Live Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Game Notes

SAN DIEGO -- The Samford University basketball team will begin play in its highly-anticipated 2016-17 campaign Monday at 9 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs open their four-game, season-opening road trip against the San Diego Toreros in a non-conference contest to be held at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
Monday's game will be the first of four matchups this season that will be a part of the 2016 San Diego Classic.
 
Next up, Samford (0-0) will travel to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for another key road test against the New Mexico State Aggies. Later this month, the Bulldogs will close out the four-game San Diego Classic with back-to-back home games against Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 26) and Nicholls State (Nov. 27).
 

PADGETT BEGINS HIS THIRD SEASON
Samford head coach Scott Padgett enters his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Padgett currently owns a 27-38 record at Samford and is coming off the school's winningest season in seven years, dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.
 
Last year, the Bulldogs compiled an impressive 10-5 record in non-conference play and registered a pivotal 69-58 road victory at Nebraska. The win proved to be Samford's first triumph against a Big Ten opponent in school history.
 
"I'm really excited about where we're at right now," said Padgett recently. "We still have a long way to go, but I think we're on target to where we wanted to be in year three. We have a team that's right there talent-wise and that will be able to compete. I think Samford fans will be happy to come watch the team this season."
 
RETURNING STARTERS
The Bulldogs boast two returning starters this season in junior point guard Christen Cunningham and sophomore center Wyatt Walker. Cunningham has started every game of his illustrious two-year career at the point guard position and has already made 65 starts at Samford. Last season, the Georgetown, Kentucky, native averaged 14.4 points and 3.9 assists per game.
 
"Christen's a natural-born point guard and he really knows how to run a team," Padgett said. "He does a great job of finding the open man, and when you need a bucket, he has the talent and ability to go score it for you. Since last season, he's really done a good job of becoming more of a leader. We've had seniors here in his last two years, so now he's one of the oldest guys on the team and definitely the leader."
 

Walker, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 All-Southern Conference Freshman Team performer from a year ago, enters the 2016-17 season looking to build upon a stellar rookie campaigns. Last season, the Jacksonville, Florida, native averaged 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds. He also led the team with a 58.1 shooting percentage in 22 minutes per contest.
 
THREE TRANSFERS ELIGIBLE TO PLAY THIS SEASON
Samford bolstered an already talented roster this year with the addition of senior forward Terry Brutus. Brutus joined the Bulldogs from Ole Miss where he accompanied the Rebels on two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Coming out of high school, Brutus was ranked as a three-star recruit by both Rivals.com and ESPN.com, while averaging 17 points and nine rebounds as a senior.
 
Brutus is eligible to compete immediately for Samford this season as a graduate transfer. He will join redshirt juniors Demetrius Denzel-Dyson and Alex Thompson on the court after they were forced to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
 
Prior to the 2015-16 campaign, Denzel-Dyson transferred from UMass, while Thompson became a Bulldog after spending the previous two seasons at Auburn.
 
Out of high school, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Denzel-Dyson, proved to be a three-star recruit by both Rivals and ESPN.com. He was also ranked as the No. 85 shooting guard in the country and No. 17 overall in the state of Tennessee by ESPN Scouting Services. As a senior, Denzel-Dyson averaged 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds at Covington (Tenn.) High School.
 

Thompson will hit the floor this season as a 6-foot-8 forward who can stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting ability. During his time at Houston Academy, he averaged 25.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.6 blocks and 2.0 steals per game and his 25.0 points per game was tops among all 2A all-state candidates and his 12.8 rebounds were second-most.
 
Thompson came out of high school as the Dothan Eagle Player of the Year, Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 2A Player of the Year, and as one of three finalists for Alabama Mr. Basketball. He scored over 2,000 points in his high school career.
 
"I think these guys take the talent level of the team up a notch, first of all," Padgett said. "Then, if you look at their size, strength and length, it's another level than what we've had. They are all three guys who will help us in different ways this season."
 
