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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will begin play in its 2014 Southern Conference schedule Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Wofford Terriers to the Pete Hanna Center for a critical league opener for both squads.
 
Samford (6-9, 0-0 SoCon) heads into the showdown with a great deal of momentum after rallying back from a 10-point deficit to defeat Presbyterian College on Monday, 71-59. With their victory, the Bulldogs improved to 5-1 at home this season. Additionally, Samford sophomore Tim Williams scored a career-high 31 points on 14-of-16 shooting in the triumph.
 
Williams entered the game ranked No. 33 in the nation in field-goal percentage at 59 percent on the season. Following the victory over Presbyterian, the Bulldogs' preseason All-SoCon selection improved his shooting percentage to 62 percent from the floor.
 
Williams leads Samford in both points per game (17.2) and rebounds per contest (6.9) in 2013-14. The Bulldogs have been victorious in five of their last eight games.
 
Presbyterian knocked down four 3-point baskets in the opening 11:13 of the game and garnered a 27-17 advantage with 7:54 remaining in the first half. Williams then scored 11-consecutive points for the Bulldogs as Samford trimmed the Blue Hose's lead to 29-28 at the 4:16 mark.
 
The Bulldogs closed out the half in stellar fashion as sophomore point guard Russell Wilson raced the length of the floor in just six seconds to score a final layup at the buzzer.
 
Samford trailed the Blue Hose by just three points at the intermission despite shooting 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the opening half. Presbyterian knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers in the first period to tally 15 points from beyond the arc.
 
Midway through the final half, Connor Miller drained a crucial 3-point basket, Chris Longoria scored five-straight points and Williams added a pair of layups to give the Bulldogs a nine-point advantage, 66-57, with 3:35 left to play. Samford would eventually add to its decisive lead in the final minutes to win by a sizable 71-59 margin.
 
Wofford (5-7, 0-0 SoCon) is coming off back-to-back wins against Winthrop and High Point. The Terriers own a 2-6 record in road games this season, but all of their losses have come against solid non-conference opponents.
 
So far in 2013-14, Wofford has dropped matchups against Georgia, Iona, Minnesota, High Point, William & Mary, Saint Louis and VCU. The Terriers' five victories this season have been tallied versus Emory & Henry, Johnson & Wales, Gardner-Webb, Winthrop and High Point.
 
Wofford enters Thursday's contest as the best defensive team in the SoCon. The Terriers are only allowing opponents to score an average of 64.2 points per game this season and have limited foes to a lackluster 28.6 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
 
Offensively, Wofford's top scorers this season are Spencer Collins (13.8 ppg) and Karl Cochran (11.4 ppg).
 
The Bulldogs trail Wofford in the all-time series, 4-6, but have been victorious in the previous two meetings between the teams. Last season, Samford hosted the Terriers in the Pete Hanna Center and played stifling defense en route to a key 40-33 victory. Since joining the SoCon, the Bulldogs are 2-5 versus Wofford and 1-3 when playing at home.
 
In last year's matchup, Samford limited the Terriers to a season-low 27.1-percent shooting performance from the field and a similarly-dismal 13.3-percent outing from 3-point range.
 
Despite trailing 11-2 early in the first half, the Bulldogs' defense stepped up throughout the period and Samford took a 17-16 advantage into the locker room.
 
Raijon Kelly paced his squad offensively in the first half and scored all eight of his points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Samford only shot 31.8 percent from the field in the first period, but held Wofford to a 26.1-percent outing.
 
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a momentous 7-0 run to extend their one-point halftime lead to 23-16 at the 16:32 mark in the period. Wofford later trimmed Samford's advantage to 26-24 with 10:57 left in the half before Williams drained a pair of free throws and Clide Geffrard, Jr., nailed a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a seven-point lead with 9:41 remaining.
 
Down the stretch, Wofford wasn't able to cut Samford's lead to anything less than six points as the Bulldogs' Brandon Hayman, Geffrard, Jr., and Tyler Hood all scored crucial buckets in the final minutes of play.
 
Hayman, Samford's 6-foot-3 athletic guard from Braselton, Ga., came off the bench to tally five points, three steals, two rebounds and a pair of blocked shots, while Hood added four points in a foul trouble plagued 19 minutes of action.
 
Against SoCon opponents last season, 13 of the Bulldogs' 19 games were decided by five points or less.
 
In the final weekend of the regular season, Samford played back-to-back overtime road games at Appalachian State and Western Carolina. It marked the first time in over 16 years that the Bulldogs competed in consecutive overtime contests, dating all the way back to Jan. 23 and 25, 1997, against Georgia State and Mercer.
 
In mid-October, the SoCon 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 Head Coach Bennie Seltzer's second year at the helm, Samford's fourth-place preseason ranking is its highest in SoCon history. Wofford was preseason picked to finish sixth in the 11-team league.
 
The Bulldogs' Williams is ranked No. 28 in the nation in field-goal percentage. Williams, Samford's talented 6-foot-8 sophomore from Chicago, Ill., is shooting a stellar 62.0 percent from the field this season and is ranked first in the SoCon in the category.
 
Additionally, Williams, who was named the 2013 SoCon Freshman of the Year, heads into Thursday's game ranked No. 72 in the country in total field goals made (93), No. 136 in total points (241) and No. 164 in total rebounds (97).
 
A key mantra in Seltzer's philosophy is Intensity. The Bulldogs' second-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.
 
Again 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.
 
Following Thursday's SoCon-opening contest against Wofford, the Samford University basketball team will continue play in its 2014 league slate Saturday at Georgia Southern. The game will be held at GSU's Hanner Fieldhouse and is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. (CT).

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Samford Game Notes
SoCon Weekly Release