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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Samford University basketball team will play its sixth game in 13 days Thursday as the Bulldogs square off against the ETSU Buccaneers in a marquee Southern Conference contest to be broadcast live on ESPN3 from the Freedom Hall Civic Center (6,500).
 
Samford (12-14, 3-10 SoCon) heads into the showdown with a resurgent sense of confidence after tallying its first road victory of the conference season Monday at The Citadel, 95-86. The Bulldogs' win snapped a difficult six-game losing streak, which dated back to an 84-68 home triumph against Western Carolina on Jan. 16.
 

In the victory, Samford's true freshman center Wyatt Walker proved to be dominant with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
 
WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
• Samford sophomore Christen Cunningham has started at the point guard position in all 58 games of his collegiate career.
• Cunningham handed out a career-high eight assists against The Citadel on Monday and became the first sophomore in school history to record back-to-back, 100-assist seasons.
• With eight more assists from Darius Jones-Gibson, Samford will boast two players with 100-plus assists for the first time since 1999-2000 (Mario Lopez and Marc Salyers).
• Six of Samford's 14 losses in 2015-16 have been decided by five points or less.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
ETSU (15-9, 8-3 SoCon) enters the contest as the second-place team in the SoCon. The Buccaneers are in the midst of a two-game winning streak and own a near-perfect 9-1 record at home.
 
ETSU heads into Thursday's game ranked second in the conference in both scoring offense (78.0 ppg) and field-goal percentage (45.8). The Buccaneers have scored over 100 points three times this season, including a 101-92 home victory against The Citadel on Jan. 23.
 
Additionally, ETSU boasts a near-perfect 9-1 record at home in 2015-16 and are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak when playing in Johnson City. The Buccaneers' lone home loss came against UNC-Wilmington on Nov. 28, 94-73. Ge'Lawn Guyn leads the team with 17.3 points per outing this season.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Thursday marks Samford's sixth all-time meeting with ETSU and its fourth since the Buccaneers joined the SoCon in 2014-15. The Bulldogs own a 1-5 all-time record against ETSU, but Samford's lone victory in the rivalry occurred on the road last season, 71-68, on Feb. 7. Earlier this year, the Buccaneers topped the Bulldogs in Birmingham, Alabama, 81-77.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TEAMS
In a game that consisted of 13 ties and 17 lead changes on Jan. 14, Samford rallied from 11 points down in the second half to take a 70-69 lead with 4:49 remaining to play, but the first-place ETSU Buccaneers came through with some clutch shots down the stretch to hang on for an 81-77 SoCon win held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The Buccaneers escaped with another close victory on the road and extended their SoCon-best winning streak to six-consecutive games.
 
ETSU's T.J. Cromer led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. He also handed out six assists and grabbed four rebounds, while finishing 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
Lester Wilson, the Buccaneers' all-time leader in 3-pointers made, knocked down 4-of-6 of his 3-point attempts and finished with 16 points in 30 minutes of action. Guyn scored 17 points and added seven rebounds, while Isaac Banks nearly tallied a double-double with 11 points and nine boards. As a team, ETSU shot 51.8 percent from the field and 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range.
 
Samford also turned in one of its best scoring performances of conference play and shot 53.4 percent from the field. The Bulldogs only connected on four 3-point field goals, but only attempted a total of 12 for 33.3 percent in the game.
 

Jones-Gibson paced Samford with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, while he added five assists and four rebounds. Walker turned in one of his best games of SoCon play with 14 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Samford senior Iman Johnson continued to turn in solid all-around games as he scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, handed out three assists and added a pair of steals in 28 minutes of action.
 
ROAD SWEET ROAD - - BULLDOGS SHOOTING BETTER AWAY FROM HOME
Typically, teams shoot much better at home than they do on the road, but that's not necessarily the case for the 2015-16 Bulldogs. From the field, Samford is shooting far better at home in the Pete Hanna Center (48.9% to 42.7%) this season, while the Bulldogs' numbers are surprisingly better on the road in both 3-point shooting (33.9% to 30.3%) and free-throw shooting (74.7% to 64.6%).
 
THE FOUR HORSEMEN
Samford's top three active leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals are all a combination of the following four players:  Jones-Gibson, Cunningham, senior guard Marcus Johnson and senior forward Jamal Shabazz.
 
Here in the latter half of the 2015-16 campaign, Jones-Gibson is ranked first in both points (786) and steals (67). The Bulldogs' senior guard is also listed second in active career rebounds (171) and assists with 162.
 

