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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Samford University basketball team will face one of its biggest challenges of the 2016-17 season Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the resurgent Bulldogs square off against the defending Southern Conference-champion Chattanooga Mocs in a highly-anticipated league matchup to be held at The McKenzie Arena.
 
Samford (13-6, 4-2 SoCon) enters the game with a full head of steam after topping The Citadel on the road last Saturday, 98-90, in Charleston, South Carolina. With their victory, the Bulldogs improved to 3-0 in road SoCon games this season. Samford also moved to 7-3 in overall road games this year and improved to 15-2 since 2015 when scoring at least 80 points.
 
The Bulldogs have not been victorious on the road at Chattanooga since Feb. 10, 2010, when Samford rolled to a 78-54 triumph.
 
BULLDOGS OFF TO A GREAT START IN 2016-17
Samford reached the 13-victory mark this season in 19 games and achieved the feat on Jan. 14. Therefore, the Bulldogs are off to their best start since 2005-06, when Samford opened the year with a 14-5 record and later advanced to the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

 

QUICK HITTERS
-- Samford boasts four players averaging double figures in scoring this season in Demetrius Denzel-Dyson (13.9), Wyatt Walker (13.3), Alex Thompson (11.3) and Christen Cunningham (10.4).
 
-- The Bulldogs own a perfect 3-0 road record in SoCon play this season, as well as a solid 7-3 mark in overall away games this year.
 
-- Samford's Cunningham is averaging 7.9 assists per game in his last eight outings.
 
-- Freshman Josh Sharkey recently set a school record Jan. 2, with seven steals at Western Carolina.
 
CUNNINGHAM REACHES HISTORIC 1,000-POINT MARK
Samford's Cunningham, who is only a junior, scored six points against The Citadel on Jan. 14, and became the 27th player in school history to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau. Cunningham achieved the feat in the 84th game of his illustrious career.
 
BULLDOGS BOASTING A WELL-BALANCED ATTACK
Since Dec. 20, six Samford players are averaging at least 9.4 points per game, while as a team, the Bulldogs are scoring 80.9 points per contest in its last eight outings. Below please find a chart that lists Samford's scoring in its last eight games as the team has gone 6-2.
   

            
PLAYER . . . PPG
Wyatt Walker . . . 13.9
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson . . . 13.3
Josh Sharkey . . . 10.8
Alex Thompson . . . 10.6
Christen Cunningham . . . 9.6
Triston Chambers . . . 9.4
 
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS
Also this season, Samford boasts four talented returning letterwinners in Eric Adams, Alex Peters, Gerald Smith and Tanner Tapp. Adams and Peters are both being asked to play key roles in the frontcourt for the Bulldogs this season, while Smith and Tapp are providing critical depth in Samford's backcourt.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Chattanooga (14-4, 5-1 SoCon) enters Saturday's game as the first-place team in the conference. The Mocs entered the 2016-17 campaign as the defending champions after earning both the regular-season and SoCon Tournament titles a year ago.
 
Chattanooga, which is in the midst of a four-game winning streak, has been triumphant in 11 of its last 13 outings dating back to Nov. 20.
 
The Mocs have been dominant at home this season and boast a perfect 8-0 record when playing at The McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga hasn't lost at home in over 13 months dating back to Feb. 20, 2016, in a 79-64 setback against UNCG.
 
The Mocs' lone loss in conference play this season also came against UNCG. On Jan. 2, Chattanooga suffered a 73-68 defeat at the Greensboro Coliseum in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
In their most recent outing, the Mocs eked out a 70-68 road victory at Mercer on Jan. 14, as senior Justin Tuoyo came up with a huge blocked shot with less than 10 seconds to play in the win.
 
Chattanooga's Tre' McLean sank two crucial free throws with 14.6 to play to make it a three-point game, 69-66. Mercer brought the ball up the floor. Leading scorer Ria'n Holland came off a pick and pulled up with two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Tuoyo switching on the coverage. The nation's second-leading shot blocker got his second of the game, while Rodney Chatman grabbed the rebound.
 
The Mocs' freshman was quickly fouled with just 8.5 seconds left. He missed the first attempts, but calmly sank the second for a four-point advantage. Mercer's Stephen Jelks scored a layup as time expired for the final tally. McLean's 15 points paced the Mocs in their victory.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. CHATTANOOGA
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will square off against Chattanooga for the 95th time in school history. Samford currently trails in the all-time series, 57-37, and is in the midst of a five-game losing streak to the Mocs. The Bulldogs' last win over Chattanooga occurred Feb. 8, 2014, 92-85 (OT).
 
Samford's most recent victory on the road at The McKenzie Arena took place Feb. 10, 2010, when the Bulldogs cruised past the Mocs, 78-54.
 

BULLDOG BITES
-- Samford's Walker is averaging a double-double this season with 13.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He has already tallied 15 double-doubles in his young, up-and-coming career.
 
-- Samford is ranked No. 15 in the nation in free-throws made this season with a total of 351. The Bulldogs are also ranked No. 22 in the country in assists (318) and No. 23 in free-throw attempts (467).
 
-- 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 assists per game.
 
-- Already this year, Cunningham has registered 128 assists at a break-neck pace of 6.7 assists per contest. At his current rate, Samford's floor general is on pace to tally 215 assists this season, which would well eclipse the Bulldogs' current school record of 151 achieved by Raijon Kelly in 2012-13.
 
-- Since the beginning of last season, the Bulldogs have tallied a 15-2 record when scoring 80 points or more. On Jan. 14, Samford posted a key 98-90 road SoCon victory at The Citadel.
 

KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE
Heading into Saturday's SoCon road game at Chattanooga, the Bulldogs boast four players shooting at least 39.8 percent from 3-point range this season, including Chambers, who is shooting a sizzling 47.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
As a team, Samford is ranked No. 32 in the country in 3-point shooting at 39.2 percent. Along with Chambers' remarkable 3-point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs' Denzel-Dyson owns a 46.1 mark, while Thompson is shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, Samford's Smith is shooting 40.0 percent from long range at a 2-for-5 clip this season.
 
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 40-44 record at Samford and is coming off the school's winningest season in seven years, dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.
 
Last year, the Bulldogs compiled an impressive 10-5 record in non-conference play and registered a pivotal 69-58 road victory at Nebraska. The win proved to be Samford's first triumph against a Big Ten opponent in school history.
 
"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."
 
WALKER NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Walker was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 10, 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, 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.
 
SAMFORD PICKED SEVENTH IN SOCON PRESEASON POLLS
The SoCon released its annual preseason rankings on Oct. 26, and Samford was slated seventh by both the coaches and media, it was announced by the league office.
 
Chattanooga, which opened its 2016-17 season with a 13-point road victory at Tennessee on
Nov. 4, was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the SoCon title for the second consecutive season. ETSU was slotted second (74) and received two first-place votes.
 
Wofford (57) edged Mercer (55) for third place in the preseason balloting. Furman and UNCG tied for fifth place with 50 points apiece. Samford was picked seventh (32), while Western Carolina came in eighth (20). VMI (19) and The Citadel (13) rounded out the poll.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's game at Chattanooga, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Alabama, for a marquee matchup against the ETSU Buccaneers to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with play-by-play specialist Curt Bloom calling the action along with "The Coach" Bill Jones and up-and-coming sideline reporter Hattie Breece.
 
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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