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LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Samford University basketball team will be competing in its fifth road game in Southern Conference play this season Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs challenge the VMI Keydets in a dangerous league showdown to be held at Cameron Hall. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
Samford (13-8, 4-4 SoCon) enters the matchup looking to shake off the negative feeling of being enthralled in its lone losing streak of the season. Since earning a 98-90 road victory at The Citadel on Jan. 14, the Bulldogs have suffered back-to-back losses against Chattanooga, 82-78, and ETSU, 96-86 (2OT).
 
Samford owns a 7-4 record on the road this season and is 3-1 when facing SoCon opponents outside of Birmingham, Alabama. The Bulldogs are also in a two-game winning streak against VMI (5-14, 2-6 SoCon), dating back to Jan. 21, 2016.
 

SAMFORD'S WALKER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs' Wyatt Walker heads into Saturday's game ranked 11th in the nation with 12 double-doubles this season. Walker, Samford's hard-nosed 6-foot-9 center is also ranked 15th in the country in total rebounds (217), 18th in defensive rebounds per contest (7.3) and 21st in the nation in rebounds per game (10.3).
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
VMI enters Saturday's game with a full head of steam after knocking off defending conference champion Chattanooga on the road Wednesday, 80-64. The victory proved to be the Keydets' only road win of the 2016-17 campaign as they hold a 1-11 mark when playing away from Cameron Hall this season.
 
Preseason All-SoCon Team member QJ Peterson scored 40 points in just 38 minutes, leading VMI past Chattanooga. The victory was VMI's first win at UTC's McKenzie Arena and first against the Mocs in any Chattanooga venue since 1979, as the Keydets broke a 20-game road losing streak against UTC.
 
It was the first 11:30 of the second half that turned the game around, as VMI turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 14-point lead with 9:34 to play by outscoring UTC 28-12 over that time period.
 
Peterson finished with 28 second-half points, tying his own mark for the second most points in a half in Keydet program history. He also became just the second VMI player ever to score 40 or more points in a game on multiple occasions, joining Reggie Williams, who accomplished the feat seven times during the ultra-fast pace VMI offense of the previous decade.
 
Peterson hit 15 of 19 from the field including seven 3-pointers in nine tries. VMI shot 77.3 percent from the floor in the second half connecting on 17 of 22 shots.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. VMI
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will be squaring off against VMI for only the eighth time in school history. Samford currently leads the all-time series, 5-2, and earned a 2-1 record against the Keydets last season.
 
In 2015-16, both teams won at home in the season series, while the Bulldogs later knocked VMI out of the SoCon Tournament, 92-85, in overtime on March 4. Samford's two victories over the Keydets last year occurred in a three-game, 12-day span from Feb. 20 to March 4.

 

#COACHESVSCANCER TOUCHES HOME THIS SEASON
Samford's Justin Coleman has a younger brother named Glenn Hardy, who is currently battling cancer. Hardy is only three years old, but constantly possesses a positive attitude and loves to attend the Bulldogs' home basketball games.
 

This year, for the annual #CoachesVsCancer week, Samford's coaching staff is wearing special tennis shoes and gold laces with the name GLENN HARDY written down the laces.
 
BULLDOGS SEE GENERATIONAL SCORING VS. COLONELS
Marking the most points scored in a Bulldog basketball game in over 40 years, Nicholls State rallied back from a 19-point second-half deficit to upend Samford, 106-103 (2OT), in the final matchup of the 2016 San Diego Classic on Nov. 27.
 
The combined 209 points scored proved to be the most in a Samford game since Feb. 21, 1976, when the Bulldogs dropped a 118-97 decision on the road at Denver. It also marked the most points scored in a Samford home game since March 3, 1975, when the Bulldogs held off Georgia Southern, 110-107, in regulation.
 
3D'S HISTORIC GAME
The Bulldogs' Demetrius Denzel-Dyson (3D) 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 was ranked as the seventh highest scoring output in the nation this season.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's key road test at VMI, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a two-game homestand against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a league contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
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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