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS
Heading into the 2016-17 campaign, Samford also boasts four talented returning letterwinners in Eric Adams, Alex Peters, Gerald Smith and Tanner Tapp. Adams and Peters will both be asked to play key roles in the frontcourt for the Bulldogs this season, while Smith and Tapp will provide critical depth for Samford's backcourt.
 
INCOMING FRESHMEN
Padgett and his staff continued to make major waves in the recruiting scene during the early signing period last season, as the Bulldogs added highly-acclaimed talents James Boone, Triston Chambers, Justin Hopkins and Josh Sharkey to their roster as members of the 2016 signing class.
 
"I am very excited about this class," said Padgett. "We are bringing in shooting, speed, toughness and athleticism, and this group will win a lot of games during the next four years at Samford."
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
San Diego (0-1) heads into Monday's home opener with aspirations of bouncing back from a 69-59 road loss at the hands of San Diego State on Friday.
 
In the hard-fought setback, the Toreros' sophomore guard Olin Carter III scored a team-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Aztecs' backcourt tandem of Jeremy Hemsly (career-high 25 points) and Trey Kell (23 points).
 
For San Diego, freshman point guard Nassir Barrino also reached double figures with 11 points, and it was his early six points that helped the Toreros build early leads in the first half.
 
Freshman forward Juwan Gray also came off the bench to hit some big baskets in the first half and he would finish with seven points in 19 minutes of action. San Diego State would use a 13-0 run late in the first half to take a 35-31 lead before Carter scored with eight seconds left to pull San Diego to within two at the break.
 
The host Aztecs used another big run in the second half and would pull ahead by as many as 19 points, but the Toreros would compete to the end and get within 10 points in the final minute on a long three from Carter. Brett Bailey grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and his eight points were matched by forward Cameron Neubauer.
 
SAN DIEGO'S SMITH HEADS INTO HIS SECOND SEASON
Head Coach Lamont Smith enters his second year at the helm of the Torero basketball program. Last year, he guided the Toreros to a 9-21 record that included a 53-48 win over San Diego State at Petco Park, as well as a West Coast Conference sweep of Portland.
 
Prior to being named head coach at San Diego, Smith was at the University of New Mexico where he was the associate head coach. Prior to his time at UNM, he spent time at Washington, Arizona State, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's College and Saint Louis University. Smith returns to his alma mater where he was a member of the men's basketball team from 1994-99.
 
SAN DIEGO PICKED 10^TH IN WCC COACHES PRESEASON POLL
The Toreros were picked 10th in the 2016-17 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll. Team (First Place Vote) - 1. Gonzaga (7), 79 points; 2. Saint Mary's (3), 75 points; 3. BYU, 65 points; 4. Pepperdine, 53 points; 5. Santa Clara, 49 points; 6. Loyola Marymount, 34 points; 7. Pacific, 29 points; 7. Portland, 28 points; 9. San Francisco, 27 points; 10. San Diego, 11 points.
 
SAMFORD PICKED SEVENTH IN SOCON PRESEASON POLLS
The SoCon released its annual preseason rankings on Oct. 26, and Samford was slated seventh by both the coaches and media, it was announced by the league office.
 
Chattanooga, which opened its 2016-17 season with a 13-point road victory at Tennessee on Friday, was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the SoCon title for the second consecutive season. ETSU was slotted second (74) and received two first-place votes.
 
Wofford (57) edged Mercer (55) for third place in the preseason balloting. Furman and UNCG tied for fifth place with 50 points apiece. Samford was picked seventh (32), while Western Carolina came in eighth (20). VMI (19) and The Citadel (13) rounded out the poll.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Monday's season-opening contest at San Diego, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 8 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their San Diego Classic road swing in Las Cruces, New Mexico, against the New Mexico State Aggies. The contest will be held at NMSU's Pan American Center.
 
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordHoopsFOE and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

Live Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Game Notes