GAME NOTES: Samford (2-2) @ Troy (3-3) (PDF)
Complete gameday release in PDF format 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team continues its four game road swing on Wednesday, Dec. 16, as the Bulldogs (2-2) travel to Troy, Ala., to face the Trojans (3-3) of Troy. Tipoff is set for 6 PM at Trojan Arena. Complete coverage will be available on ESPN+.

Wednesday's showdown with the Trojans is the 37th on the hardwood between the schools. The series is tied 18-18 after last season's 72-60 victory in Birmingham.  

The Bulldogs are coming off a 79-75 loss at Georgia on Saturday despite a career-high 29 points from Myron Gordon. 

Troy clipped Central Baptist College 61-44 this past Sunday behind 13 points and six rebounds from Zay Williams.

The game will feature vastly differing styles of play, as the Bulldogs are averaging 86.3 points per game in a frenetic 40 minutes of pressure basketball. The Trojans enter the contest averaging 56.7 points and are shooting 34.4 percent from the floor.

Zay Williams (12.2 ppg) and Kam Woods (11.0 ppg) lead the Trojans offensive attack while Myron Gordon (22.7 ppg) and Christian Guess (15.3 ppg/9.3 rbg) are pacing Samford.
 

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GORDON OFF TO PRODIGIOUS START: Myron Gordon, a 6-3 senior guard, is off to a phenomenal start, leading the Southern Conference in scoring and ranks 16th nationally at 22.7 points per game. The Bordentown, N.J., native, scored a career-high 29 points at Georgia on Saturday after turning in a game-high 23 points in Samford's 96-83 win at Belmont.   

BULLDOG BITES

• Samford enters this week's game at Troy receiving votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• Senior guard Myron Gordon turned his best performance of 2020-21, scoring 29 points with three rebounds and three assists on Saturday at Georgia. The Bordentown, N.J., native is leading the team in scoring, averaging 22.7 ppg.
• Christian Guess , a 6-6 junior transfer guard, currently ranks 16th in the SoCon in scoring at 15.3 points per game and 4th in rebounding (9.3). The Cleveland, Ohio, native, has scored in double figures in every game this season, including a double-double at Georgia with 14 points and 10 rebounds. His 22 points and 10 rebounds versus Alabama A&M established career-highs at Samford.
• Junior forward Logan Dye, a 6-8 forward from Haleyville, Ala., enters the week averaging 12.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He currently ranks 26th in the SoCon in points per game. 
• Senior center Jacob Tryon , who is averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, 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 Wednesday's match-up at Troy averaging 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He tied his career-high with 15 points at Belmont.
• Senior point guard Richardson Maitre , a 6-3 transfer from Florida Atlantic, leads Samford in assists with 16, averaging 4.0 per contest, which ranks 5th in the SoCon. 
• Triston Chambers, a 6-2 senior guard from Cold Water, Ala., scored nine points at Georgia on Saturday after going 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Chambers, who is averaging 6.0 points per game, is shooting 46.7 percent from 3-point range this season to rank 7th in the Southern Conference.
• Freshman Jaron Rillie enters this week's games at Troy and Kennesaw State averaging 2.5 assists per game.
• Samford has been strong this season out of the gate, outscoring the opposition 184-135 in the first half.
• The Bulldogs are holding opponents to 41.4 percent shooting from the floor, including a mere 29.0 percent from 3-point range.
• Samford plays by the motto "Hard Working, Unselfish, Fearless" and this season the Bulldogs are using those words to define their frenetic style of play. SU is averaging 17.0 assists per game while forcing the opposition into 14.3 turnovers per game.
• Samford is set to conclude its four-game road swing with a pair of contests this week, including Wednesday's clash at Troy and a Saturday match-up at Kennesaw State. The Bulldogs, who are 1-1 on the road this season, will return to the Pete Hanna Center to face Belhaven on Dec. 21.    

SCORING IN BUNCHES: The Bulldogs are averaging 86.3 points per game, ranking third in the Southern Conference. Samford has topped the 90-point plateau in tow of its last three games, scoring 98 versus Covenant and 96 at Belmont. Through four games, the Bulldogs rank 39th in NCAA DI in points per game. 

NON-STARTERS PROVIDING BIG LIFT: Samford's success this season has been fueled by the offensive production of its non-starters, who have outscored the opposition 218-66. In a 98-73 win over Covenant, the Bulldogs bench outscored the Scots, 48-21, and in a 96-83 win at Belmont, SU held a dominating 64-4 edge in bench scoring. In Saturday's heartbreaking loss at Georgia, the Bulldogs bench outscored UGA 44-19.

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.