GAME NOTES: Samford (No. 10) vs. Mercer (No.7)
Complete game notes release with notes, stats & more in PDF format

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Bulldogs (6-12, 2-9 SoCon) of Samford University earned the No. 10 seed at the Southern Conference Tournament and will open up with No. 7 seed Mercer (15-10, 8-9 SoCon) on Friday, March 5 at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. