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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will begin play in one of its most important Southern Conference weekends of the 2013-14 season Thursday as the Bulldogs square off against the UNCG Spartans at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Pete Hanna Center. Thursday's contest has been named the SoCon Game of the Week and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
Samford's game against UNCG is also being highlighted as BBVA Compass Employee Night and the halftime performance will be the Crestline Jump Rope Team.
 
Samford (7-13, 1-4 SoCon) enters the game boasting a 6-2 record at home this season. The Bulldogs have been victorious in three of their last four matchups held at the Pete Hanna Center and most recently defeated Furman, 57-55, on Jan. 11.
 
On Saturday, Samford dropped a heartbreaking decision at Western Carolina, 67-64. At the buzzer, the Bulldogs' Raijon Kelly squared up for a possible game-tying 35-footer from the left flank, but the last-second shot caromed off the front rim and bounded out of the cylinder as the Bulldogs nearly won at the Ramsey Center for the first time in school history.
 
As Kelly's shot rimmed out, Western Carolina held on for a hard-fought, three-point win and remained undefeated at home this season.
 
Samford moved to 0-7 all-time when playing at Western Carolina. Samford led 33-30 at the half Saturday, but the Catamounts drained five second-half 3-pointers and outscored the Bulldogs, 37-31, in the final 20 minutes of action.
 
Western Carolina led by as many as 10 points in the second half before Samford charged back behind an 8-0 run and cut the Catamounts' lead to 64-63 with 2:57 remaining in the game.
 
Following a pair of free throws from Western Carolina's James Sinclair and a single shot from the charity stripe by the Bulldogs' Tim Williams, Samford trailed by two, 66-64, with just 59 seconds left to play. In the next 40 seconds of action, the Catamounts' Trey Sumler missed a deep 3-point attempt and a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs possession at the 19-second mark.
 
After a 30-second timeout, Samford worked through its half-court action and found Kelly six feet left of the key for a possible lead-changing 3-pointer. Kelly got off a good look over the outstretched arms of a pair of defenders, but his attempt bounced off the side of the rim.
 
On the Bulldogs' last possession, Kelly broke open at midcourt and gathered the pass moving to his left. He took a pair of immediate dribbles and pulled up for a solid attempt from 35 feet out. Kelly's last-second, game-tying shot looked good heading to the rim, but slid onto the front rim and rolled out. Western Carolina held on for the slight 67-64 win.
 
UNCG (10-10, 3-2 SoCon) has won three of its last four games, but fell short at home to Davidson, 93-82, on Saturday. Prior to its most recent setback against the Wildcats, the Spartans strung together three-consecutive victories over Furman, 90-82, Appalachian State, 66-60, and The Citadel, 69-65.
 
UNCG enters Thursday's contest as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. The Spartans are averaging 37 rebounds per game this season and are ranked No. 22 in total rebounds (741), nationally. UNCG's Kyle Cain, a junior transfer from Arizona State, is currently ranked first in the SoCon in both field goals made (130) and total rebounds (179).
 
The Bulldogs lead their all-time series with UNCG, 7-5. Since Samford joined the SoCon in 2008-09, the series is deadlocked at 5-5. Last season, the Bulldogs snapped a four-game Spartan winning streak in the series by earning a 75-71 victory at home on Feb. 23. All-time, Samford and UNCG are knotted at 3-3 when playing in Birmingham.
 
In last season's final meeting between the teams, the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans in front of the second largest crowd in Pete Hanna Center history. The exciting crowd of 2,864 red-clad fans proved to be Samford's largest attendance since Jan. 31, 2008, when Stephen Curry and Davidson barely outscored the Bulldogs, 55-52.
 
Samford's Kelly paced his squad with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field versus UNCG last season.
 
The Bulldogs' floor general from St. Paul, Minn., took over in the second half of play and scored 12 key points in the final period, including eight of Samford's last 12. Kelly also drained a trio of 3-point baskets and handed out six assists.
 
Williams, Samford's talented 6-foot-8 native of Chicago, Ill., finished with 16 points, six rebounds and an assist. He knocked down 7-of-12 attempts from the floor and earned 33 minutes of playing time. Tyler Hood also turned in a solid game for the Bulldogs with 14 points, three rebounds, a trio of assists and a steal.
 
Samford's Connor Miller and Brandon Hayman both played key roles in last season's thrilling victory. The Bulldogs 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., lit up the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and a trio of 3-point baskets to help his squad to victory.
 
All five of Samford's bench points were scored by Hayman, who provided a key spark for the Bulldogs. Hayman, a high-flying 6-foot-3 power forward from Braselton, Ga., tallied five points, six rebounds and a blocked shot for Samford. His most important play of the day was a key rebound to secure the Bulldogs' victory with six seconds remaining.
 
The Bulldogs' 2013-14 roster is comprised of eight newcomers, six true freshmen, three sophomores and five juniors. Samford's lone seniors on the team this season are walk-ons Hamilton Bailey and Tony Thompson. Second-year head coach Bennie Seltzer has quickly changed the makeup of the Bulldogs' roster and nine of the team's extremely talented 16 players are underclassmen.
 
Last season, in Seltzer's first season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Samford only played a rotation of seven, possibly eight players. This year, Seltzer has an abundance of talent at his disposal as he boasts 16 highly-touted players on the Bulldogs' roster.
 
Samford fans have noticed a much faster paced offense this season. With plenty of depth and a roster chalk-full of talented guards, the Bulldogs will look to get up and down the court in 2013-14 and create easy buckets in transition. Last season, with only seven or eight players in its rotation, Samford was forced to use the shot clock and walk the ball up the floor on its offensive possessions.
 
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.
 
Samford's game against UNCG is also being highlighted as BBVA Compass Employee Night and the halftime performance will be the Crestline Jump Rope Team.
 
Following Thursday's key home game against UNCG, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs face off against the preseason SoCon favorite-Elon Phoenix in a momentous conference showdown to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

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Samford Game Notes
SoCon Weekly Release