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CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will look to make school history Saturday in a momentous Southern Conference road game against the Western Carolina Catamounts to be held at 1 p.m. (CT) at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, N.C.
 
Samford (7-12, 1-3 SoCon) has never been victorious at Western Carolina (10-8, 3-0 SoCon) and a win Saturday would put an end to the Bulldogs' 0-6 road stretch versus the Catamounts.
 
Samford is coming off a thrilling 57-55 last-second home triumph against Furman on Jan. 11, but owns a 1-10 record on the road this season. Western Carolina is in the midst of a four-game winning streak and is undefeated at home in 2013-14 at 7-0.
 
In the Bulldogs' most recent outing, Samford earned a key home triumph over Furman. With just five seconds left to play, junior Raijon Kelly drained a 12-foot jumper and was fouled on the shot to give the Bulldogs their decisive victory in a vital league contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford's Tyler Hood scored a team-high 13 points and added three rebounds and a steal, while Isaiah Williams finished with 11 points and a game-high six assists. Kelly, who provided the late heroics for the Bulldogs, registered six points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Furman led Samford, 55-54, with just 18 seconds remaining in the contest. The Bulldogs' head coach Bennie Seltzer called a timeout and set up the final play.
 
Kelly, the Bulldogs' junior floor general from St. Paul, Minn., gathered the inbounds pass at the top of the key, he then took a couple of quick dribbles to his right and skied high for a 12-foot jumper. On the game-winning attempt, Kelly was fouled by Furman's Kris Acox with five seconds remaining, but still swished home the victorious bucket.
 
Samford, leading 56-55, then used Kelly's first free-throw since the Austin Peay game on Dec. 7, to increase its advantage to 57-55 with less than five seconds remaining.
 
On Furman's final possession, Stephen Croone lobbed up an off-balance runner, but the Bulldogs' Tim Williams registered his fifth block of the game to secure the victory.
 
Samford only committed five turnovers, a season low, and outscored Furman, 10-2, in points-off miscues. The Bulldogs also attempted 11 more free throws than the Paladins, 25-14, and knocked down 84 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. So far this season, Samford is undefeated when attempting more free throws than the opposition.
 
Western Carolina heads into Saturday's SoCon showdown boasting a four-game winning streak. Since almost knocking off Georgia on the road Dec. 21, 65-63, the Catamounts have rattled off consecutive victories against Milligan College, UNCG, Elon and at Georgia Southern. All told, Western Carolina has been triumphant in five of its last six outings.
 
The Catamounts are in the midst of an eight-game home winning streak and have not been defeated at the Ramsey Center since Feb. 28, 2013, in an 81-72 loss to Chattanooga.
 
Western Carolina enters Saturday's contest as the best 3-point shooting team in the SoCon. The Catamounts are connecting on an average of 8.2 3-point field goals per game this season and is ranked No. 14 in the nation with a total of 147 3-pointers made. Western Carolina's top scorer this season is All-SoCon standout Trey Sumler with an average of 19.2 points per outing.
 
Last season, the Bulldogs and Catamounts split their annual home-and-home series with each team losing on the road. Samford won 64-60 at home, but then dropped a heartbreaking 56-54 overtime loss at Western Carolina in the regular-season finale. All-time, the Bulldogs trail the Catamounts in the series, 3-8. Samford has never won at Western Carolina and is 0-6 when playing in Cullowhee.
 
In last year's meeting held in Cullowhee on March 2, the Bulldogs were defeated by Western Carolina in heart-wrenching fashion, 56-54, at the Ramsey Center. With 3.4 seconds remaining in overtime, the Catamounts held possession on the left sideline with the game knotted at 54-54.
 
Western Carolina's inbounds pass went to the top of the key to Mike Brown where the Charlotte native took a quick dribble to his left and lifted for a 14-foot jumper with a Samford defender in his face.
 
Brown's buzzer-beater hit the front of the rim, bounced high into the air and caromed off the glass. The ball then hit the right side of the rim, rolled back to the base of the bucket and hung there tantalizingly for at least a second before dropping hopelessly through the net.
 
Also last season, on Samford's final possession of overtime, the Bulldogs' Hood was whistled for a phantom offensive foul on the baseline. On the play, Samford's native of Lenoir City, Tenn., gathered a perfectly-placed entry pass on the right block and spun to his left for an easy layup.
 
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Hood was called for his fourth foul of the game and Western Carolina took possession with 16 seconds remaining.
 
Samford's Williams finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds and registered his sixth double-double of the season versus the Catamounts. The double-double also proved to be Williams' second of the year against Western Carolina. On Jan. 17, Samford's big man turned in a 16-point, 10-rebound game at home versus the Catamounts.
 
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.
 
The Bulldogs' Hood has made 16-consecutive free throws dating back to Jan. 2. After missing his first attempt versus Wofford, Samford's junior forward has drained 16 straight from the charity stripe, including a perfect 6-of-6 performance against Furman on Jan. 11.
 
The Bulldogs' Williams is ranked No. 15 in the nation in field-goal percentage. He is shooting a stellar 60.3 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 Saturday's game ranked No. 19 in the country in total field goals made (114), No. 59 in total points (300) and No. 84 in total blocks (29).
 
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 Seltzer's second year at the helm, Samford's fourth-place preseason ranking is its highest in SoCon history.
 
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 Saturday's tough road contest at Western Carolina, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the UNCG Spartans to the Pete Hanna Center for a key league matchup to be held at the Pete Hanna Center. Thursday's game has already been tabbed as the SoCon Game of the Week and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

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