Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Samford University basketball team will look to avenge an early-season home loss to the Chattanooga Mocs on Monday as the Bulldogs square off against their Southern Conference North Division rivals at 6:30 p.m. (CST) at The McKenzie Arena (10,928).
 
The game will be aired locally on the radio at ESPN 97.3 FM The Zone. Fans will also be able to follow along on the Internet via Live Stats.
 
Samford (8-16, 6-5 SoCon) heads into the Southern Rail Rivalry contest with a full head of steam after the Bulldogs breezed past The Citadel Bulldogs, 79-67, on Saturday at home in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
In Samford's highest scoring performance under first-year Head Coach Bennie Seltzer, sophomore Tyler Hood led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, while Raijon Kelly and Tim Williams both added 17 points apiece. The Bulldogs also received 11 points from true freshman Clide Geffrard, Jr.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 20-8 lead Saturday against The Citadel and never looked back. The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 68 percent from the field in the first half and garnered a 48-32 advantage at the intermission.
 
Early in the second period, The Citadel used a minor rally to trim the Bulldogs' advantage to 57-47 with 14:53 to play, but Samford then went on a decisive 16-2 run midway through the half to put the contest out of reach, 73-49. During the Bulldogs' streak, Geffrard, Jr., drained a pair of deep 3-pointers, Hood scored seven points and Kelly dropped in a 3-pointer.
 
With Samford's win over The Citadel on Saturday, the Bulldogs reached the prestigious 500-win mark as a Division I program. Samford made the move to Division I in 1972 and has compiled a 500-630 record.
 
Overall, the Bulldogs' all-time record as an institution is 1,025-1,245, dating all the way back to 1901.
 
Chattanooga (9-15, 4-7 SoCon) has been defeated in five of its last six games and is coming off a tough 71-68 home loss to College of Charleston on Saturday. The Mocs have played well at home this season and have won six of their nine games in The McKenzie Arena.
 
Chattanooga enters Monday's game boasting the top-ranked team in the conference in both offensive rebounding (13.5 pg) and offensive rebounding percentage (35.6). The Mocs are pulling down an average of 37.8 boards per game and Z. Mason is ranked fourth in the conference with 7.2 rebounds per contest. Mason is also Chattanooga's leading scorer with 14.8 points per game.
 
On Feb. 10, 2010, the Bulldogs snapped a 10-game losing streak against Chattanooga.  Since then, the series has been fairly even with Samford winning three of the previous seven meetings. Earlier this season, the Mocs rallied for a 74-70 win on Jan. 5 in Birmingham, Ala. Chattanooga holds a 50-36 all-time record in the series; 32-19 when playing at home.
 
In the first meeting between the teams this year, Samford's Kelly scored a career-high 27 points and went 6-of-8 from 3-point range, but his last-second, potential game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out with 4.1 seconds remaining.
 
Along with Kelly's 27 points, Samford's Williams added 18 points and six rebounds on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, while Geffrard, Jr., and Russell Wilson chipped in with six points apiece. The Bulldogs' finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.
 
Chattanooga's Z. Mason and Gee McGhee both concluded the contest with 17 points each. Mason shot 7-of-9 from the floor, while McGhee went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. Farad Cobb proved to be the third Moc in double figures with 16 points. Chattanooga shot 57.8 percent from the field and a season-high 52.9 percent from 3-point range.
 
The 2012-13 season marks Samford's fifth year as a member of the SoCon. Prior to the 2008-09 campaign, the Bulldogs spent the previous five seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference and earned a 53-39 league record.
 
Before competing in the OVC, Samford was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (previously known as the Trans America Athletic Conference) from 1989 until 2003. During its 14 seasons in the TAAC/A-Sun, the Bulldogs earned a pair of conference championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both 1999 and 2000.
 
Samford is the newest member of the SoCon, but already owns a pair of established rivalries with current members of the 12-team conference.
 
The Bulldogs have squared off against the Georgia Southern Eagles 51 times in their history, and have also met the Chattanooga Mocs 86 times in school history. Samford's all-time rivalry with Chattanooga is its fourth-longest, following long-time series' against Mercer (104), Birmingham-Southern (92) and Jacksonville State (88).
 
As freshmen in 2011-12, the Bulldogs' duo comprised of Kelly and Hood was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team. Collectively, the pair averaged 20.5 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per contest and 106 assists over the course of the season. This year, Samford's pairing of Kelly and Hood is averaging 23.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
 
Individually, Kelly finished his true freshman campaign averaging 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Samford's native of St. Paul, Minn., concluded the year ranked third on the team in scoring and logged an average of 28.2 minutes of game action per outing.
 
Hood, as a redshirt freshman in 2011-12, led the Bulldogs in scoring nine times and registered 19 double-digit scoring performances. He finished the season ranked second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and fourth on the team in rebounds (3.6 pg.). Hood also concluded the year ranked 14th in the SoCon in field-goal percentage (47.0)
 
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 Seltzer has utilized fast breaks, pick and rolls and slashing cuts to the basket.
 
Following Monday's Southern Rail Rivalry matchup at Chattanooga, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Ala., for a cross-divisional contest against the Wofford Terriers to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide