Video (ESPN3)  |  Radio (99.1 FM The Game)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Game Notes

MACON, Ga. -- The Samford University basketball team will battle for a first-round bye in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament on Monday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs travel to face the Mercer Bears in a critical league showdown to be held at Hawkins Arena. The winner will secure the No. 6 seed in the SoCon Tournament and earn an all-important, first-round bye.
 
Samford (17-13, 8-9 SoCon) heads into Monday's regular-season finale looking to shake off a disappointing home loss to The Citadel on Saturday, 102-96. The Bulldogs never trailed The Citadel in the first half of action, and took a five-point lead into the locker room, 47-42, but a 20-7 run by the Cadets in the middle of the second half proved to be too much to overcome.
 
Samford ended the home portion of its schedule with a 9-6 record at the Pete Hanna Center, including a 4-5 mark against conference opponents.
 
The Bulldogs own an 8-7 record in road games this season and are 4-4 in SoCon play.
 
Mercer (14-16, 8-9 SoCon) enters Monday's showdown having won three of its last five games. Since Feb. 4, the Bears have tallied wins over VMI, 81-51, The Citadel, 89-78, and Chattanooga, 64-54. Mercer's losses during the same stretch have come against ETSU, 88-71, and UNCG, 72-66.
 
In their last outing, the Bears scored 47 points in the second half alone to defeat Chattanooga on the road Saturday.
 
Mercer owns a 7-7 record at home this season.
 
SAMFORD vs. MERCER - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
On Monday, the Bulldogs will square off against Mercer for the 110th time in school history. The Bears currently own a 63-46 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, Alabama, and dropped an 85-70 decision held in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak against the Bears and has not been victorious in the series since a 69-60 road victory on Nov. 29, 2001.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TEAMS
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs lost at home to Mercer, 68-65, on Jan. 11. Samford led for a majority of the contest and held a six-point advantage, 31-25, with 2:05 remaining in the first half. Mercer closed out the opening period with a pair of free throws from Rashad Lewis and a 3-pointer from Stephon Jelks.
 
The Bulldogs took a 31-30 advantage into the locker room, but Mercer started the second frame with five straight points and started to regain a bit of momentum.
 
Down the stretch, the teams continued to trade leads until the 3:09 mark when the Bears' Ria'n Holland connected on a 3-point basket to give Mercer a 64-59 advantage.
 
Samford battled back in the final minutes with a pair of free throws from Demetrius Denzel-Dyson, an acrobatic layup from Josh Sharkey and two more free throws from Wyatt Walker to trim the Bears' advantage to 66-65 with six seconds remaining.
 
On Mercer's final possession, Lewis connected on two free throws, but the Bulldogs took control of the ball with five seconds and the score 68-65.
 
Christen Cunningham, Samford's junior point guard put up the possible game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it rimmed out to the left and the Bears hung on for the three-point win.
 
The key stat of the game was the fact that Mercer outrebounded Samford, 43-30.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT
Following Monday's regular-season finale at Mercer, the Samford University basketball team will head to Asheville, North Carolina, to compete in the 2017 SoCon Tournament, which will be held March 3-6 (Friday-Monday) at the U.S. Cellular 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.

Video (ESPN3)  |  Radio (99.1 FM The Game)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Game Notes