GAME NOTES: Samford (2-1) at Georgia (4-0) 
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team continues its four game road swing on Saturday, Dec. 12, as the Bulldogs (2-1) travel to Athens, Ga., to face the Bulldogs (4-0) of Georgia. Tipoff is set for 7 PM ET at Stegeman Coliseum. Complete coverage will be available on SEC Network+.

Saturday's matchup in Athens, Ga., will be the second battle between the Bulldogs, as Georgia hosts Samford at Stegeman Coliseum. UGA edged Samford, 61-55, on Nov. 26, 2001 in the only previous meeting between the schools. Samford placed three players in double-figures in that game. Cornell Felton led the visiting Bulldogs with 15 points, 12 in the first half.

Both teams enter Saturday's game on a roll. Georgia (4-0)claimed a 63-50 win over Montana on Tuesday while Samford is coming off a thrilling 96-83 win at Belmont.

The Bulldogs are averaging 90.0 points per game, ranking second in the Southern Conference. Samford has topped the 90-point plateau in each of its last two games.
 

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SoCON NAMES GORDON PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Myron Gordon, who led Samford with 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-83 upset win at Belmont, has been named the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week. The senior from Bordentown, N.J., was 7-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line down the stretch to lift the Bulldogs to their first victory at Belmont since 1999. 

GORDON & COMPANY DOWN BELMONT 96-83: The Samford men's basketball team went on the road for the first time this season and came home with a huge 96-83 win over the Belmont Bruins Saturday evening at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. The win was Samford's first victory at Belmont since Dec. 11, 1999. The Bulldogs improve to 2-1 with the win, while the Bruins fall to 3-1 with the loss. The loss for Belmont marked the Bruins' first non-conference home loss in 1,104 days.

Myron Gordon led Samford with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Jacob Tryon had 16 points and seven rebounds. A.J. Staton-McCray added 15 points and six rebounds, while Christian Guess contributed 13 points and nine rebounds. Logan Dye added 11 points for the Bulldogs. As a team, Samford shot 52.5 percent overall and 46.7 percent from three-point range. The Samford defense held Belmont to just 34.4 percent overall and 24.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Luke Smith led Belmont with 24 points in the game.

GEORGIA TO HOST SAMFORD ON SATURDAY: Saturday's matchup in Athens, Ga., will be a battle between the Bulldogs, as Georgia hosts Samford at Stegeman Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 PM. Georgia edged Samford, 61-55, on Nov. 26, 2001 in the only previous meeting between the schools. Samford placed three players in double-figures in that game. Cornell Felton led the visiting Bulldogs with 15 points, 12 in the first half. 

AGAINST THE SEC: Samford enters Saturday's game at Georgia with a 14-107 record against teams from the Southeastern Conference.  

SCORING IN DROVES: The Bulldogs are averaging 90.0 points per game, ranking second in the Southern Conference. Samford has topped the 90-point plateau in each of its last two games, scoring 98 versus Covenant and 96 at Belmont.

NON-STARTERS PROVIDING BIG LIFT: Samford's success this season, including its two game win streak, has been fueled by the offensive production of its non-starters, who have outscored the opposition 174-47. In a 98-73 win over Covenant, the Bulldogs bench outscored the Scots, 48-21, and in last Saturday's 96-83 win at Belmont, SU held a dominating 64-4 edge in bench scoring. 

BULLDOG BITES

• Samford enters this week's game at Georgia receiving votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• Senior guard Myron Gordon turned his best performance of 2020-21, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in last week's win at Belmont. The Bordentown, N.J., native is leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game.  
• Senior center Jacob Tryon scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his second start for the Bulldogs in a 98-73 win over Covenant. The Portland transfer chipped in 16 points and cleared seven rebounds at Belmont.  
• A.J. Staton-McCray , a 6-5 freshman guard from Charlotte, N.C., enters Saturday's matchup at Georgia averaging 11.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He tied his career-high with 15 points in last week's win at Belmont.
• Christian Guess , a 6-6 junior transfer guard, currently ranks seventh in the SoCon in scoring at 15.7 points per game and third in rebounding (9.0). The Cleveland, Ohio, native, has scored in double figures in every game this season, including 22 points and 10 rebounds versus Alabama A&M.
• Senior point guard Richardson Maitre , a 6-3 transfer from Florida Atlantic, leads Samford in assists with 11, averaging 3.7 per contest. 
• Junior forward Logan Dye scored a career-high 21 points versus the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M in the season-opener. The Haleyville, Ala., native, followed up that performance with 14 points and six rebounds against Covenant, and 11 points at Belmont. He is averaging 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
• Samford enters Saturday's game at Georgia averaging 43.3 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs currently rank second in the SoCon in rebounds per game. 
• One of the hallmarks of #BuckyBall is points in the paint. In Saturday's win over the Bruins, Samford outscored Belmont 32-22 in the lane.  

BULLDOGS CONTINUE ROAD SWING: Saturday's game at Georgia continues a four game road stretch for coach Bucky McMillan and the Bulldogs. Samford will travel to Troy (Dec. 16) and Kennesaw State (Dec. 19) before returning to the Pete Hanna Center to face Belhaven on Dec. 21.  

SAMFORD PLAYING ITS 103RD SEASON: The Bulldogs are playing their 103rd season in Samford University Men's Basketball history. Samford has won 1,127 games in its previous 102 seasons, including 602 as an NCAA Division I institution.

BUCKYBALL COMES TO SAMFORD: Arguably one of the nation's most distinct brands of basketball, #BuckyBall, has come to Samford with new head coach Bucky McMillan. The former standout at Birmingham Southern won 332 games and five Alabama state championships in 13 seasons as head coach at Mountain Brook High School. The up-tempo, in your face style of play became a staple in Birmingham, as MBHS transformed into a national power. McMillan has been named "Coach of the Year" 12 times in his career, including 2019 USA Today National Coach of the Year.

BULLDOGS PICKED 8TH IN PRESEASON POLL: With the start of the 2020-21 season in less than two weeks, the Samford Bulldogs were picked to finish 8th in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll. UNC-Greensboro, which received 76 votes, narrowly edged Furman as the league's preseason favorite. The 2020-21 SoCon Preseason Poll was voted on by the league's head coaches.