Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University basketball team will close out its brief two-game Southern Conference homestand Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to The Citadel Bulldogs in a pivotal contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Fans unable to attend the game in person can follow along via ESPN3 where the action will be called live by play-by-play specialist Darren Goldwater and color commentator Dean Keener. The matchup will also be broadcast locally on 97.3 FM The Zone and Live Stats will be provided on SamfordSports.com.
 
Samford (7-16, 5-5 SoCon) heads into the game looking to bounce back from a tough 69-65 home loss versus College of Charleston on Thursday. The Bulldogs led by nine points early in the second half, but the Cougars used a 21-4 run midway through the final period to propel College of Charleston to its four-point win.
 
Samford's Raijon Kelly led all scorers Thursday with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' sophomore floor general also knocked down a trio of 3-point baskets, all of which occurred in the final minute of play. Samford's Clide Geffrard, Jr., and Tyler Hood each added 13 points apiece, while Tim Williams finished with 11.
 
The Citadel (6-16, 3-9 SoCon) recently matched its longest winning streak of the season with victories over Wofford and Furman, but lost at Chattanooga, 89-76, on Thursday.
 
The Cadets enter Saturday's contest as the top team in the conference in field-goal percentage with a shooting mark of 45.3. The Citadel is being paced by sophomore forward P.J. Horgan, who is shooting 59.2 percent from the field. At Chattanooga on Thursday, Horgan scored a game-high 25 points and finished 7-of-8 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
 
On Jan. 12, Samford snapped a five-game losing streak against The Citadel as the Bulldogs battled to a 69-65 road victory in Charleston, S.C. Samford's win proved to be historic as the Bulldogs won in McAlister Fieldhouse for the first time in school history. Samford owns a 1-3 record against The Citadel when playing in Birmingham.
 
In the Bulldogs' earlier win over the Cadets, Geffrard, Jr., scored a game-high 22 points and turned in a stellar 7-of-11 shooting performance from the field, including a 2-for-3 outing from 3-point range. Geffrard, Jr., finished just two points shy of his career high of 24 points, but added five rebounds and six free throws.
 
Samford's Kelly and Williams both chipped in with 15 points apiece and combined to shoot 10-of-21 from the floor. Kelly added a team-high seven assists, while Williams played tough on the low block and finished with a Samford-best six rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs led by as many as 12 points in the first half, 33-21, but The Citadel used a season-high 11 3-point baskets to battle back and take a 39-38 advantage at the 16:55 mark in the second period. During their run, the Cadets received a pair of layups from All-SoCon performer Mike Groselle and a trio of 3-point baskets from Marshall Harris III.
 
Down the stretch, with 2:48 remaining in the game, The Citadel's Ashton Moore connected on a 3-point basket to trim Samford's lead to 63-62. The Bulldogs then received two huge free throws from Williams, as well as a pair each from both Geffrard, Jr., and Kelly.
 
Kelly's free throws with 22 seconds remaining iced the game as he gave Samford a decisive 69-63 advantage. The Citadel's Groselle scored a layup at the buzzer to trim the Bulldogs' final victory tally to 69-65.
 
Currently, Samford's Williams and Kelly are both ranked in the SoCon's top 15 in scoring this season. Williams enters the game as the 11th-ranked scorer in the conference with a 14.5 points per contest average, while Kelly is listed 13th in the league with a 14.2 points per game scoring average.
 
The Bulldogs' Williams, who is only a true freshman this season, is also highly ranked in the SoCon's rebounds standings. Williams heads into this week as the No. 7 rebounder in the conference with an average of 7.0 per game. He is currently the only freshman to be ranked among the top 20 in the league's rebounding list.
 
Kelly, Samford's 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from St. Paul, Minn., is ranked second in the conference in assists with 4.5 per game. He is also the top-ranked player in the SoCon with a brilliant 44.1 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
 
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.
 
Wilson 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, he was dubbed “The Sheriff” because he consistently locked up the opponent's top offensive player.
 
A key mantra in Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer's philosophy is intensity. The Bulldogs' first-year head coach always played with intensity throughout his illustrious playing career at Washington State, and he brings that same mindset to Samford University and his Bulldog players.
 
This season, Samford's practice shorts have INTENSITY prominently featured on the backside, because Seltzer wants his players to always be reminded about what it takes to win games.
 
At this point last season, Samford had already attempted 579 shots from 3-point range, as compared to only 640 field-goal attempts from 2-point range. This year, under Seltzer's more aggressive approach to scoring, the Bulldogs have only taken 405 shots from beyond the arc.
 
Most of Samford's points have come from inside the paint this season and the Bulldogs are averaging 10.4 layups per contest, including a season-high 18 at home against Western Carolina on Jan. 17.
 
Following Saturday's key cross-divisional matchup with The Citadel, the Samford basketball team will next be in action Monday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for a momentous SoCon North Division contest against the Chattanooga Mocs to be held in The McKenzie Arena.

Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide