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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will square off against the first-place Chattanooga Mocs at 6 p.m. (CT) Saturday as the Bulldogs challenge their Southern Rail Rivals in a pivotal Southern Conference matchup to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford (10-15, 4-6 SoCon) enters the contest looking to rebound from a 109-88 home loss to Davidson on Thursday. The Bulldogs scored a Bennie Seltzer-era high total of 88 points in the defeat, but the Wildcats bested Samford by shooting a season-high 16 three-pointers and a torrid 72.7 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Bulldogs' Raijon Kelly, just a junior, achieved a prestigious career milestone Thursday as the 6-foot-4 native of St. Paul, Minn., became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Kelly tallied 19 points against Davidson and increased his career total to 1,001.
 
The milestone-reaching 3-point play occurred at the 5:38 mark in the second half as Kelly drove from the right flank and skied high in the air for a 7-foot jumper. He scored the basket and was fouled on the play by Davidson's Andrew McAuliffe. After a media timeout, the Bulldogs' floor general drained the free throw to reach 1,001 points for his career.
 
With Thursday's loss, Samford suffered its first home defeat in well over a month. The Bulldogs' most recent setback at the Pete Hanna Center was a 71-61 loss to Wofford on Jan. 2. Samford is now 8-3 when playing at home this season.
 
Chattanooga (15-10, 9-1 SoCon) is coming off a hard-fought, non-conference loss at Eastern Kentucky, 74-63, on Tuesday. From Dec. 29 through Jan. 25, the Mocs rattled off 10-consecutive victories, but have recently been defeated in two of their last three outings.
 
On Jan. 30, Chattanooga played at Davidson and suffered a lopsided 94-51 setback. In their home victory over the Mocs, the Wildcats only shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range (6-of-14).
 
Chattanooga enters Saturday's contest as the top-ranked team in the conference in steals (186), blocked shots (132) and free throws made (446). The Mocs' total in blocked shots is the 17th highest in the nation. Individually, Chattanooga's Z. Mason is ranked No. 6 in the country in double-doubles with 12. He is averaging a team-best 18.1 points per game this season.
 
The Bulldogs trail Chattanooga in the all-time series, 52-36, but boast a 23-18 lead over the Mocs when playing in Birmingham. Samford has been defeated by Chattanooga in four straight meetings dating back to Jan. 14, 2012, when the Bulldogs registered an 81-70 home victory. Earlier this season, Samford lost on the road at Chattanooga, 90-81.
 
In the earlier matchup this season held Jan. 9 in Chattanooga, Tenn., the Bulldogs rallied, but eventually came up short in the early-season SoCon game held at McKenzie Arena. The Bulldogs trailed 8-0 to open the contest and then fell behind 48-33 at the half.
 
Samford battled back behind eight first-half points from junior forward Tyler Hood and trimmed Chattanooga's early advantage to 30-22 with 6:01 left to play until halftime. The Bulldogs made their first-half comeback despite shooting 1-for-10 from long range in the opening 20 minutes of game action.
 
Chattanooga finished with three players scoring in double figures in the first half and garnered a 48-33 advantage heading into the locker room. The Mocs' Casey Jones led all players in first-half scoring with 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, while Martynas Bareika and Ronrico White both added 10 points apiece.
 
Despite their early shooting woes, the Bulldogs bounced back to tally a 45.5-percent outing from the field in the second period.
 
Midway through the final stanza, Samford used a trio of 3-point baskets from Connor Miller to trim Chattanooga's lead to 71-62 with 7:36 remaining to play. Miller, the Bulldogs' junior sharpshooter from Stanley, Wis., concluded the contest with four 3-point baskets and 12 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds and handed out a pair of assists.
 
After Miller's 3-pointer cut Chattanooga's lead to 71-62 with just over seven minutes left on the clock, the Mocs' Z. Mason knocked down a free throw and then sophomore Gee McGhee scored three straight to increase the lead back to 13 at 75-62.
 
Samford would get as close as six points following a 3-pointer from Isaiah Williams and then a pair from free throws from Tim Williams at 82-76 with less than a minute to play. Then, with 18 seconds remaining Isaiah Williams drained another 3-pointer and made the game a five-point contest, 86-81.
 
Despite the Bulldogs' late rally, Chattanooga continued to rely on its 75.6-percent free-throw shooting and held on for the 90-81 decision.
 
Samford is shooting a stellar 52.4 percent from 2-point range this season and has already registered 526 free-throw attempts. Last season, the Bulldogs shot 48.9 percent from 2-point range and attempted a total of just 502 free throws in 32 games.
 
Samford is averaging 21 free throws per contest this year, as compared to 15.7 in 2012-13. The Bulldogs are also averaging 15.1 layups per game since Nov. 23.
 
The Bulldogs' Tim Williams is ranked No. 8 in the nation in field-goal percentage. Williams, Samford's talented 6-foot-8 sophomore from Chicago, Ill., is shooting a stellar 60.7 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 Saturday's game ranked No. 25 in the country in total field goals made (156), No. 74 in total points (410) and No. 106 in total rebounds (175).
 
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.
 
Head Coach Bennie Seltzer returned home to his birthplace of Birmingham, Ala., on April 5, 2012, as he was named Samford's 27th men's basketball coach in school history. Seltzer played at Parker High School and went on to star collegiately at Washington State. Throughout his coaching career, he has been a key assistant at Indiana, Marquette and Oklahoma.
 
A key mantra in Seltzer's philosophy is intensity. The Bulldogs' second-year head coach always played with Intensity throughout his illustrious playing career at Washington State, and he brings that same mindset to Samford University and his Bulldog players.
 
Again this season, Samford's practice shorts have I N T E N S I T Y prominently featured on the backside, because Seltzer wants his players to always be reminded about what it takes to win games.
 
Following Saturday's key showdown with first-place Chattanooga, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs begin a critical three-game road stretch against the Appalachian State Mountaineers to be held at Holmes Arena in Boone, N.C.

Live Stats
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Samford Game Notes
SoCon Weekly Release