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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will put its season-best, five-game winning streak on the line Thursday in Southern Conference action as the Bulldogs play host to The Citadel Bulldogs at 7 p.m. (CST) in a key league contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford (12-14, 5-8 SoCon) enters the matchup with a full head of steam after earning back-to-back historic road victories at Western Carolina and ETSU last week.
 
With the pair of thrilling, last-second triumphs, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to five-consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 22.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford rallied past the ETSU Buccaneers in an exciting 71-68 triumph held at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee.
 
With the victory, Samford earned its first five-game winning streak since the 2005-06 season when the Bulldogs were members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Samford's current winning streak includes triumphs against UNCG, Western Carolina twice, Furman and ETSU. Nine years ago, the Bulldogs' six-game streak included victories over Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Murray State, UT Martin, Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.
 
On Saturday, Samford also defeated ETSU for the first time in school history and earned its first two-game road winning streak since January of 2013 when the Bulldogs defeated both College of Charleston and The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.
 
Junior Marcus Johnson proved to be the hero for Samford on Saturday as the Bulldogs' native of Washington, D.C., drained the game-winning 3-pointer with just four seconds remaining in the game. Johnson's key basket from the right flank gave Samford's its momentous 71-68 victory.
 
On the Bulldogs' final possession, Christen Cunningham gathered the ball at the top of the key with approximately 10 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Cunningham, Samford's talented 6-foot-2 point guard, took a few dribbles and then darted down the right side of the lane drawing a pair of defenders. Once he started to meet resistance, Cunningham neatly kicked out a pass to the right side where Johnson was waiting with a wide-open shot.
 
Johnson perfectly collected the ball, stepped right into the shot and drained it, nothing but net.
 
The Citadel (8-15, 3-9 SoCon) heads into Thursday's contest with aspirations of snapping a six-game losing streak. Since handing SoCon-leading Wofford its lone league loss of the season on Jan. 15, the Cadets have dropped consecutive games to Furman, ETSU, VMI, Chattanooga, Mercer and UNCG.
 
The Citadel enters the game ranked No. 12 in the nation in free-throw percentage with a league-leading 75.8-percent mark from the charity stripe this season. Additionally, the Cadets are ranked 15th in the nation in 3-point shooting with a stellar 40.2-percent tally from beyond the arc.
 
Moore paces The Citadel's offense this season with 18.7 points per game and is ranked fourth in the conference in the category. He is also shooting 85.1 percent from the free-throw line and 39 percent from 3-point range.
 
On Jan. 8, Samford suffered a 77-67 road loss at The Citadel. The Bulldogs' setback marked their second straight defeat held at McAlister Field House. The Cadets lead the all-time series between the teams, 9-4, but three of Samford's four wins in the rivalry have occurred in Birmingham. Last season, the teams did not meet at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING
With 3:50 remaining at The Citadel on Jan. 8, Samford's Tyler Hood connected on a clutch 3-point basket from the top of the key to even the score at 66-66. The basket occurred on a historic night for the Bulldogs' senior sharpshooter as he earlier became just the 24^th player in 113 years of Samford basketball to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
 
- - Prior to Thursday's home contest against The Citadel, Hood will be honored with a special 1,000-point ball presentation. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to see the presentation.
 
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, The Citadel outscored Samford, 11-1, in the final 2:32 of the game to register a 77-67 league victory. The win proved to be the Cadets' second straight and improved their all-time record to 9-4 against the Bulldogs.
 
Samford turned in a solid 45.8-percent shooting mark from the field in the matchup, but The Citadel finished at 51 percent from the field, including a sizzling 63.6-percent outing from 3-point range.
 
The Cadets' Moore, who entered as the league's third leading scorer at 17.9 points per outing this season, tallied a game-high 20 points and finished 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. Moore scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, nine of which occurred during The Citadel's late 11-1 run.
 
WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
• On Tuesday, Samford's Christen Cunningham was named the SoCon's Freshman of the Week for a league-best FOURTH time this season. Last week, Cunningham averaged 11.5 points, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game in wins at Western Carolina and ETSU.
• Samford's Darius Jones-Gibson has scored in double-figures in 17 of the last 20 games.
• In SoCon play, Jones-Gibson is averaging 16.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest.
 
IT'S GOTTA BE THE SHOES
During this year's annual Coaches vs. Cancer Awareness weekend in late January, the Samford coaching staff wore its white Nike Air Jordans, and the Bulldogs picked up a pair of key SoCon wins against UNCG and Western Carolina. Therefore, Samford's coaching staff has continued to wear the sneakers in the team's next three wins and will continue to wear them until the winning streak ends.
 
HOME SWEET HOME - 'DOGS SHOOTING BETTER AT HOME THIS YEAR
So far this season, Samford has been shooting the ball significantly better at home in the friendly confines of the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs are shooting 48.0 percent from the field at home this year, but only 39.3 percent from the floor when playing on the road. Additionally, Samford is shooting 4.4 percentage points better at home from 3-point range; 36.0 at home versus 31.6 on the road.
 
SENIOR LEADERSHIP IS KEY FOR SAMFORD
With such a young team this season, the Bulldogs' senior class comprised of Michael Bradley, Brandon Hayman and Hood has needed to take a key leadership role, both on and off the court. Samford's Bradley and Hood have been listed in the team's starting lineup in 19 of the team's 26 games this season, while Hayman has been coming off the bench to provide a key spark for the Bulldogs. All three Samford seniors have earned playing time in every game this season.
 
Following Thursday's "Battle of the Bulldogs", the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 5 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a critical Southern Rail Rivalry road test against the Chattanooga Mocs to be held at The McKenzie Arena.

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