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CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will play its third road game in six days Saturday as the Bulldogs square off against the Western Carolina Catamounts at 3:30 p.m. (CT) in a key Southern Conference contest to be held at the Ramsey Center.
 
Samford (12-15, 3-11 SoCon) enters the matchup with aspirations of ending its current three-game road stretch with a 2-1 record. On Monday, the Bulldogs opened their trip with a 95-86 victory at The Citadel before dropping a 94-90 overtime decision at ETSU on Thursday.
 
Against the Buccaneers, Samford's true freshman center Wyatt Walker scored a career-high 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.
 

WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
• Since Feb. 8, Samford's Walker is averaging 26.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game. He is also shooting 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
• Bulldog sophomore Christen Cunningham has already scored 698 points in his career.
• Samford is currently averaging 74.3 points per game this season, which is the Bulldogs' highest scoring total dating all the back to the 1989-90 campaign.
 
TRANSITIONING OFFENSE - - BULLDOGS TAKE IT TO HYPERDRIVE
Samford fans have been able to enjoy a much faster paced offense this season. With plenty of depth and a roster chalk-full of young talent, the Bulldogs are getting up and down the court in 2015-16 and creating easy buckets in transition.
 
In 2014-15, Samford head coach Scott Padgett implemented his full-court, fast-paced offensive attack and Samford averaged 69.2 points per game. Already this year, the Bulldogs are scoring 74.3 points per game.
 
SAMFORD'S WALKER NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford's 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).
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Western Carolina (10-15, 5-7 SoCon) heads into the game with a full head of steam after knocking off first-place Chattanooga on Thursday, 67-61, to move to 9-2 when playing at home this season.
 
The Catamounts' senior guard Mike Brown enters Saturday's showdown as one of the top scorers in the conference. Brown, a native of Charlotte, is averaging 16.8 points per game this season and is ranked third in the SoCon in the cagetory.
 
Additionally, the Catamounts' Torrion Brummitt is listed fourth in the league in rebounds per game at 6.9. Brummitt, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Columbus, Georgia, is also averaging 12.6 points per contest this season, while sharpshooting guard Rhett Harrelson comes in scoring 12.4 points per game.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Samford trails in its all-time rivalry with Western Carolina by a count of 9-7, but has been victorious in the last four meetings between the teams, including last season's 76-72 win held at the Ramsey Center. The Bulldogs haven't been defeated by the Catamounts since Jan. 18, 2014, when Samford suffered a hard-fought 67-64 loss in Cullowhee.
 
THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TEAMS
Samford extended its winning streak against the Western Carolina Catamounts to four-consecutive games on Jan. 16, as the Bulldogs rallied in the second half to post a key 84-68 SoCon victory at home in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford's Walker tallied his second double-double of the season at the time and finished with career-highs in both points (26) and rebounds (12). Walker also finished 11-of-15 from the field and went 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in 27 minutes of play.
 

In its first meeting with Western Carolina, 44 of Samford's 84 points were scored by true freshman. Along with Walker's game-high 26, the Bulldogs' Matt Rose came off the bench to tally 16 points, while Dakota Quinn added two. Rose, Samford's talented 6-foot-7 sharpshooter from Lexington, Kentucky, drained a team-high four 3-point baskets and added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Samford never trailed by less than 11 points down the stretch and turned in a blistering 64-percent shooting total in the final 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs finished the contest at 52.5-percent from the floor and 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
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 43.2%) this season, while the Bulldogs' numbers are surprisingly better on the road in both 3-point shooting (34.6% to 30.3%) and free-throw shooting (74.0% to 64.6%).
 
THE SAMFORD YOUTH MOVEMENT
Seven of the Bulldogs' 14 members of the 2015-16 roster are underclassmen. Samford boasts four true freshmen this season in Dakota Quinn, Rose, Tanner Tapp and Walker, as well as talented redshirt freshman Gerald Smith.
 

Additionally, the Bulldogs' roster includes an impressive sophomore class comprised of forward Eric Adams, Cunningham and center Alex Peters. Only two of Samford's 14 players were born before April 25, 1995, and the average age of a member of the Bulldogs' basketball team is 19 years old.
 
749-STRAIGHT AND STILL COUNTING
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 749-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA.
 
The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 961-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Kentucky (958) and Vanderbilt (953) are the only other two schools that have made at least one 3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
#FOE = FAMILY OVER EVERYTHING
Since taking over as head coach in 2014, Padgett has coined the phrase "FOE" as his biggest mantra of the Bulldogs' basketball program. FOE stands for Family Over Everything and has truly resonated with Samford's players ... old and new.
 

"I don't really invent a lot of things, but I've worked under a lot of great coaches and have been around a lot of great people," said Padgett. "My former teammate and boss, Steve Masiello, came up with the saying Team Over Everything, and I kind of liked it, but at Kentucky it was all about Family. So, I kind of combined those two concepts and now we have Family Over Everything (#FOE).
 
"I really believe that this team is a family and that goes with everybody's extended families, as well as the staff and everybody involved with Samford basketball."
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - ETSU FOILS 'DOGS' COMEBACK ATTEMPT IN OVERTIME
Samford's Walker scored a career-high 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field Thursday and Cunningham added 26 for the Bulldogs, but the homestanding ETSU Buccaneers held off a furious second-half rally to hold on for a 94-90 victory held at the Freedom Hall Assembly Center.
 
Samford trailed by 11 points at halftime, 44-33, as ETSU turned in a sizzling 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) shooting performance from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs competed well in the first half, but couldn't maintain the same shooting pace as the Bucs in their first home game since Jan. 23.
 
Early in the second stanza, Samford quickly trimmed ETSU's advantage to 46-43 behind a 10-2 run to open the period. During the Bulldogs' run, Walker scored six points, Cunningham knocked down a mid-range jumper and Rose swished a pair of free throws.
 
Samford continued its second-half run three minutes later by taking the lead, 52-51, at the 13:34 point in the period.
 
At the 8:29 mark, the Buccaneers built their advantage back to 10 points, 67-57, following a pair of free throws from T.J. Cromer and a layup from Peter Jurkin.
 

The Bulldogs proved to have one more run in them down the stretch as they embarked upon a 13-5 run to cut the Buccaneers' late advantage to 72-70 with 4:05 left to play. Cunningham scored eight of Samford's points during the streak, while Walker notched the other five.
 
With 1:34 left in the game, the Bulldogs' Walker scored on back-to-back nifty post moves to even the score at 79-79. In overtime, Ge'Lawn Guyn scored five straight points, including a key 3-point basket to take a critical lead. Samford would later cut the advantage down to two a few times, but Guyn notched four straight free throws down the stretch to hang on for the 94-90 victory.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's road game at Western Carolina, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin their final homestand of the 2015-16 campaign against the UNCG Spartans in a SoCon duel to be held at the Pete Hanna Cener.
 
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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