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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will look to split its opening weekend of play in its 2014-15 Southern Conference schedule Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Furman Paladins in a key league contest to be held at Timmons Arena.
 
Samford (3-6, 0-1 SoCon) heads into the matchup looking to bounce back from an 88-66 conference-opening loss to VMI on Thursday. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Keydets in the home contest held at the Pete Hanna Center, but committed 20 costly turnovers and were outscored, 25-9, in points off turnovers.
 
Samford squared off against VMI for the first time in over 47 years and suffered its first loss to the Keydets. Despite the setback, the Bulldogs still own a 2-1 all-time advantage in the series between the teams.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick six-point lead, 8-2, at the 17:12 mark in the opening period. VMI would eventually battle back and closed out the first half with a 25-10 run and held a 50-40 lead at the intermission.
 
In the second frame, Samford opened the period with three straight layups from Christen Cunningham and Tyler Hood. Hood's up-and-under move was sandwiched in between a pair of driving baskets from Cunningham, who is the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Week.
 
VMI, which scored a season-high 133 points in its decisive victory over Mid-Atlantic Christian on Tuesday, then knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers from Julian Eleby and QJ Peterson to extend the Keydets lead back to 10 points at 56-46.
 
Down the stretch, Samford would get no closer than eight points as VMI controlled the late momentum of the game and earned its 88-66 victory.
 
Furman (1-4, 0-0 SoCon) will be opening its league slate Thursday and is hoping to put an end to its current three-game losing streak, which has featured early-season, non-conference losses against UC Davis, 58-56, Duke, 93-54, and Liberty, 66-52.
 
The Paladins own a 1-2 record at home this season and tallied their lone victory of the year against Appalachian State on Nov. 19, 84-65.
 
In its remaining two games at Timmons Arena this season, Furman came up short against College of Charleston, 75-40, and UC Davis, 58-55. The Paladins are averaging 57 points per outing in 2014-15 and are being paced offensively by Stephen Croone with 13 points per contest.
 
Furman's Kris Acox is shooting a team-best 75 percent from the field this season and is averaging 6.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
 
Last year, Samford swept its home-and-home season series with the Paladins. The teams first squared off in Birmingham, Alabama on Jan. 11, as the Bulldogs rallied for a 57-55 home victory.
 
In the second meeting of the season, Samford notched a 76-68 road victory against the Paladins at Timmons Arena. Samford is 6-10 all-time against Furman.
 
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 699-consecutive games. If Samford connects on a 3-point basket Saturday, the Bulldogs will extend their consecutive-games streak with a 3-pointer to 700 straight contests, dating all the way back to Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA.
 
Samford's streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when the Bulldogs turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. Samford's streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 897-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (892) and Kentucky (888) are the only other two schools that have made at least one 3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
In the preseason, Samford head coach Scott Padgett wanted to associate with something local that would represent both the state of Alabama, as well as his new exciting brand of fast-paced, full-court basketball. That's when the Bulldogs' marketing department set him up with a photo shoot at the Talladega Superspeedway.
 
"My dad's a big NASCAR fan and so in growing up around him I really got into it as well," said Padgett. "I wanted to do something that definitely related to us as a team, but also something that was very much the state of Alabama. I don't know how much Samford basketball has recruited Alabama in years past, but I do know that we are going to hit this state hard in recruiting.
 
"I also like being associated with Talladega. Obviously, speed is what racing is all about and that's the way we're going to play. We're going to play fast and I thought the two fit hand in hand. I thought it was a perfect match."
 
In a differing point of view than what has typically happened at Samford over the years, Padgett has taken a committed, uber-active approach to recruiting the state of Alabama.
 
Padgett, who boasts a majority of his coaching ties and recruiting roots in the South, already has five players on his roster from Alabama, which is by far the most since John Brady roamed the sideline in Seibert Hall during the mid-90s.
 
Samford returned 21.2 points per game from last season's squad that averaged 70.5 points per outing. Additionally, the Bulldogs returned an average of 10.9 rebounds per game out of a total of 32.1 from the 2013-14 campaign.
 
In percentages, Samford returned 30.1 percent of its scoring production from last season; mainly from its top three offensive returners in Hood (7.9), Brandon Roberts (4.0) and Michael Bradley (3.5).
 
On the boards, the Bulldogs returned 32.1 percent of its rebounding from the 2013-14 campaign. Bradley is Samford's top returning rebounder with an average of 3.6 per game last season, while Hood added 3.1 and Hayman followed with 1.2 rebounds per outing.
 
Also on Thursday, Hood was awarded with one of Samford University's most coveted honors as the Bulldogs' senior forward from Lenoir City, Tennessee was selected to lead the 34th annual Hanging of the Green service, which was held in Reid Chapel.
 
Senior honorees were nominated by faculty and staff, and then a selection committee chooses the honorees based on leadership, scholarship, spiritual commitment and community service. Nominees had to submit a written application that included information about their Samford activities and experiences and why they wanted to be selected.
 
Hood, the Bulldogs' exercise science major has been active with RANSOM – Radical Athlete and Student Oasis Ministry, and is averaging 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this season for the Samford basketball team.
 
Following Saturday's key SoCon test at Furman, the Samford University basketball team will take a week off of competition for finals and then return to its non-conference schedule at 5 p.m. (CST) on Dec. 14, as the Bulldogs travel to Winston Salem, North Carolina for a national broadcast matchup against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

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