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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will conclude play in its three-game Southern Conference homestand Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Mercer Bears to the Pete Hanna Center for a highly-anticipated league showdown.
 
The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with play-by-play specialist Chris Stewart calling the action along with color analyst Tyler Hood. The broadcast will also feature the insight of up-and-coming sideline reporter Hattie Breece.
 
Samford (12-5, 3-1 SoCon) enters the game with a full head of steam after earning a thrilling 91-89 overtime victory against Wofford on Sunday. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 6-2 at home this season and upped their scoring average to 88.8 when playing in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford also improved to 3-1 in SoCon play for the first time since 2012-13 when the Bulldogs opened league action with a 5-1 mark.
 

CUNNINGHAM NEARS HISTORIC 1,000-POINT MARK
Samford's Christen Cunningham, only a junior, will be playing in his 83^rd career game Wednesday against Mercer. The Bulldogs' dynamic floor general sits just FIVE points shy of becoming the 27th player in school history to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau.
 
BULLDOGS OFF TO A GREAT START IN 2016-17
Samford reached the 12-victory mark this season in only 17 games and achieved the feat on Jan. 8. Therefore, the Bulldogs tallied their best start since 1998-99, when Samford opened the year with a 19-4 record and later earned the school's first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mercer (7-10, 1-3 SoCon) enters Wednesday's contest with hopes of bouncing back from a 67-58 home loss to first-place ETSU on Saturday.
 
In the defeat, the Bears' Ria'n Holland scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, but a late run by ETSU propelled the Bucs to a 67-58 win over host Mercer at Hawkins Arena. T.J. Cromer scored 23 points and Desonta Bradford had 15 points to lead ETSU.
 
With the score tied at 27, Cromer hit a 3, a layup and another 3 to give ETSU a 35-30 lead. The Bears then responded with a 12-0 run and led 42-35 with 11:41 to play.
 
Bradford's layup with 6:57 left gave ETSU the lead for good at 48-47. He followed with a dunk and Cromer added a 3 capping an 18-5 Buccaneers run. Jordan Strawberry added a layup and Mercer couldn't get closer.
 
Holland posted his seventh game with 20-plus points. The redshirt junior led all players with 24 points but also added three assists and three steals to his tally. He was 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
Mercer drew six charges against ETSU. While drawn charges are not an official stat kept by the NCAA, that number is a season high for the Bears and contributed to the 18 turnovers Mercer forced out of ETSU.
 
The Bears' leading scorer this season is Holland with an impressive average of 17.5 points per game. Mercer's highly-touted junior transfer from Indian Hills Community College in Southeast Iowa, leads the team with 20 steals this season and is shooting 39 percent from 3-point range.
 
The Bears' leading rebounders in 2016-17 are junior forwards Stephon Jelks (6.2 rpg.) and
Desmond Ringer (5.6 rpg.). Ringer transferred from South Carolina prior to last season and is eligible now after redshirting for a year.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. MERCER
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs will square off against Mercer for the 109th time in school history. The Bears currently own a 62-46 advantage in the all-time series, including season sweeps in each of the last two years since Mercer joined the conference following its NCAA Tournament run in 2014.
 
Last season, Samford opened SoCon play on the road at Mercer and suffered a 69-50 defeat against the Bears. Then, on Feb. 1, the Bulldogs hosted Mercer in Birmingham and dropped an 85-70 decision held in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford is in the midst of a six-game losing streak against the Bears and has not been victorious in the series since a 69-60 road victory on Nov. 29, 2001.
 

RETURNING STARTERS
The Bulldogs boast two returning starters this season in junior point guard Cunningham and sophomore center Wyatt Walker. Cunningham has started every game of his illustrious three-year career at the point guard position and has already made 82 starts at Samford. Last season, the Georgetown, Kentucky, native averaged 14.4 points and 3.9 assists per game.
 
"Christen's a natural-born point guard and he really knows how to run a team," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "He does a great job of finding the open man, and when you need a bucket, he has the talent and ability to go score it for you. Since last season, he's really done a good job of becoming more of a leader. We've had seniors here in his last two years, so now he's one of the oldest guys on the team and definitely the leader."
 
Walker, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 All-SoCon Freshman Team performer from a year ago, is definitely using this season to build upon his stellar rookie campaign. Last year, the Jacksonville, Florida, native averaged 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds. He also led the team with a 58.1 shooting percentage in 22 minutes per contest.
 
'DOGS BOASTING A WELL-BALANCED ATTACK
Since Dec. 20, six Samford players are averaging at least 9.0 points per game, while as a team, the Bulldogs are scoring 80.7 points per contest in its last six outings. Below please find a quick chart that lists Samford's scoring in its last six games as the team has gone 5-1.
 

              
PLAYER - - - PPG
Wyatt Walker - - - 13.8
Christen Cunningham - - - 11.8
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson - - - 11.7
Alex Thompson - - - 11.0
Josh Sharkey - - - 10.3
Triston Chambers - - - 9.0
 
KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE
Heading into Wednesday's SoCon home game against Mercer, the Bulldogs boast four players shooting at least 39.5 percent from 3-point range this season, including junior guard Denzel-Dyson, who is shooting a sizzling 47.3 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, Samford is ranked No. 43 in the country in 3-point shooting at 39 percent.
 
Along with Denzel-Dyson's remarkable 3-point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs' Chambers owns a 46.0 mark, while Thompson is shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, Samford's Gerald Smith is shooting 40.0 percent from long range at a 2-for-5 clip this season.
 
SCORING IS KEY
Since the beginning of last season, Samford has registered a 14-2 record when scoring at least 80 points. On Nov. 14, the Bulldogs opened the 2016-17 season with a dominant 83-65 road victory at San Diego and turned in a 46.9-percent shooting performance from the field, including a welcome 10-of-25 (40 percent) outing from 3-point range.
 
On Sunday, Samford battled to a pivotal 91-89 overtime victory over Wofford in a momentous SoCon contest held in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
SAMFORD'S WALKER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs' Walker heads into Wednesday's game ranked ninth in the nation with nine double-doubles this season. Walker is also ranked ninth in the country in total rebounds (176), 19th in defensive rebounds per contest (7.3) and No. 21 in the nation in rebounds per game (10.4).
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Samford owns a 6-2 record when playing at home this season and is scoring an average of 88.8 points per outing in the Pete Hanna Center. So far this year, the Bulldogs have tallied scores of 103, 94, 93, 92 and 91 at home in Birmingham.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Wednesday's game against Mercer, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Charleston, South Carolina, for a tough SoCon road test against The Citadel Bulldogs to be held in McAlister Field House.
 
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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