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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will resume play in its Southern Conference schedule Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT), and will arguably face its toughest test of the entire 2014-15 campaign in the Pete Hanna Center, as the Bulldogs square off against the Wofford Terriers in a highly-anticipated league contest to be broadcast to a national audience on the American Sports Network.
 
Saturday's game will be called by play-by-play specialist Darren Goldwater, with the color commentary provided by 21-year coaching veteran and former James Madison head coach Dean Keener. The contest will be carried on MyTV (WABM) in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Anniston.
 
Samford (7-8, 0-2 SoCon) heads into the meeting boasting a four-game winning streak. After suffering a hard-fought loss at Wake Forest on Dec. 14, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories against Presbyterian College, Louisiana-Monroe, Campbell and Auburn-Montgomery.
 
In its highest scoring output of the 2014-15 season Tuesday, Samford extended its winning streak to four-consecutive games with a 94-60 home triumph against the Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks in a key in-state victory held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Despite falling behind 6-0 out of the gate, Samford quickly rebounded and tied the score at 6-6 with 16:32 left in the first half. Midway through the opening period, the Bulldogs exploded for a 16-0 run and extended their decisive advantage to 37-18 with 3:30 remaining until the intermission.
 
During Samford's dominant first-half run, the Bulldogs' catalysts proved to be guards Brandon Roberts and Marcus Johnson. Roberts, Samford's dynamic sophomore sharpshooter from Decatur, scored seven points during the flurry, while Johnson drained a deep 3-point basket and added a fast-break layup for five points.
 
Johnson, the Bulldogs' talented junior transfer from Washington, D.C., finished Tuesday's contest with a career-high 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. He also went a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
 
Roberts led Samford in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. He also connected on a game-high four 3-point baskets and handed out a career-high five assists.
 
Auburn-Montgomery was limited to 38.6 percent shooting from the field and became the Bulldogs' third straight opponent to fail to reach the 40-percent mark. Since Dec. 21, Samford is only allowing opponents to shoot 36.1 percent from the field.
 
Samford outscored the Warhawks, 38-18, in the paint and out-rebounded Auburn-Montgomery, 39-26. Additionally, the Bulldogs bested the Warhawks in bench scoring, 61-20, and fast-break points, 26-13.
 
Wofford (9-4, 0-0 SoCon), the defending SoCon Tournament champion, has already won on the road at NC State this season, and has only suffered losses to Stanford, 74-59, William & Mary, 66-62, No. 17 West Virginia, 77-44, and second-ranked Duke, 84-55.
 
The Terriers head into Saturday's contest boasting an RPI of 39. Wofford finds itself sandwiched between Oklahoma and Iowa State, and just eight positions behind Louisville. The Terriers are also listed four positions ahead of Xavier and eight spots in front of Georgetown.
 
Wofford proved to be victorious in nine of 10 contests from Nov. 18 through Dec. 17, including a 55-54 win at NC State. Preseason SoCon Player of the Year, Karl Cochran, leads the Terriers in points (13.3 pg.), rebounds (6.6 pg.), assists (2.9 pg.) and blocks (5).
 
The Bulldogs and Terriers will battle on the hardwood for the 13th time in history Saturday.
 
Samford trails Wofford in the all-time series, 4-8, and has suffered back-to-back losses to the Terriers. In 2012 and 2013, the Bulldogs earned a 2-0 record in the rivalry, but were swept in the home-and-home series last season, 71-61 (Birmingham), and 77-58 (Spartanburg, South Carolina).
 
Samford's Tyler Hood enters Saturday's game needing just 13 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.
 
Hood also heads into the contest as the reigning SoCon Player of the Week. He averaged 15.5 points, five rebounds and three assists in victories against Presbyterian College and Louisiana-Monroe. He also logged 28.5 minutes per contest and shot a sizzling 56.3 percent from 3-point range.
 
Samford was picked 10th in the preseason SoCon rankings on Oct. 15, and the Bulldogs have been using that last-place prediction as fuel and motivation for the 2014-15 campaign.
 
"We're definitely going to use it as motivation," said Hood. "We have big 10s plastered all over the locker room, so it's a constant reminder for us and we take that extra motivation into every practice. Every day, we strive to be competitive and to push each other to get better in each and every practice. Ultimately, we go out every day with plans of being the best that we can possibly be."
 
With a win Saturday, Samford would equal its longest winning streak in nearly nine seasons. The Bulldogs' last five-game winning streak occurred from Dec. 19, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2006, and actually included seven-consecutive victories against Southeast Missouri, Murray State, Campbellsville, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin, Jacksonville State and Tennessee State.
 
The Bulldogs are 4-0 this season with freshman center Alex Peters in the starting lineup. Peters, Samford's hardnosed 6-foot-8 native of Mountain Brook, was inserted in Samford's starting five on Dec. 16 at Presbyterian and the team has not lost a game since.
 
In a differing point of view than what has typically happened at Samford over the years, Head Coach Scott 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 ... by far the most since John Brady roamed the sideline in Seibert Hall during the mid-90s.
 
Following Saturday's key SoCon showdown against Wofford, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs conclude their pivotal midseason, five-game homestand against the ETSU Buccaneers in yet another critical conference test to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

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