GAME NOTES: Samford (5-3, 1-0 SoCON) @ Wofford (4-3, 1-0 SoCON) (PDF)
Complete game release with stats, notes, and rankings in PDF format

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In a series that dates back to the 1923-24 season, the Bulldogs (5-3, 1-0 SoCON) of Samford and the Terriers (4-3, 1-0 SoCON) of Wofford will meet for the 25th time on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 7 PM in Spartanburg, S.C. at Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Terriers lead the all-time series standings 19-5, including seven wins in a row.

The Terriers defeated Mercer, 78-65, in the SoCON opener for both clubs on Dec. 28, 2020 in Macon, Ga. Storm Murphy led Wofford with 16 points while Ross Cummings led Mercer and all scorers with 21 points. 

Wofford swept the series in 2019-20, claiming a 67-62 victory at the Pete Hanna Center on Jan. 8, 2020 and an 80-56 win at home on Feb. 1, 2020. 

Samford's last win against Wofford came on Jan. 8, 2017, a 91-89 decision at the Pete Hanna Center. Wyatt Walker (25) and Alex Thompson (20) both topped 20 points in the win. 

The Samford men's basketball team opened Southern Conference play with an 84-71 win over VMI Wednesday night in the Pete Hanna Center. With the win, Samford improves to 5-3 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play. VMI falls to 5-5 overall and 0-1 in league contests. A.J. Staton-McCray led Samford with 15 points and six rebounds. Preston Parks also scored a career-high 15 points for the Bulldogs. Richardson Maitre and Myron Gordon added 14 points each for Samford.
 

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SAMFORD 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. A complete breakdown of the poll and All-SoCon team is below. 

SoCON Preseason Coaches Poll:

1. UNCG (4) 76
2. Furman (5) 74 
3. ETSU (1) 63
4. Mercer 56 
5. Wofford 47
6. Western Carolina 44 
7. Chattanooga 38
8. Samford 23 
9. VMI 15
10. The Citadel 14

BULLDOG BITES:

• Samford enters Saturday's game at Wofford averaging 87.3 points per game, ranking second in the SoCon. 
• The Bulldogs have also remained solid defensively, holding opponents to 39.6 percent shooting from the field, ranking third overall in the SoCon. SU is also allowing a mere 28.6 percent from 3-point range. 
• Jalen Dupree, a 6-8 senior forward from Cordova, Tenn., made his 2020-21 debut in Samford's 133-84 win over Belhaven on Dec. 21, 2020. Dupree played 14 minutes while finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. In 2019-20, Dupree played in all 33 games, averaging 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. 
• Senior guard Myron Gordon turned in his best performance of 2020-21, scoring 29 points with three rebounds and three assists at Georgia. The Bordentown, N.J., native is leading the team in scoring, averaging 17.7 ppg. He is fourth in the league in scoring entering the week.
• A.J. Staton-McCray, a 6-5 freshman from Charlotte, N.C., scored a career-high 23 points, making 7-of-8 shots from the floor and 5-of-6 from three-point range, in Samford's 133-84 win over Belhaven. McCray is averaging 11.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs.
• Triston Chambers has increased his production of late, scoring a season-high 21 points versus Belhaven. The Coldwater, Ala., native, is averaging 7.3 points per game and leads the Bulldogs with 16 made 3-pointers.
• Junior forward Logan Dye, a 6-8 forward from Haleyville, Ala., is averaging 10.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game coming into the week. He scored a career-high 21 points in the season-opener versus Alabama A&M.   
• Senior center Jacob Tryon , who is averaging 7.8 points and 5.4 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.  
• Senior point guard Richardson Maitre , a 6-3 transfer from Florida Atlantic, leads Samford in assists with 29, averaging 3.6 per contest.
• Freshman point guard Jaron Rillie is coming on of late, ranking second on the team with 21 assists. 
• Senior Preston Parks enters this week's games averaging 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. The Greenville, S.C., native, scored a career-high 15 versus VMI on Wednesday.

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 390-112. 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. In Saturday's win at Kennesaw State, the Bulldog bench dominated the scoring, 37-7. SU had it's largest bench scoring margin of the season, 94-21, in a 133-84 win over Belhaven on Dec. 21, 2020.

SAMFORD PLAYING ITS 103RD SEASON: The Bulldogs are playing their 103rd season in Samford University Men's Basketball history. Samford has won 1,129 games in its previous 102 seasons, including 604 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.

SoCON CELEBRATING 100 YEARS IN 2021: One of the oldest conferences in college athletics, the Southern Conference will celebrate a century of athletic and academic achievement in 2021 with a variety of initiatives throughout the year. Throughout the 2021 calendar year, the SoCon will celebrate the milestone in a multitude of ways. The most notable and ubiquitous will be a new logo created for the anniversary, which incorporates the well-established mark the league has used since 2000.