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SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will begin play in a critical three-game Southern Conference road trip Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to face the Wofford Terriers in a key league showdown to be held at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
 
The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and aired locally on the radio at 99.1 FM as Blake Gardner, the Voice of the Bulldogs, calls the action.
 
Samford (15-9, 6-5 SoCon) heads into Thursday's game with hopes of bouncing back from a hard-fought 81-75 loss to UNCG on Saturday. The Bulldogs have been victorious in two of their last three games and boast an 8-4 record on the road this season.
 
In SoCon play, Samford boasts a 4-1 away record this year with the Bulldogs' lone loss coming at Chattanooga on Jan. 21, 82-78.
 
Following Thursday's game at Wofford, Samford will then face back-to-back road tests at Furman (Saturday) and at ETSU (Feb. 11).
 

QUICK HITTERS
-- Samford boasts four players averaging double figures in scoring this season in Demetrius Denzel-Dyson (15.1), Wyatt Walker (12.8), Alex Thompson (11.1) and Christen Cunningham (10.5).
 
-- In SoCon games this year, Samford is averaging 78.2 points per game, shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from 3-point range.
 
-- On Saturday, Samford's Cunningham tallied four assists and set the school's single-season record with 152.
 
-- On Jan. 2, Samford freshman Josh Sharkey set a school record with seven steals at Western Carolina.
 
BULLDOGS BOASTING A WELL-BALANCED ATTACK
Since Dec. 20, five Samford players are averaging at least 9.9 points per game, while as a team, the Bulldogs are scoring 79.8 points per contest in its last 13 outings. Below please find a chart that lists Samford's scoring in its last 13 games as the team has gone 8-5 during the stretch.
               
PLAYER . . . . . PPG
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson . . . . . 15.7
Wyatt Walker . . . . . 12.8
Alex Thompson . . . . . 10.5
Christen Cunningham . . . . . 10.2
Josh Sharkey . . . . . 9.9
 

MARK IT DOWN IN INK - - SAMFORD'S STARTING FIVE
The Bulldogs have used the same starting five in all 24 games this season. Samford head coach Scott Padgett has opened every contest this year with the identical starting lineup comprised of Cunningham, Triston Chambers, Denzel-Dyson, Thompson and Walker.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Wofford (12-13, 7-5 SoCon) enters Thursday's matchup riding the positive momentum of a three-game winning streak. Since being upset on the road at Western Carolina, 68-62, on Jan. 28, the Terriers have rattled off consecutive victories against The Citadel, 100-90, Mercer, 65-62, and ETSU, 79-76.
 
Wofford has proven to be nearly unbeatable at home this season. The Terriers own a 9-1 record when playing in Benjamin Johnson Arena and are 5-1 in home conference games. Wofford's lone home loss of the season occurred Jan. 2, in an overtime setback against The Citadel, 104-103.
 
The Terriers boast four players averaging double figures in scoring this season in Fletcher Magee (17.4), Eric Garcia (14.6), Cameron Jackson (11.4) and Ryan Sawvell (10.1). As a team, Wofford is scoring 78.2 points per outing.
 
Sawvell and Jackson are the Terriers' top two rebounders this season with averages of 6.0 and 5.2, respectively.
 
Point guard Eric Garcia, who is shooting a sizzling 93.3 percent (98-of-105) from the free-throw line this season, is also ranked sixth in the nation in total assists with 160. He leads the conference in the category.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. WOFFORD
On Thursday, the Bulldogs will square off against Wofford for the 18th time in school history. The Terriers currently own a 12-5 advantage in the all-time series, but Samford earned a thrilling 91-89 overtime victory against Wofford at home on Jan. 8.
 
The Bulldogs have not been triumphant on the road versus the Terriers since Feb. 4, 2012, when Samford rallied for a 66-61 overtime victory. Last season, the Bulldogs came up short in a heartbreaking 69-64 loss at Wofford.
 

-- Samford's Walker is averaging a double-double this season with 12.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He has already tallied 17 double-doubles in his young, up-and-coming career.
 
-- Samford is ranked No. 16 in the nation in free throws made this season with a total of 445.
 
-- 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 pg.
 
-- Already this year, Cunningham has registered a school-record 152 assists at a break-neck pace of 6.3 assists per contest. On Saturday against UNCG, Cunningham handed out four assists and eclipsed the previous school record of 151, which was achieved by Raijon Kelly in 2012-13.
 
-- Since the beginning of last season, the Bulldogs have tallied a 16-3 record when scoring 80 points or more. On Feb. 2, Samford cruised to an 82-63 home victory against Western Carolina.
 
WINTER IS COMING: WYATT WALKER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs' Walker heads into Thursday's game ranked 14th in the nation with 13 double-doubles this season. Walker, Samford's hard-nosed 6-foot-9 center is also ranked 19th in the country in total rebounds (241), 22nd in rebounds per game (10.0) and 23rd in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.2).
 
DROPPING DIMES: SAMFORD'S CUNNINGHAM IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Cunningham, the Bulldogs' junior point guard from Georgetown, Kentucky, is ranked ninth in the nation in assists (152), 11^th in assists per game (6.3) and 24^th in assist/turnover ratio (2.9).
 

SHARK ATTACK: BULLDOGS' SHARKEY IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Samford true freshman Josh Sharkey has already tallied 55 steals this season and is ranked No. 12 in the nation in total steals. Sharkey, the Bulldogs' feisty native of Philadelphia, is ranked even higher in the country in steals per game at No. 11 (2.3).
 
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.
 
Even better, on Feb. 4 against UNCG, Cunningham handed out four assists and set Samford's single-season record with a total of 152. He eclipsed the previous school record of 151, which was achieved by Raijon Kelly in 2012-13.
 
KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE
Heading into Thursday's SoCon road game against Wofford, the Bulldogs boast four players shooting at least 40.0 percent from 3-point range this season, including Denzel-Dyson, who is shooting a sizzling 48.2 percent from beyond the arc.
 
As a team, Samford is ranked No. 25 in the country in 3-point shooting at 39.5 percent. Along with Denzel-Dyson's remarkable 3-point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs' Chambers owns a 44.5 mark, while Thompson is shooting 41.1 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.
 

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. He currently owns 1,056 points in his career and is ranked No. 22 on the school's all-time list.
 
SCORING IS KEY
Since the beginning of last season, Samford has registered a 16-3 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 Feb. 2, Samford cruised to an 82-63 SoCon home victory against Western Carolina held at the Pete Hanna Center. So far this season, Samford owns a 10-2 record when scoring at least 80 points.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Thursday's huge road test at Wofford, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their weekend road trip against the Furman Paladins in a late-season SoCon showdown to be held at Timmons Arena.
 
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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