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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will look to get back on the winning track Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the Wofford Terriers in a pivotal Southern Conference contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The game marks Samford's (11-13, 2-9 SoCon) fourth-and-final matchup of its current homestand and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The action will be called by play-by-play specialist Mike Grace with the color commentary to be provided by Marc Salyers.
 
The Bulldogs are in the midst of a tough five-game losing streak. Since rolling past Western Carolina on Jan. 16, 84-68, Samford has dropped consecutive SoCon tests against VMI, 83-76, UNCG, 86-78, Chattanooga, 63-56, Mercer, 85-70, and Furman, 67-65.
 
FREE TICKETS!!
Samford's Academy Admit Four Games for both men's and women's basketball will take place Saturday. The men are scheduled to tip off at noon versus Wofford, while the women tip off at 3 p.m., against Western Carolina.
 
Fans can pick up their Academy Admit Four Voucher at any Birmingham area Academy Sports and Outdoors store location – Hoover, Lee Branch or Trussville. The voucher is good for both the men's and the women's games Saturday. No purchase is necessary and you must exchange your voucher at the third-floor ticket window for your game day tickets.
 
For any questions or additional information, please contact the Samford Ticket Office at 205-726-DOGS or visit samfordsports.com/tickets.
 

WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
• Samford true freshman Matt Rose made his first career start Thursday against Furman and finished the game with seven points and a personal-best nine rebounds.
• In SoCon play this season, home teams have registered a dominant 36-15 record.
• The Bulldogs have played seven games on Saturdays this season and own a 3-4 mark.
• In its five home losses of 2015-16, Samford shot 51.6 percent (49-95) from the free-throw line.
 
Wofford (10-13, 6-4 SoCon) has been victorious in seven of its last 11 outings, but recently suffered a 79-63 setback on the road against first-place Chattanooga on Thursday.
 
The Terriers boast two players listed among the nation's top 15 this season. Junior point guard Eric Garcia is currently ranked 12th in the country in assist-turnover ratio and holds a brilliant 3.4 mark in the category.
 
Additionally, Wofford's Spencer Collins is ranked No. 15 in the nation with a 45.6-percent 3-point shooting mark. Collins, the Terriers' leading scorer at 15.6 points per game this season, is a senior guard from Easley, South Carolina. As a team, Wofford is ranked 20th in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage at 39.5.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
In an all-time series that began Feb. 25, 1923, Samford trails the Terriers, 11-4. The Bulldogs joined the SoCon in 2008-09 and have since gone 2-10 versus Wofford. The Terriers have won each of the last five meetings, including the previous two held in the Pete Hanna Center. Samford's last victory in the series occurred at home Feb. 14, 2013.
 
THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TEAMS
With 2:34 remaining in the Jan. 9 road showdown at Wofford, Samford held a 64-55 advantage in front of 1,948 raucous fans in Benjamin Johnson Arena. It was then that Wofford's Collins took over and drained the first of two 3-point baskets in the final minutes to spark the Terriers on a final 14-0 run to close the game and earn the 69-64 home victory.
 
Collins, Wofford's 6-foot-4 senior leader, scored 12 of the game's final 14 points and finished the contest with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He also finished a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Samford, which led by as many as 11 points in the second half and nine, 64-55, at the 2:34 mark, built its lead behind aggressive full-court pressure defense. The Bulldogs forced Wofford into a season-high 19 turnovers and outscored the Terriers, 24-9, in points off turnovers.
 
Samford also led, 38-14, in points in the paint, but Wofford drained 10 3-point field goals and shot 7-of-9 from beyond the arc in the second half.
 

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Darius Jones-Gibson's 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field. Samford's shifty 6-foot-2 guard from Lexington, Kentucky, also added three assists and two steals, while finishing 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
 
Christen Cunningham scored 13 points in a game-high 37 minutes of action for the Bulldogs, while senior Jamal Shabazz added 11 points, three rebounds and a steal.
 
Fellow-senior forward Iman Johnson turned in a strong all-around game with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists, a trio of steals, as well as a rim-shaking, one-handed fast-break dunk in the second half.
 
SAMFORD'S BLUEGRASS STATE CONNECTIONS
Many members of the Samford basketball program have key ties to the state of Kentucky. Starting at the top of the Athletic Department, Director of Athletics Martin Newton worked with Head Coach John Calipari and the University of Kentucky basketball team for two seasons, while his father, C.M. Newton, was the Director of Athletics at Kentucky from 1989-2000 and hired current Louisville head coach Rick Pitino at Kentucky in 1989.
 

Samford head coach Scott Padgett, who was born and raised in Louisville and starred at St. Xavier High School, played for Pitino at Kentucky for three seasons and later spent the 2009-10 campaign as an assistant coach with the program.
 
With Padgett's connections in the area, the Bulldogs also boast many Kentucky natives on their roster, including Assistant Coach Charles Newton (Lexington), Cunningham (Georgetown), Rose (Lexington) and Jones-Gibson (Lexington).
 
"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."
 
THE "PETE" - - SAMFORD CALLS THE PETE HANNA CENTER HOME
Nov. 15, 2007, marked the dawning of a new era for Samford as the Bulldogs began play in their pristine 32-million-dollar Pete Hanna Center. The state-of-the-art 5,000-seat arena was completed in October of 2007 and features new locker rooms, a training room, a weight room and coaches offices.    

The Pete Hanna Center, which replaced Samford's historic 45-year-old Seibert Hall, also houses the University's recreation center and workout facility. In their Pete Hanna Center debut, the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 82-73 decision against perennial NCAA Tournament participant Belmont.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - MISSED FREE THROWS DOOM 'DOGS LATE VS. FURMAN, 67-65
Samford missed a pair of crucial free throws in the final 35 seconds of play Thursday, including the front end of a one-and-one, as the Bulldogs suffered a heartbreaking 67-65 SoCon setback against the Furman Paladins in a late-season league contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the loss, Samford moved to 5-5 at home this season. The Bulldogs also dropped their fifth straight decision in conference play, dating back to Jan. 16. Furman tallied its third road victory of the season Thursday and extended its winning streak to five-consecutive games.
 
With seven minutes remaining in the second half, Samford's Jones-Gibson scored a layup to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game at 58-50. Furman then used a free throw from John Davis III and five straight points from Stephen Croone to trim Samford's advantage to 58-56 with 4:55 left to play.
 

From that time until 20 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs' lead continued to hover between the four and one-point margins. Samford's Cunningham scored on a driving layup at 1:29 to give his squad a 64-61 lead. At that point, Croone immediately fouled Jones-Gibson and sent him to the free-throw line to shoot one-and-one.
 
Jones-Gibson had his attempt rim out and the Paladins' Geoff Beans grabbed the rebound. Furman then scored on a layup from Croone and was fouled by Alex Peters for a possible three-point play. At the line with a chance to tie the score at 64-64, Croone missed his free throw and Samford's Matt Rose pulled down the rebound.
 
Rose connected on his first free-throw attempt, but missed the second to make the score 65-63 in the Bulldogs' favor. On the ensuing possession, Furman's Matt Rafferty gathered a pass at the top of the key and connected on a 3-point basket to give the Paladins their decisive 66-65 lead.
 
After a Samford miss on the other end, Rafferty made a free throw with seven seconds remaining to make the final score, 67-65.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's home matchup with Wofford, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 5 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a critical three-game road stretch against The Citadel Bulldogs in an important league test to be held at McAlister Field House in Charleston, South Carolina. Earlier this season, Samford earned a 94-74 home victory against The Citadel.
 
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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