connor Miller all knocked down mid-range jumpers.
 
Austin Peay held firm midway through the second half and slowly built its lead back up to 11 points at 66-55 with 5:11 remaining in the game. Following a late 3-pointer from Anthony Campbell and a pair of free throws from Triggs, the Governors tied their biggest lead of the game at 75-57 with less than a minute to play.
 
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 667-consecutive games.
 
The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA. The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 868-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (862) and Kentucky (859) are the only other two schools that have made at least one 3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
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. Samford's 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 Dec. 14, 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.
 
In mid-October, the Southern Conference released its annual preseason rankings and Samford was projected to finish fourth in the conference by both the league's head coaches and media. Elon was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the SoCon title in 2013-14.
 
Samford's fourth-place preseason ranking proved to be its best since joining the SoCon and its highest tally since 2006-07 when the Bulldogs were predicted to win the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Samford and Appalachian State tied for fourth place in the preseason poll with 67 points apiece. The Bulldogs return four starters from last season's team that registered a 9-9 mark in SoCon play. In just Seltzer's second year at the helm, Samford's fourth-place preseason ranking is its highest in SoCon history.
 
Following Saturday's home game against Austin Peay, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Dec. 14 at noon as the Bulldogs begin a three-game road trip against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. Next week's contest will be held at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.

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Samford Game Notes
SoCon Weekly Release