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CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will begin play in its longest road stretch of the 2016 Southern Conference season Monday at 5 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against The Citadel Bulldogs in a late-season league contest to be held in McAlister Field House (6,000).
 
Following Monday's matchup, Samford (11-14, 2-10 SoCon) will continue its three-game road stretch with outings at ETSU (Thursday) and Western Carolina (Saturday).
 
The Bulldogs are hoping a change in scenery will help snap their current six-game losing streak, which featured four straight losses at home. Samford has not been victorious since defeating Western Carolina in Birmingham, Alabama, on Jan. 16, 84-68.
 
WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
• With two more assists, Samford's Christen Cunningham will became only the sixth player in school history to record back-to-back, 100-assist seasons. He would also be the first sophomore in Bulldog lore to accomplish the feat.
• The Bulldogs' Darius Jones-Gibson has led the team in scoring 12 times, registered 17 double-digit scoring performances, as well as seven 20-point outings this season.
• Six of Samford's 14 losses in 2015-16 have been decided by five points or less.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Citadel (10-14, 3-8 SoCon) has suffered back-to-back SoCon defeats against Chattanooga, 125-85, and Mercer, 88-72, but owns a 5-5 record at home this season.
 
The Bulldogs are ranked in the top 10 nationally in eight statistical categories. Heading into Monday's game, The Citadel is ranked first in the country in both scoring offense (89.4 ppg) and 3-point field-goal attempts (822).
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs are ranked second in 3-point field goals per game (11.7) and total 3-point field goals made (270), while also being listed fifth nationally in turnovers forced (17.74), sixth in steals per game (9.3) and seventh in total steals (214). Individually, The Citadel's senior guard Derrick Henry is scoring a team-high 16.1 points per game.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Samford Bulldogs will attempt to earn a home-and-home series sweep of The Citadel on Monday after running to a 94-74 home victory in the opener between the teams held Jan. 5. The all-time series between the teams opened Feb. 19, 1992, with a Citadel home victory, 73-67. Samford trails in the all-time series by a count of 5-10.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TEAMS
Samford limited the nation's leading scoring squad to 18 points below its season average on Jan. 5, as the Bulldogs battled to a decisive 94-74 home SoCon victory against The Citadel Bulldogs in a pivotal league matchup held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford opened the contest with an 11-0 lead as its defensive scheme quickly sterilized The Citadel's fast-paced, run-and-gun style. The Cadets have been used to getting quick, easy 3-point attempts once crossing midcourt this season, but the Bulldogs made sure to get a hand in the face of every shot attempt, especially in the early-going.
 
The Citadel opened the game shooting 0-for-14 from the field as Samford upped its lead to 19-2 at the 12:02 mark in the first half.
 
The Bulldogs limited the Cadets to 17.2 percent shooting in the opening period, while Samford blistered the nets for a 58.2 percent mark.
 
Samford built a 49-24 lead at the intermission.
 
The Bulldogs finished with six players scoring in double figures for the first time this season. Jones-Gibson led the way with 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Samford's dynamic native of Lexington, Kentucky, also added nine assists, six rebounds and finished a near-perfect 12-of-13 from the free-throw line.
 
Fellow-senior Marcus Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points, while adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Johnson also knocked down two of the Bulldogs' five 3-point baskets on the evening.
 
Samford's Jamal Shabazz turned in his second straight double-digit scoring performance by tallying 11 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. The Bulldogs' Wyatt Walker, Cunningham and Alex Peters all finished with 10 points apiece.
 
As a team, Samford outscored The Citadel, 54-26, in the paint and 30-15 off turnovers. Additionally, the Bulldogs concluded the victory shooting a season-high 58.2 percent from the field. Samford's shooting total surpassed its previous season-best of 57.7 percent, which was achieved at Florida A&M on Dec. 12.
 
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 41.2%) this season, while the Bulldogs' numbers are surprisingly better on the road in both 3-point shooting (32.7% to 30.3%) and free-throw shooting (74.3% 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, Matt 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.
 
747-STRAIGHT AND STILL COUNTING
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 747-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 960-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Kentucky (957) and Vanderbilt (952) 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.
 
BOASTING A BIG-TIME BACKCOURT
Samford continues play in the 2015-16 campaign with a pair of returning starters at the guard position in Cunningham and Jones-Gibson. Cunningham, the Bulldogs' talented sophomore point guard from Georgetown, Kentucky, has never missed a start in his young up-and-coming college career.              
 
As a true freshman last year, Cunningham started at the point guard position in all 32 of the team's games and averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds per contest. He also logged a team-high average of 30.1 minutes per outing and finished second on the squad with a 79.1 free-throw percentage.
 
Jones-Gibson returned this season as the Bulldogs' top returning scorer. Last year, Jones-Gibson paced the squad with 12.2 points per game and also pulled down an average of 3.1 rebounds per contest.
 
Since transferring to Samford from Barton County Community College prior to the 2014-15 campaign, Jones-Gibson has started in every outing as a Bulldog, and has shared backcourt duties with Cunningham in all 57 games of Head Coach Scott Padgett's tenure.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - BULLDOGS' SECOND-HALF RALLY COMES UP SHORT VERSUS WOFFORD
Despite trailing by 13 points early in the second half Saturday, Samford team rallied late in the period to cut the Wofford Terriers' lead to 75-73 with 21 seconds remaining, but three straight free throws from junior Eric Garcia and a costly Bulldog turnover proved to be the difference in a 78-75 decision held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With 14 seconds remaining and trailing by just three points, 76-73, Samford held possession of the ball with a chance to even the score.
 
Cunningham drove the lane down the left side and careened under the basket on the baseline toward the right corner. In doing so, Cunningham looked for Rose in the corner and fired a pass with hopes of a getting game-tying basket, but the aim proved to be low as the ball bounced off Rose's right leg and went out of bounds.
 
Following the last-minute turnover, Wofford regained possession and received a pair of free throws from Garcia to essentially ice the game at 78-73. Garcia finished with 17 points, six assists and three rebounds.
 
Samford's Walker scored on a put-back layup at the buzzer to make the final score 78-75. The Bulldogs only shot 14.3 percent from 3-point range in the first half as Wofford took a 33-26 advantage in the locker room. In the second half, Samford outscored the Terriers, 49-45, and shot a sizzling 54.8 percent from the field.
 
Jones-Gibson led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and handed out six assists. Jones-Gibson, the Bulldogs' leading scorer this season is averaging 15.3 points per game in 2015-16.
 
Samford's Cunningham added 19 points and six assists Saturday, while Walker played a huge role in the Bulldogs' front court with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Monday's key test at The Citadel, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their three-game road stretch against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a late-season league test to be held 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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