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LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The Samford University basketball team will continue its run in the 2017 College Insider.com Postseason Tournament on Monday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Liberty Flames in a highly-anticipated, second-round matchup to be held at the Vines Center.
 
The contest will be broadcast worldwide via Facebook Live as Matt Warner calls the play-by-play action and Paul Nazigian serves as analyst.
 
Samford (20-15) heads into the second round of the CIT with some positive momentum after the Bulldogs defeated Canisius on Tuesday to win its first postseason game in school history.
 
With the victory, Samford also reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2005-06 and notched its fifth 20-win posting in 44 years as a Division I athletic department.
 
The Bulldogs will be playing their first true road game of the season since Feb. 27, when they suffered a 79-88 Southern Conference setback against Mercer.
 
Samford is 8-8 this season when playing on an opponent's home court, but has lost four straight.
 
QUICK HITTERS
-- With its win over Canisius on Tuesday, Samford reached the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in school history, which dates back to 1901. It was also the Bulldogs' fifth time since moving to D-I in 1972-73.
 
-- Samford's Christen Cunningham owns the school's single-season record in assists this year with 220.
 
-- Already this year, the Bulldogs' true freshman point guard Josh Sharkey has set the school's single-season record in steals with 71.
 
-- On Jan. 2, Samford's Sharkey set Samford's all-time, single-season record with seven steals at Western Carolina.
 
SAMFORD BREAKS 56-YEAR-OLD RECORD
Samford is ranked No. 6 in the nation in free throws made this season with a total of 628. The mark cruised past the Bulldogs' previous record of 564, which was achieved 56 years ago in the 1960-61 campaign.
 
SAMFORD'S WALKER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs' Wyatt Walker is currently ranked 18th in the nation with 16 double-doubles this season. Walker, Samford's hard-nosed 6-foot-9 center is also ranked 25th in the country in rebounds per game (9.6), 22nd in total rebounds (318) and 34th in the nation in defensive rebounds per outing (6.7).
 
PADGETT HITS CENTURY MARK
Samford's Scott Padgett made school history Tuesday in his 100th career game as the Bulldogs' head coach. Samford won its opening game of the 2017 College Insider.com Postseason Tournament at home against Canisius, 78-74, and notched the school's first postseason victory of all-time.
 
Padgett, who is in the midst of his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs, has coached in a total of 100 games in his career and boasts a record of 47-53 as Samford's head coach.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Liberty (20-13) will be hosting its second straight game in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) as they welcome Samford to the Vines Center on Monday at 6 p.m. (CT).
 
The Flames are coming off a first-round win over Norfolk State, 73-64, on March 13. With the victory, Liberty notched its first 20-win season since 2008-09 when the Flames went 23-12.
 
Ryan Kemrite joined the 800-point club against Longwood as he now sits in 30th place on Liberty's all-time scoring list with 812 career points.
 
For the first time in school history, Liberty won 14 games in the Big South.
 
Out of 347 teams in the nation, the Flames rank No. 19 in scoring defense (63.1 ppg). In conference play, Liberty has had eight games decided by seven points or less. In those games, two of them were against Radford.
 
For the third time in school history Liberty avoided back-to-back losses in the Big South.
 
In the Big South Preseason Coaches' Poll, Liberty was picked to finish second in the conference, while Samford was picked seventh in the SoCon.
 
Samford will be the eighth team Liberty has played this year that has won 20 games.
 
Liberty last played in the CIT in 2008-09 when the Flames defeated Rider in the first round and lost to James Madison in the quarterfinals. Under Head Coach Ritchie McKay the past two seasons, Liberty is 20-4 when holding its opponents to 62 points or fewer.
 
Liberty ranks No. 20 in scoring defense (63.1 ppg) and is ranked first in the Big South. In the Flame's five losses at home (VCU, Furman, Princeton, UNC Asheville and Winthrop), each team has sat in first place or has been tied for first place in their conference this season.
 
