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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will compete in its final nonconference game of the regular season Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs face off against the Fort Valley State Wildcats for the first time in school history in a Christmas break-ending matchup to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford (8-4) heads into the contest with a bit of positive momentum after cruising past Florida A&M, 83-63, at home on Thursday. The Bulldogs have been victorious in five of their last six games with the only setback coming Dec. 19, on the road at No. 21-ranked Florida State, 76-68, in Tallahassee, Florida.
 
Samford currently boasts an impressive 4-1 record at home this season and is averaging 90.4 points per game when playing in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Fort Valley State (3-6), which is located in Fort Valley, Georgia, just outside the city limits of Macon, is in the midst of a two-game losing streak.
 
After earning back-to-back home triumphs against Edward Waters College, 71-67, and Lemoyne Owen College, 91-84, the Wildcats have dropped consecutive road games against Columbus State, 109-69, and Georgia Southwestern, 74-63.
 
At Columbus State on Dec. 12, Fort Valley State senior forward Denard Williams turned in a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. He scored three baskets on seven tries from the floor, made one three, went 5-for-7 at the foul line and blocked three shots.
 
Junior guard Jamaal Garror and senior guard Jalen Crawford added 10 points each. Garror dished out a game-high five assists, while the Wildcats grabbed a total of 41 rebounds.
 
At the half, Columbus State led 51-24 with Williams scoring six points. Fort Valley State shot 24.2 percent from the floor, 3-of-14 from 3-point land and hit 5-of-8 free throws in the half, while
Columbus State hit 54.1 percent of its shots, 7-of-11 in 3s and 4-for-4 at the line. The Cougars out-rebounded the Wildcats, 25-18.
 
For the game, Fort Valley State hit 23-of-70 baskets from the field, seven of 28 three pointers and 16-of-25 free throws, the Cougars made 38-of-78 shots, went 11-for-23 in treys and hit 22-of-25 shots from the foul line.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. FORT VALLEY STATE
The Bulldogs will be meeting Fort Valley State on the hardwood for the first time in school history Wednesday. Samford currently boasts an impressive 4-1 record at home this season and is averaging 90.4 points per game when playing in the Pete Hanna Center.
 

KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE
Heading into Wednesday's home game against Fort Valley State, the Bulldogs boast four players shooting at least 37.3 percent from 3-point range this season, including junior guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson, who is shooting a sizzling 50.9 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Denzel-Dyson is ranked No. 11 in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage at 50.9, while Samford is ranked No. 51 in the country in the category at 39.1 percent.
 
Along with Denzel-Dyson's remarkable 3-point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs' Triston Chambers owns a 44.8 mark, while Alex Thompson is shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, Samford's Gerald Smith is shooting 40.0 percent from long range at a 2-for-5 clip this season.
 
3D'S HISTORIC GAME
The Bulldogs' Denzel-Dyson led all scorers with a career-high 40 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the field against Nicholls State on Nov. 27. He also posted a double-double with 11 rebounds and shot a sizzling 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Denzel-Dyson played 44 of the team's 50 minutes and added two assists and a pair of steals.
 
SAMFORD'S WALKER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs' Wyatt Walker heads into Wednesday's game ranked fifth in the nation with eight double-doubles this season. Walker is also ranked No. 14 in the country in defensive rebounds per contest (7.6), as well as No. 16 in the nation in both rebounds per game (10.8) and total rebounds (130).
 
SCORING IS KEY
Since the beginning of last season, Samford has registered a 12-2 record when scoring at least 80 points. On Nov. 14, the Bulldogs opened the 2016-17 season with a dominant 83-65 road victory at San Diego and turned in a 46.9-percent shooting performance from the field, including a welcome 10-of-25 (40 percent) outing from 3-point range.
 
On Thursday, Samford posted an 83-63 home victory against the Florida A&M Rattlers held in the Pete Hanna Center.
 

PADGETT IN HIS THIRD SEASON
Samford head coach Scott Padgett is in his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Padgett currently owns a 35-42 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."
 
BULLDOG BITES
-- Samford's Walker is averaging a double-double this season with 12.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Last year as a freshman, he averaged 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing.
 

-- Walker has registered 12 double-doubles in his young, up-and-coming career.
 
-- In his last four outings, Christen Cunningham is averaging 15.6 points and 6.4 assists per contest. On Dec. 4, he scored a career-high 29 points in Samford's win over Jacksonville State.
 
-- Last season, the Bulldogs compiled an impressive 10-5 record against non-conference opponents. The mark proved to be Samford's first winning season in non-conference play dating back to 2010-11, when the Bulldogs earned an 8-5 record.
 
-- Samford also recorded a pivotal 69-58 road victory at Nebraska last season. The Bulldogs' monumental win proved to be their first against a Big Ten opponent in school history.
 
-- Last season, Samford's Cunningham became the first player in school history to record back-to-back 125-assist seasons. He finished with a career-high 128 assists last year.
 
RETURNING STARTERS
The Bulldogs boast two returning starters this season in junior point guard Cunningham and sophomore center Walker. Cunningham has started every game of his illustrious three-year career at the point guard position and has already made 77 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," said Padgett. "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-SoCon Freshman Team performer from a year ago, is hoping this season to build upon a stellar rookie campaign. Last year, 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.
 
DOUBLE DOWN
Samford's Walker has recorded a double-double in eight of the Bulldogs' 12 games this season. So far this year, he is averaging 12.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. On Nov. 27 against Nicholls State, Walker posted a 12-point, 10-rebound performance in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
CUNNINGHAM'S ASSIST FRENZY
On Nov. 27, in the Bulldogs' heartbreaking 106-103 home loss to Nicholls State, Cunningham handed out a career-high 13 assists. Last year, Samford's dynamic floor general became the first player in school history to record back-to-back seasons with at least 125 assists. Cunningham is also just 74 points shy of reaching the prestigious 1,000-point plateau.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Wednesday's nonconference home tune-up against Fort Valley State, the Samford
University basketball team will next be in action New Year's Eve (Saturday) at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin play in their 2016-17 Southern Conference schedule on the road against the UNCG Spartans in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
The conference-opening matchup will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum and broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
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.

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