CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will conclude play in its critical two-game, Southern Conference-opening road trip Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs meet the Western Carolina Catamounts in a key early-conference contest to be held at the Ramsey Center.
The matchup will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network, which is located on channel WBMA-3 in greater Birmingham, Alabama.
Samford (10-4, 1-0 SoCon) enters the matchup riding the positive momentum of a three-game winning streak. Since dropping a hard-fought 76-68 road decision at No. 21-ranked Florida State on Dec. 19, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories against Florida A&M, 83-63, Fort Valley State, 94-74, and UNCG, 73-62.
Samford has been victorious in seven of its last eight outings and owns a solid 5-3 mark in road games this season. Saturday's SoCon-opening win at UNCG proved to be the Bulldogs' first all-time time triumph at the Greensboro Coliseum and their first road victory over the Spartans since Jan. 6, 2011. Wyatt Walker BULLDOG BITES
-- Samford's Wyatt Walker is averaging a double-double this season with 12.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He has registered 12 double-doubles in his young, up-and-coming career.
-- In his last seven outings, Christen Cunningham is averaging 15.9 points and 6.4 assists per contest. On Dec. 4, he scored a career-high 29 points in Samford's win over Jacksonville State.
-- Since the beginning of last season, the Bulldogs have compiled an impressive 19-9 record against non-conference opponents, including a pivotal 69-58 road victory at Nebraska last year. 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 2015-16 with a career-high 128 assists and an average of 3.9 pg.
-- Already this year, Cunningham has registered 90 assists at a break-neck pace of 6.4 assists per contest. At his current rate, Samford's floor general is on pace to tally 205 assists this season, which would well eclipse the Bulldogs' current school record of 151 achieved by Raijon Kelly in 2012-13.
-- With a win Monday, Samford would open 2-0 in SoCon play for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs would also start 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign when they opened 6-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
-- Since the beginning of last season, the Bulldogs have tallied a 13-2 record when scoring 80 points or more. On Wednesday, Samford cruised to a 94-74 home victory over Fort Valley State. Christen Cunningham
-- Samford's Cunningham has only missed five free throws this season. The Bulldogs' junior point guard from Georgetown, Kentucky, is shooting 90.9 percent from the free-throw line this season on 50 of 55 attempts.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION Western Carolina (5-9, 0-1 SoCon) heads into Monday's game with aspirations of bouncing back from Saturday's 64-48 home loss to preseason-conference favorite Chattanooga.
In the defeat, Western Carolina placed three scorers in double-figures led by redshirt junior Haboubacar Mutombo who scored 15 points. Junior Devin Peterson added 11 points off the bench while freshman Adam Sledd continued his strong play of late with 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Catamounts struggled to score the ball as they shot just 33.9 percent for the game including 33.3 percent (9-27) in the first half and 34.5 percent (10-29) in the second period.
Western Carolina won the rebounding battle (38-31) but holding onto the ball once again proved to be a problem as the Mocs forced 17 turnovers compared to 14 of their own.
After falling behind 2-0 after Chattanooga's opening possession, the Catamounts began a 14-3 run to take their largest lead of the game. The Mocs responded with a 14-2 run of their own which gave Chattanooga the lead with 6:01 left in the first. Western Carolina kept it close for the remainder of the opening half but a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left gave the Mocs a 32-24 lead at the break.
Chattanooga opened the second half with a layup to go ahead by 10 points and they would hold a double-digit lead for most of the period.
Western Carolina cut the lead to eight on four separate occasions but that would be as close as the Catamounts would come. An 8-0 run by the Mocs late in the second half gave Chattanooga its largest lead of the game, 60-42, with 4:06 left to play. The Mocs would coast down the stretch taking the 64-48 victory.
The Catamounts' leading scorer this season is Mutombo with 10.2 points per game. Marc Gosselin is currently Western Carolina's top rebounder with an average of 6.6 per outing, while Peterson is pacing the Catamounts with 38 assists this year.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. WESTERN CAROLINA
On Monday, the Bulldogs will square off against Western Carolina for the 18th time in school history. The Catamounts currently own a 10-7 advantage in the all-time series, including a 7-1 mark when playing at home in the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee.
Last season, the teams split the annual home-and-home series with each team winning on its home court. Samford tallied an 84-68 victory at the Pete Hanna Center on Jan. 16, 2016, while Western Carolina later earned a 76-71 win in Cullowhee on Feb. 13.
Two years ago, during the 2014-15 campaign, the Bulldogs swept the Catamounts and won in the Ramsey Center for the only time in school history as they posted a 76-72 road victory on Feb. 5, 2015. Triston Chambers CHAMBERS' CAREER DAY
Samford's Triston Chambers turned in a career performance against Nicholls State on Nov. 27. The Bulldogs' true freshman sharpshooter from Cold Springs, Alabama, scored a personal-best 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. All six of his field goals came from 3-point range as he finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Chambers also handed out five assists for Samford.
DOUBLE DOWN
Samford's Walker has recorded a double-double in eight of the Bulldogs' 14 games this season. So far this year, Samford's 6-foot-9 big man from Jacksonville, Florida, is averaging 12.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. On Nov. 27 against Nicholls State, Walker posted a 12-point, 10-rebound performance in the Pete Hanna Center. Last season as a true freshman, he finished the campaign with four total double-doubles.
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 37-42 record at Samford and is coming off the school's winningest season in seven years, dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.
"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." Demetrius Denzel-Dyson 3D'S HISTORIC GAME
The Bulldogs' Demetrius 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. His performance is still ranked as the seventh highest scoring output in the nation this season.
THREE TRANSFERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE THIS YEAR
Samford bolstered an already talented roster this season with the addition of senior forward Terry Brutus. Brutus joined the Bulldogs from Ole Miss where he accompanied the Rebels on two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Coming out of high school, Brutus was ranked as a three-star recruit by both Rivals.com and ESPN.com, while averaging 17 points and nine rebounds as a senior.
Brutus was eligible to compete immediately for Samford this season as a graduate transfer. He joined redshirt juniors Denzel-Dyson and Alex Thompson on the court after they were forced to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Prior to the 2015-16 campaign, Denzel-Dyson transferred from UMass, while Thompson became a Bulldog after spending the previous two seasons at Auburn.
Out of high school, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Denzel-Dyson, proved to be a three-star recruit by both Rivals and ESPN.com. He was also ranked as the No. 85 shooting guard in the country and No. 17 overall in the state of Tennessee by ESPN Scouting Services. As a senior, Denzel-Dyson averaged 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds at Covington (Tenn.) High School. Alex Thompson
Thompson is proving this season to be a 6-foot-8 forward who can stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting ability. During his time at Houston Academy, he averaged 25.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.6 blocks and 2.0 steals per game and his 25.0 points per game was tops among all 2A all-state candidates and his 12.8 rebounds were second-most.
Thompson came out of high school as the Dothan Eagle Player of the Year, Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 2A Player of the Year, and as one of three finalists for Alabama Mr. Basketball. He scored over 2,000 points in his high school career.
"I think these guys take the talent level of the team up a notch, first of all," Padgett said. "Then, if you look at their size, strength and length, it's another level than what we've had. They are all three guys who will help us in different ways this season."
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Monday's SoCon showdown at Western Carolina, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a crucial three-game conference homestand against the Furman Paladins to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford will then play host to Wofford on Saturday at 6 p.m., and Mercer on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
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