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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will continue play in its current five-game homestand Tuesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks to the Pete Hanna Center for a historic in-state matchup and their final non-conference contest of the regular season.
 
Samford (6-8) heads into the test boasting a three-game winning streak, its longest since Jan. 19, 2013.
 
After a hard-fought loss at Wake Forest on Dec. 14, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories against Presbyterian College, 81-71, Louisiana-Monroe, 64-50, and Campbell University, 65-56. Samford also boasts a near-perfect 4-1 record at home this season.
 
Against Campbell on Sunday, the Bulldogs used a stifling defensive performance to extend their winning streak to three-consecutive games by limiting the Camels to just 38.6-percent shooting from the field en route to a key non-conference victory held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half, but had its lead trimmed to 60-56 by Campbell with just 2:15 left in the game.
 
Following a 3-pointer from the top of the key off the hand of Troy Harper, the Camels battled back to within striking distance at the two-minute mark. Harper's 3-pointer capped off a Campbell 14-2 run and made the game interesting down the stretch.
 
At 60-56, Samford's Michael Bradley answered with a key up-and-under layup to improve to 3-for-3 from the field Sunday. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 senior from Chattanooga, Tennessee, later salted the game away with a pair of free throws to make the final score, 65-56.
 
Bradley finished the win with 10 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action. He didn't miss a single shot Sunday as he also registered a perfect 4-of-4 performance from the free-throw line.
 
Samford's Tyler Hood led the team with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, but was only 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. In a game-high 32 minutes of action, Hood added three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot.
 
The Bulldogs' Darius Jones-Gibson dropped in 12 points and tallied three rebounds, two assists and a steal. He finished 4-of-6 from the field, but only 4-of-12 from the charity stripe.
 
Auburn-Montgomery (5-6) will be playing its first game in over three weeks Tuesday. After losing at Selma University on Dec. 8, 81-79, the Warhawks have embarked upon a 22-day hiatus for the Christmas Holiday.
 
AUM opened its 2014-15 campaign with three-consecutive victories against Concordia College, Point College and Selma University, but then suffered a four-game losing streak. Most recently, the Warhawks have compiled a 2-2 record in its last four outings.
 
Auburn-Montgomery is averaging 72.2 points per game this season and is forcing opponents to turn the ball over 17.3 times per outing.
 
The Warhawks have used eight different starters this season and leading scorer Jeremy Newton has only graced AUM's starting lineup twice in 2014. Newton, a 6-foot-4 senior guard from Chicago, Illinois, is averaging 16.2 points per game and leads the Warhawks with 19 3-point field goals.
 
Senior forward Reggie Brown is listed second on the team with 11.5 points per game. He leads AUM with 8.2 rebounds per contest.
 
Samford will meet Auburn-Montgomery on the hardwood for the first time in school history Tuesday. Auburn University at Montgomery was founded in 1967 and boasts an enrollment of 5,057. The Warhawks compete at the NAIA level and are members of the Southern States Athletic Conference where they finished with a 6-12 record last season.
 
Since Dec. 21, Samford is only allowing opponents to shoot 34.9 percent from the field.
 
In the Bulldogs' recent home victories against Louisiana-Monroe and Campbell, Samford's defense only allowed the Warhawks to shoot 32.2 percent, while the Camels were able to muster a 38.6 percentage from the floor.
 
Samford's Hood enters Tuesday's game needing just 24 points to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau in his career. With the achievement, Hood would become just the 24th player in the Bulldogs' illustrious history to reach the milestone.
 
Samford's Bradley, who is affectionately known as "Big Mike" on campus, has come up huge for the Bulldogs in their recent home victories against Louisiana-Monroe and Campbell. In the key wins, Bradley averaged 10.5 points and seven rebounds per game and finished 7-for-7 from the field.
 
In home games this year, the Bulldogs' Brandon Hayman is shooting a remarkable 80 percent (8-10) from the field, while Bradley is shooting at a stellar 79.2-percent clip (19-24).
 
Eight of the Bulldogs' 15 players are in the midst of their first season at Samford University, and only two (Hayman and Hood) have been on the roster longer than two years. Three of the Bulldogs' probable starters, Christen Cunningham, Jones-Gibson and Alex Peters, are in their inaugural seasons at Samford.
 
Cunningham is a highly-touted true freshman point guard from Georgetown, Kentucky, while Jones-Gibson, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, transferred in the summer from Barton County Community College. Peters is a talented true freshman from Mountain Brook, Alabama.
 
Nine of the Bulldogs' 15 members of the 2014-15 roster are underclassmen. Samford boasts four true freshmen this season in Cunningham, Peters, Gerald Smith and Evan Taylor, while Eric Adams, Ryan Dickey, Nnamdi Enechionyia, Emeka Ikezu and Brandon Roberts comprise the Bulldogs' talented sophomore class.
 
Following Tuesday's non-conference finale against Auburn-Montgomery, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs jump back into Southern Conference play for the remainder of the 2014-15 regular season versus the Wofford Terriers.
 
The critical league showdown against the defending SoCon Tournament champions will be broadcast to a national television audience on the American Sports Network and will be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

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