Kemrite moved into a tie for 27th place on Liberty's all-time scoring list with 842 career points. Liberty has made 302 three pointers, which ranks no. 33 in Division I.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. LIBERTY
On Monday, Samford will be squaring off against the Liberty Flames for the fifth time in school history. The Bulldogs own a decisive 4-0 record in the all-time series, but the schools have not faced each other since Jan. 7, 1991, when Samford won, 62-61.
 
The Flames notched a third place in the Big South, which tied for the highest finish under Head Coach Ritchie McKay. Liberty finished third in 2008-09. McKay is 2-1 all-time at Liberty in postseason tournaments. The Flames returned to the postseason for the first time since making the NCAA Tournament during the 2010-11 season.
 
DID YOU KNOW??
1) Samford's Josh Sharkey is first cousins with 10-year NBA veteran and collegiate standout at St. Joe's Jameer Nelson.
 
2) Liberty's McKay coached Padgett with USA Basketball before his senior year at Kentucky in 1997. That year, the USA won the Gold medal in Sicily.
 
SAMFORD SHATTERS FOUR ALL-TIME RECORDS
Already this season, Samford has set four all-time school records in the following statistical categories:  points scored, field-goal attempts, free throws and assists. The Bulldogs have scored a school-record 2,776 points this season and shattered the previous record of 2,335, which was set during the 1970-71 campaign.
 
Additionally, Samford has already totaled 1,996 field-goal attempts this year; a mark that is 12 attempts more than the previous all-time record of 1,984 that was set in the 1969-70 season.
 
The Bulldogs have also set single-season team records in both free throws (628) and assist (571). Samford's current totals have well surpassed the school's previous records of 564 and 543, respectively.
 
BULLDOG BITES
-- Against Chattanooga on Feb. 22, Samford's Cunningham handed out three assists and became the Bulldogs' all-time career leader in the category with 434. Cunningham, who is only a junior, achieved the feat in less than three full seasons and surpassed the previous school record of 433 assists, which was set by Jerry Smith in 2007. Cunningham now boasts 473 career assists.
 
-- On March 1, Samford's Demetrius Denzel-Dyson and Walker were both named Third-Team All-SoCon performers. Triston Chambers and Sharkey were named to the All-Freshman Team.
 
-- Samford is ranked No. 6 in the nation in free throws made this season with a total of 628. The mark set a school record this year and broke Samford's previous record of 564, which was achieved 56 years ago in the 1960-61 campaign.
 
-- The Bulldogs' heart-wrenching 131-127 (4OT) loss at Wofford on Feb. 9, turned out to be the longest game in Samford history. The Bulldogs' 127 points proved to be the second highest total in the 115 years of Samford hoops, trailing only a 131-point outing vs. Miss. College on Feb. 22, 1971.
 
-- Samford's Cunningham is the only player in school history to record three straight 125-assist seasons. He finished 2015-16 with 128 assists and an average of 3.9 per game.
 
-- Already this year, Cunningham has registered a school-record 220 assists at a break-neck pace of 6.3 assists per contest. On Feb. 4 against UNCG, Cunningham handed out four assists to reach 152 and eclipsed the previous school record of 151, which was achieved by Raijon Kelly in 2012-13.
 
DROPPING DIMES
Cunningham, the Bulldogs' junior point guard from Georgetown, Kentucky, is ranked fifth in the nation in assists (220), 11th in assists per game (6.3) and 18th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (2.9).
 
Additionally, Cunningham recently became Samford's all-time career leader in assists and currently owns a school-record total of 473.
 
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 Feb. 4 against UNCG, Cunningham registered 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 Monday's CIT second-round matchup against Eastern Michigan, 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 46.6 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, Samford is ranked No. 16 in the country in 3-point shooting at 39.9 percent.
 
Along with Denzel-Dyson's remarkable 3-point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs' Chambers owns a 41.5 mark, while Alex Thompson is shooting 41.0 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.
 
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.
 
Past CIT Champions
 
2016 – Columbia
2015 – Evansville
2014 – Murray State
2013 – East Carolina
2012 – Mercer
2011 – Santa Clara
2010 – Missouri State
2009 – Old Dominion

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