Game Notes
SoCon Release
Numbers Don't Lie
Samford Media Guide

BOONE, N.C. – The Samford University basketball team will begin a critical two-game Southern Conference road trip Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a North Division showdown to be held at the Holmes Center (8,325).
 
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.
 
With a victory Thursday, Samford (11-18, 9-7 SoCon) would secure the fourth-place position in the final league standings and earn a coveted first-round bye in next week's SoCon Tournament. The Bulldogs would also reach the 10-win plateau in SoCon play for the first time in school history. Samford's previous best SoCon win total was nine in 2008-09.
 
The Bulldogs head into the contest riding the positive momentum of a 75-71 victory over UNCG Saturday. In the win, Samford received a game-high 25 points from sophomore guard Raijon Kelly, 16 points from Tim Williams and 14 from Tyler Hood.
 
The Bulldogs' season-high crowd of 2,864 red-clad fans against UNCG proved to be Samford's largest attendance since Jan. 31, 2008, when Stephen Curry and Davidson drew a school-record 5,116 to the Pete Hanna Center in a hard-fought 55-52 loss.
 
Samford's Connor Miller and Brandon Hayman played key roles in Saturday's thrilling victory. The Bulldogs' sophomores combined to tally 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Additionally, the pair finished 5-of-6 from the field and made a number of hustle plays for Samford in the second half.
 
Miller, the Bulldogs' sharpshooter from Stanley, Wis., tallied nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and a trio of 3-point baskets to help his squad to victory over UNCG.
 
Appalachian State (12-15, 8-8 SoCon) enters its final weekend of the regular season with aspirations of bouncing back from an 80-77 overtime loss to The Citadel on Feb. 20. Since then, the Mountaineers have had an eight-day hiatus from competitive action.
 
Appalachian State has been victorious in four of its previous seven games and owns an 8-4 record when playing at home this season.
 
So far this year, the Mountaineers boast three players scoring in double figures, including Nathan Healy's team-high 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Jay Canty follows with an average of 14.1 points per outing, while Tevin Baskin is scoring at a 10.1-point per game clip this season.
 
Earlier this year, Samford registered a 72-68 home victory against Appalachian State and moved to 4-5 in the all-time series between the teams. The Bulldogs' four-point win on Jan. 19, snapped a three-game losing streak to the Mountaineers when playing in Birmingham, Ala. When playing in Boone, Samford and Appalachian State are tied, 2-2.
 
In the first meeting between the teams, Samford led by as many as eight points early in the first half before Appalachian State battled back to take a two-point advantage, 39-37, with 2:41 remaining in the period.
 
The Bulldogs then went on to use a deep 3-pointer from Clide Geffrard, Jr., a put-back layup from Hayman and a thunderous two-handed dunk from Williams to close out the half with a 46-41 advantage.
 
Samford's Geffrard, Jr., and Hayman both played key roles in the Bulldogs' first victory against Appalachian State. Geffrard, Jr., a true freshman from Pompano Beach, Fla., scored a game-high 20 points on a stellar 8-of-12 shooting performance from the field. Samford's 6-foot-5 forward also drained four 3-point baskets and added five rebounds and a trio of assists.
 
Hayman, who hadn't seen playing time in the previous three games, came off the bench with a fury and registered a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, all while tallying three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Hayman's previous career-high in scoring was 10, which he achieved at Sam Houston State on Dec. 28, 2011.
 
Late in the first meeting, Appalachian State's Mike Neal converted a 3-point play with 10:54 remaining in the game to pull within a point of Samford, 59-58.
 
The Bulldogs then responded with a jumper from Geffrard, Jr., a layup from Hayman and a baseline seven-footer from Miller to increase their lead to 65-58 with 6:14 left to play. Samford played solid defense down the stretch to register the 72-68 victory.
 
The Bulldogs' Kelly handed out six assists Saturday against UNCG and moved into a tie for first place on Samford's all-time single-season assist record with 140.
 
Kelly, the Bulldogs' sophomore floor general from St. Paul, Minn., equaled the school's record-setting total of 140, which was originally set by former Bulldog-great Ervin Terry in 1977-78.
 
Kelly, in only his second year at Samford, has already compiled a career total of 213 assists and reached the prestigious 200-assist mark at home on Feb. 21 against Elon, as he handed out a personal-best 11. Kelly also scored 17 points versus Elon and registered the first double-double of his young, high-rising collegiate career.
 
Samford's all-time record-holder in career assists is former Bulldog-great Jerry Smith, who accumulated 433 from 2003-07.
 
With one more conference win this year, the Bulldogs would set the all-time single-season record in SoCon victories. Samford currently owns a 9-7 league record and has already tied the school's all-time mark of nine SoCon wins, which it achieved in 2008-09 when the Bulldogs finished their opening season in the conference with a 9-11 record.
 
In its four full seasons as a member of the SoCon, Samford has finished with records of 9-11 (2008-09), 5-13 (2009-10), 4-14 (2010-11) and 8-10 (2011-12) in conference play.
 
Samford's Kelly and Williams have already joined elite company this season as each of the aforementioned Bulldogs joined the school's 400-point club. Already in 2012-13, both Kelly (429) and Williams (414) have reached the 400-point plateau, making them the 31st and 32nd players in Samford's 111-year history to achieve the prestigious feat.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs' Geffrard, Jr., has totaled 330 points this season and could possibly reach the 400-point mark.
 
Kelly has already registered 429 points and 140 assists this season, making him the first Bulldog since Terry in 1976-77 to reach both the 400-point and 100-assist plateaus in the same year.
 
Samford's Williams recently became a member of the 400-point, 200-rebound club on Saturday in a 75-71 victory against UNCG. The Bulldogs' freshman from Chicago, Ill., is the first player to achieve the feat since former Samford-great Marc Salyers accumulated 537 points and 232 assists in 1999-2000.
 
Following Thursday's key showdown at Appalachian State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season schedule on the road against the Western Carolina Catamounts. The 2012-13 regular-season finale will be held at the Ramsey Center (7,826) in Cullowhee, N.C.

Game Notes
SoCon Release
Numbers Don't Lie
Samford Media Guide