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CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will begin play in a tough, two-game road stretch Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs challenge The Citadel Bulldogs in a key Southern Conference contest to be held at McAlister Fieldhouse. The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
Afterwards, the Bulldogs will next be in action Jan. 21, on the road at defending champion and preseason-favorite Chattanooga at 4 p.m.  
 
Samford (12-6, 3-2 SoCon) heads into Saturday's game with a sour taste in its mouth after suffering a 68-65 home loss to Mercer on Wednesday. The defeat proved to be only the Bulldogs' third setback at home this season.
 
In 2016-17, Samford owns a 6-3 record on the road, in

cluding a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play. Two weeks ago, the Bulldogs opened their SoCon season with back-to-back road triumphs against UNCG, 73-62, and Western Carolina, 70-65.
 
'DOGS BOASTING A WELL-BALANCED ATTACK
Since Dec. 20, six Samford players are averaging at least 8.7 points per game, while as a team, the Bulldogs are scoring 78.4 points per contest in its last seven outings. Below please find a chart that lists Samford's scoring in its last seven games as the team has gone 5-2.
               
PLAYER - - - PPG
Wyatt Walker - - - 14.3
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson - - - 12.1
Alex Thompson - - - 10.6
Christen Cunningham - - - 10.1
Josh Sharkey - - - 9.7
Triston Chambers - - - 8.7
 
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 Denzel-Dyson and 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.
 
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.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Citadel (9-10, 2-4 SoCon) enters Saturday's game with hopes of bouncing back from an 83-73 road loss at Chattanooga on Wednesday.
 
In the defeat, sophomore forward Zane Najdawi led the Bulldogs with 15 points while Frankie Johnson chipped in 13. Leandro Allende and Warren Sledge rounded out the double-digit scorers for The Citadel, chipping in 12 and 10 respectively. Ezekiel Balogun turned in a solid performance as well, tallying nine points and six rebounds. The Citadel shot 45.6 percent from the floor.
 
The Citadel owns a solid 7-3 record at home this season and are scoring an average of 95.9 points per game. The Cadets are ranked first in the nation in five statistical categories, including 3-point field-goal attempts (696), free-throw attempts (509), free throws made (386), scoring offense (95.9) and 3-point field goals made (237).
 
Individually, The Citadel's leading scorer this season is Najdawi with 16.2 points per game. He is also the Bulldogs' top rebounder with an average of 7.3 boards per outing. Sledge paces The Citadel in assists this season with 76, while both Preston Parks and Johnson follow with 68 apiece.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. THE CITADEL
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will square off against The Citadel for the 17th time in school history. Samford currently trails in the all-time series, 6-10, but is coming off a season sweep of The Citadel in 2015-16. Samford won 94-74 at home last season and 95-86 on the road in the most recent meeting between the teams on Feb. 8, 2016.
 
Since joining the SoCon in 2008-09, the Bulldogs have compiled a 5-9 record against The Citadel, including a 2-4 mark at the McAlister Fieldhouse.
 

CHAMBERS' CAREER DAY
Samford's 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 10 of the Bulldogs' 18 games this season. So far this year, Samford's 6-foot-9 big man from Jacksonville, Florida, is averaging 13.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest. On Wednesday at home against Mercer, Walker posted a 17-point, 11-rebound performance in a tough 68-65 loss. Last season as a true freshman, he finished the campaign with four total double-doubles.
 
CUNNINGHAM'S ASSIST FRENZY
On Nov. 27, in the Bulldogs' heartbreaking 106-103 home loss to Nicholls State, Cunningham handed out a career-high 13 assists. Last year, Samford's dynamic floor general became the first player in school history to record back-to-back seasons with at least 125 assists.
 
On Jan. 5 against Furman, Cunningham notched a game-high eight assists and became the fastest player in school history to reach the 100-assist mark in a single season.
 

CUNNINGHAM NEARS HISTORIC 1,000-POINT MARK
Samford's Cunningham, who is only a junior, will be playing in his 84th career game Saturday at The Citadel. 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.
 
WALKER NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Walker was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Tuesday for his performance during all games played Jan. 3-9, the league office announced. Walker averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per outing and shot 61.5 percent from the field as Samford split a pair of conference games.
 
Walker's buzzer-beating tip-in to defeat Wofford in overtime Sunday, 91-89, capped off the Samford center's stellar week of action as he averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds against a pair of tough SoCon opponents.
 
In the Bulldogs' thrilling two-point victory over the Terriers, Walker scored a season-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the win. He also finished 8-of-12 from the field and a near-perfect 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
 

On Jan. 5, the Bulldogs received 18 points and nine rebounds, both team highs, from Walker, but suffered a hard-fought 83-73 loss to Furman.
 
DID YOU KNOW??
Samford's Sharkey is first cousins with 10-year NBA veteran and collegiate standout at St. Joe's Jameer Nelson.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's game at The Citadel, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Jan. 21, at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their brief two-game road stretch with a highly-anticipated showdown against defending champion and preseason-favorite pick Chattanooga to be held at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
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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