Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University basketball team will hold its second annual Red Game Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the UNCG Spartans to the Pete Hanna Center for a key Southern Conference North Division matchup.
 
The contest marks Samford's final home game of the season and the Bulldogs will be wearing special red jerseys. Fans are also encouraged to wear red as proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association. Samford started the tradition last season in a momentous 87-78 home victory against Elon.
 
The Bulldogs are hoping for a huge crowd Saturday and fans can pick up complimentary admission vouchers at the three Birmingham Academy Sports + Outdoors locations.
 
A silent auction will be held during the game in which game-worn red jerseys, signed red Nike basketball shoes, signed balls and gifts from Samford corporate sponsors will be up for bid with proceeds to go to American Heart Association. St. Vincent's health system will also be on location to have blood-pressure checks and other early warning detections of heart disease.
 
Fans unable to attend Saturday's Red Game in person can follow along via Samford's free Live-stream. The contest will also be broadcast locally on 97.3 FM The Zone and Live Stats will be provided on SamfordSports.com.
 
Samford (10-18, 8-7 SoCon) heads into the matchup looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking 63-62 home loss to first-place Elon on Thursday. The Bulldogs' Raijon Kelly took a possible game-winning jumper at the buzzer, but his shot caromed off the rim as the Phoenix was able to hang on for the one-point win.
 
Kelly, Samford's 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, finished with 17 points and a career-high 11 assists for the first double-double of his career, while true freshman Clide Geffrard, Jr., matched his personal-best with 24 points.
 
The Bulldogs' Geffrard, Jr., turned in a stellar 9-of-13 shooting performance from the field and drained a career-high six 3-point baskets en route to tying his personal-best of 24 points. Samford's explosive true freshman native of Pompano Beach, Fla., added four rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.
 
Geffrard, Jr., has scored in double figures in seven straight games and is averaging 16.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest since Feb. 2 when Samford squared off against Elon on the road.
 
UNCG (8-18, 6-9 SoCon) used a career-high 30 points from Nicholas Paulos on Thursday to earn a decisive 94-68 win at Chattanooga. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and proved to be the Spartans' first triumph since Feb. 7 when they cruised past Furman, 88-65.
 
In Thursday's win, UNCG exploded for 20 3-point baskets and registered a fiery 55.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. The Spartans also scored exactly 47 points in each half of the victory.
 
UNCG boasts the conference's leading scorer this season in junior guard Trevis Simpson. Simpson, the Spartans' native of Douglas, Ga., is averaging a sterling 19 points per game this season and is ranked No. 23 in the nation in the category. As a team, UNCG is scoring 72.2 points per contest, which is ranked second in the SoCon and No. 81 nationally.
 
The Bulldogs are in the midst of a four-game losing streak versus UNCG and have not been victorious in the series since Jan. 6, 2011, when Samford earned a 68-64 road win in Greensboro, N.C. The Bulldogs hold a 6-5 lead in the all-time series, but the Spartans are 3-2 when playing in Birmingham, Ala.
 
Earlier this year, UNCG defeated the Bulldogs, 66-64, at home on Jan. 24 in a contest held at the Greensboro Coliseum. With the loss, Samford suffered its first defeat in nearly three weeks and had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Bulldogs' winning stretch was its longest since mid-January of 2009.
 
The first contest between the teams this season also proved to be a close battle, as Samford held possession of the ball trailing 66-64 with 2.7 seconds left on the clock.
 
On the final play of the game, the Bulldogs' Will Cook took the ball out of bounds on the right sideline. He looked for Geffrard, Jr., at the top of the key for a game-winning 3-pointer, but UNCG's defense wouldn't allow the pass. Cook then attempted to pass the ball in to Kelly on the right flank, but the ball was deflected and the Spartans took possession as time expired.
 
Samford's best look at a game-winning basket occurred just seconds before as Geffrard, Jr., had a 3-pointer rim out from the top of the key. The rebound was then deflected multiple times towards the right baseline and was knocked out of bounds by a UNCG defender.
 
On Jan. 24, the Spartans' Simpson scored a game-high 30 points, including 22 in the second half of play. He proved to be the Spartans' only scorer in double figures as he tallied his team's final 14 points of the game.
 
Samford's offensive production was paced by true freshman Tim Williams' 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., also added nine rebounds and nearly tallied his fifth double-double of the 2012-13 campaign.
 
The Bulldogs' Kelly has already accumulated 134 assists this season and is ranked second in the SoCon with an average of 4.8 assists per game. Kelly, Samford's sophomore floor general from St. Paul, Minn., is only seven assists shy of setting Samford's all-time single-season record in the category.
 
The current record-holder in single-season assists is former Bulldog-great Ervin Terry, who totaled 140 in 1977-78.
 
Kelly, in only his second year at Samford, has already compiled a career total of 207 assists and reached the prestigious 200-assist mark Thursday against Elon as he handed out a personal-best 11. The Bulldogs' all-time record-holder in career assists is former Bulldog-great Jerry Smith, who accumulated 433 from 2003-07.
 
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. Already this season, the Bulldogs' exciting true freshman has compiled 27 steals and 56 assists.
 
Head coach Bennie Seltzer returned home to his birthplace of Birmingham, Ala., on April 5, 2012, as he was named Samford's 27th men's basketball coach in school history. Seltzer played at Parker High School and went on to star collegiately at Washington State. Throughout his coaching career, he has been a key assistant at Indiana, Marquette and Oklahoma.
 
Following Saturday's key SoCon North Division battle with UNCG, the Samford University men's basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a critical two-game, regular season-ending road trip versus the Appalachian State Mountaineers to be held at the Holmes Center (8,325) in Boone, N.C.

Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide