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CHARLESTON, S.C. -- With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Samford University basketball team will begin its final week of Southern Conference play Monday at The Citadel in the SoCon Game of the Week. The contest is slated to begin at 6:05 p.m. (CT) at the McAlister Fieldhouse and will be broadcast live on both CSS and ESPN3.
 
Samford (11-17, 5-8 SoCon) heads into the game fully rested after utilizing a rare, late-season, nine-day hiatus since losing at Elon on Feb. 15. The Bulldogs will face The Citadel (4-25, 0-14 SoCon) for the first time this season. The Citadel is the only squad in the 11-team conference that Samford has not yet faced in 2013-14.
 
The Citadel enters Monday's matchup with hopes of snapping the league's longest losing streak of 17-consecutive games. The Cadets' most recent win occurred Dec. 18, as they defeated Brevard College, 79-68, at home in McAlister Fieldhouse. Brevard is coached by former Samford assistant coach Lee Burgess.
 
So far this season, The Citadel's leading scorer is Matt Van Scyoc with 14.1 points per game. Also averaging double figures in scoring this year for the Cadets are Ashton Moore (13 ppg) and Brian White (11.9 ppg).
 
Last season, Samford snapped a five-game losing streak against The Citadel by sweeping the home-and-home series between the teams. The Bulldogs also made school history by earning their first all-time win at McAlister Fieldhouse on Jan. 12, 2013, 69-65. Samford then defeated The Citadel at home in Birmingham, Ala., 79-67, on Feb. 19, 2013.
 
In Samford's most recent outing held Feb. 15 at Elon, the Bulldogs suffered an 86-69 loss to the sharpshooting Phoenix in SoCon play. Elon drained 10 of its 22 3-point field-goal attempts and turned in a 53.4-percent shooting mark from the field.
 
Samford finished the road contest with a 46.6-percent tally from the floor, but registered a 3-of-11 performance (27.3 percent) from long distance. With their loss, the Bulldogs dropped to 2-14 when playing on the road this season.
 
Conversely, Elon continued its stellar play at home this year and improved to 10-1 when competing in Alumni Gym in 2013-14.         
 
Despite trailing 43-32 at the half, Samford continuously chipped away at Elon's advantage and eventually cut its lead to 58-54 with 12:06 remaining in the second half. During the Bulldogs' second-half resurgence, sophomore forward Tim Williams exploded for nine quick points, while Isaiah Williams added six early in the final period.
 
Samford also received a pivotal 3-point basket from Tyler Hood and a pair of smooth mid-range jumpers from Raijon Kelly.
 
Just minutes later, Elon used five straight points from Ryley Beaumont and a deep 3-point basket from Tanner Samson to increase its lead back to 66-54. Not to be deterred, Samford continued to hang tough amongst the raucous crowd and battled back to within five points, 66-61, with 7:53 remaining.
 
Isaiah Williams and Kelly once again proved to be catalysts for the Bulldogs as Williams scored five points and Kelly drained another 12-foot jumper. Elon then built its advantage back to 75-65. From that point on, Samford would never get any closer than 10 points down as the Phoenix continued to connect on its late free-throw attempts.
 
Through 28 games this season, Samford owns a perfect 7-0 record when out-rebounding its opponent. Conversely, the Bulldogs are just 4-16 when getting out-rebounded by the opposition.
 
Additionally, Samford boasts an 11-6 record when holding its opponent to under 50-percent shooting from the field. The Bulldogs are 0-11 when the opposition shoots 50-percent or above from the floor. When leading with five minutes left, Samford is 11-3. When trailing at the five-minute mark, Samford is 0-14.
 
The Bulldogs' Tim Williams is ranked No. 6 in the nation in field-goal percentage. Williams, Samford's talented 6-foot-8 sophomore from Chicago, Ill., is shooting a stellar 60.9 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 Monday's game ranked No. 16 in the country in total field goals made (181), No. 62 in total points (465) and No. 104 in total rebounds (196).
 
Williams is also tied for third place in the conference with 10 20-point games this season. Kelly is ranked third in the conference among active leaders in career assists with 299. He is also listed 14th in the league in assists (2.9 pg), 15th in field-goal percentage (47.2) and 27th in scoring (10.9 ppg).
 
Samford's Isaiah Williams has joined the Bulldogs this season and immediately stepped in as the team's starting point guard. Already in 2013-14, he is averaging 12.4 points and 3.4 assists per game. Williams is ranked fifth in the SoCon with a solid 1.6 assist/turnover ratio and seventh in the conference in assists (3.4 pg). Additionally, he is listed 10th in free-throw percentage at 76.5.
 
The Bulldogs own a stellar 9-3 record at home, but are just 2-14 when playing away from the Pete Hanna Center this season. In road games, Samford is scoring an average of nine points less (75.9 - 66.9) than at home and is allowing opponents to score 7.8 points more per game (80.4 - 72.6).
 
A fact that's not unusual in college basketball is that teams often shoot worse on the road than they do at home. That fact is also true for Samford this season. At home, the Bulldogs are shooting 51.7 percent from the field, 37.5 from 3-point range and 72.9 from the charity stripe.
 
On the road, Samford is shooting 44.3 percent from the field (-7.4%), 30.8 from 3-point range (-6.7%) and 63.5 percent from the free-throw line (-9.4%).
 
Following Monday's SoCon Game of the Week at The Citadel, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs look to Red-Out the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a key home contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Thursday's game will begin a weekend homestand and is being promoted as a Red-Out contest. Samford students in attendance will have the opportunity to win a $250 Summit gift card, an iPad Air and a $2,500 Spring Break trip.

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Game Notes
SoCon Release