Monday, February 3
Greenville, S.C.
6:00 PM
Samford University
at
Furman
Last season, the Bulldogs made history at Furman by earning the school's first all-time victory in Timmons Arena.
Basketball Continues SoCon Road Trip At Furman Monday
2.2.14 | Men's Basketball
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs defeated the Paladins, 57-55, at home in the Pete Hanna Center.
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SoCon Release
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will attempt to end its current two-game Southern Conference road trip on a high note Monday as the Bulldogs face off against the Furman Paladins at 6 p.m. (CST) in Timmons Arena.
Samford (9-14, 3-5 SoCon) heads into the contest with aspirations of bouncing back from a disappointing 77-58 setback at Wofford on Saturday. With the loss, the Bulldogs dropped to 0-4 in SoCon road games this season and suffered their fifth straight defeat when playing away from the Pete Hanna Center.
The Bulldogs have struggled on the road this year and are 1-12 away from Birmingham, Ala. Samford's lone road victory this season occurred Dec. 20 at Jacksonville University, 75-58.
Saturday's loss to Wofford snapped the Bulldogs' two-game league winning streak, which featured key home victories against UNCG, 88-78, and preseason-favorite Elon, 62-59.
Versus Wofford, Samford was paced offensively by junior guard Raijon Kelly, who came off the bench to score 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 guard from St. Paul, Minn., also drained a pair of 3-point baskets and pulled down five rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
Wofford led by as many as 23 points in the first half and claimed a 33-point lead, 63-30, with 10:51 remaining in the game. Spencer Collins led the Terriers with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds, while Karl Cochran added 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Wofford turned in a 51.6 percent shooting mark from field Saturday and knocked down seven 3-point field goals. Samford finished 23-of-54 from the floor for a 42.6 shooting percentage, but only drained a trio of 3-point baskets.
The Bulldogs were outrebounded 42-30, including a 13-6 tally on the offensive end of the court. With its decisive edge in offensive rebounds, Wofford also boasted an 18-9 lead in second-chance points.
Samford received 41 of its 58 points from the bench Saturday. Sophomore guard Chris Longoria dropped in a career-high 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting performance from the field, while true freshman Nnamdi Enechionyia registered his personal-best total of five points in just six minutes of playing time.
Furman (7-14, 1-7 SoCon) is in the midst of a two-game losing streak and has been defeated in six of its last seven games. The Paladins boast a 4-5 record at home this season, but their most recent triumph in Timmons Arena occurred Dec. 20 over Liberty, 86-83.
Furman's last three home contests have come against Wofford, Davidson and Chattanooga, while its most recent victory took place at The Citadel on Jan. 18, 76-71.
The Paladins head into Monday's contest as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the conference. Furman is shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc this season and are ranked third in the SoCon.
Stephen Croone, the Paladins' sophomore guard from Covington, Ga., comes in as the No. 32-ranked player in the nation in total points (400) and No. 36 in the country in points per game (19.0).
On Monday, the Bulldogs will face Furman for the second time this season and the 16th time in school history. Samford trails the Paladins in the all-time series, 5-10, but earned a 57-55 home victory against Furman on Jan. 11. The Bulldogs have perennially struggled at Timmons Arena (1-5 all-time), but made history with a 64-53 win last season.
In the first meeting between Samford and Furman held Jan. 11 in Birmingham, Ala., the Bulldogs' Kelly drained a 12-foot jumper and was fouled on the shot in the waning seconds to give his squad a decisive 57-55 SoCon victory.
Samford's Tyler Hood scored a team-high 13 points against Furman 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 earlier contest between the teams. Head Coach Bennie Seltzer called a timeout for the Bulldogs and set up the final play. Samford would inbound the ball from the near side closest to the team's bench.
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, Croone lobbed up an off-balance runner, but the Bulldogs' Tim Williams registered his fifth block of the game to secure the victory.
Samford's Kelly needs just 37 points to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau for his career. Only a junior, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 guard heads into Monday's contest with 963 total points. Kelly is averaging 10 points per game this season and would become the 23rd player in Samford history to reach the historic 1,000-point mark.
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.
Following Monday's SoCon matchup at Furman, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Davidson Wildcats to the Pete Hanna Center for a highly-anticipated league showdown.
Live Stats
Live Video
Game Notes
SoCon Release
Tuesday, April 15
Saturday, February 22
Saturday, February 22
Saturday, February 22