Cunningham paces Samford in assists with 231 and is also ranked second on the team in points (672) and steals (66), while being listed third in rebounds (156). Johnson, the Bulldogs' senior guard from Washington, D.C., is ranked third on the team in points (384), assists (111) and steals (47), while Shabazz is ranked first in rebounds (172) and third on the team in 3-point field goals (41).
 
PADGETT NAMED FINALIST FOR JOE B. HALL AWARD
Following his inaugural season at the helm of the Samford basketball program, Head Coach Scott Padgett was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in college basketball.
 
The award is named in the honor of Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp. In his first season at the University of Kentucky, Hall finished 20-8, won the Southeastern Conference and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals. From 1972 to 1985, Hall would win two-thirds of his games (297-100), receive four SEC Coach of the Year honors and win a National Championship (1978).
 
Padgett, in first season as head coach at Samford, compiled 13 wins and six SoCon victories with the Bulldogs. With a roster comprised of just three seniors and a trio of juniors, Padgett guided his young Bulldogs to early success in his inaugural season heading the program.
 
"TALLADEGA" - - THE SPEED OF SAMFORD BASKETBALL
Prior to the beginning of his first season in 2014-15, Padgett wanted to associate with something local that would represent both the state of Alabama, as well as his new exciting brand of fast-paced, full-court basketball. That's when the Bulldogs' marketing department set him up with a photo shoot at the Talladega Superspeedway.

"My dad's a big NASCAR fan and so in growing up around him I really got into it as well," said Padgett. "I wanted to do something that definitely related to us as a team, but also something that was very much the state of Alabama. I don't know how much Samford basketball has recruited Alabama in years past, but I do know that we are going to hit this state hard in recruiting.
 
"I also like being associated with Talladega. Obviously, speed is what racing is all about and that's the way we're going to play. We're going to play fast and I thought the two fit hand in hand. I thought it was a perfect match."
 
SAMFORD'S WALKER NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Walker was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 19 for his performance during all games played Jan. 12-18, the league office announced. Walker averaged 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds and shot 75 percent from the field as Samford split a pair of games, falling to ETSU (81-77) before topping Western Carolina (84-68).
 
Walker started both games at center for Samford and finished the week with a 75-percent shooting mark from the field. He also grabbed two steals, blocked a shot and handed out an assist.
 
Against Western Carolina on Jan. 16, Walker lifted the Bulldogs to a key 84-68 victory as he turned in the best game of his young, up-and-coming career by registering personal-bests in points (26), rebounds (12) and field goals (11).
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - BULLDOGS USE STRONG SECOND HALF TO WIN AT THE CITADEL
Samford earned its first SoCon road victory of the 2015-16 season Monday as the Bulldogs shot a sizzling 57.8 percent from the field and 7-of-13 from 3-point range en route to a 95-86 triumph over The Citadel Bulldogs held at McAlister Field House.
 
With the win, Samford snapped its six-game losing streak and secured a season sweep in its annual home-and-home matchup with The Citadel. The Bulldogs tallied their first victory since Jan. 5, and improved to 5-8 on the road this season. Monday's win proved to be Samford's first SoCon victory away from home this year. The Bulldogs are now 1-5 in road conference games this season.
 
Samford led by two at halftime Monday, 42-40, but The Citadel opened the second period with a quick 9-2 run and garnered a five-point advantage, 49-44, with 17:24 remaining in the game. At that point, Padgett shifted his lineup a bit to match The Citadel's unorthodox five-guard strategy.
 

Padgett's changes worked as the Bulldogs immediately trimmed The Citadel's lead to zero following a 3-point basket from Matt Rose and a layup from Walker. Rose and Walker, Samford's talented true freshmen duo, combined to score 39 of the team's 95 points, including 30 in the second half.
 
The Bulldogs' youngsters also pulled down a total of 14 rebounds and turned in a 17-of-25 shooting performance from the field.
 
Walker led Samford with 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to notch his fourth career double-double. He also tallied a career-high five blocked shots and added a pair of steals. Rose finished a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range and registered 17 points.
 
With 6:12 remaining in the game, The Citadel held a 70-66 lead over the Bulldogs. Samford then used a trio of huge 3-pointers from Rose and a driving fast-break layup from Cunningham to take a 77-72 advantage in the contest. The Bulldogs would never trail for the remainder of the game and earned a decisive 95-86 victory.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Thursday's marquee showdown at ETSU, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their late-season, three-game road swing against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a crucial league matchup to be held at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
 
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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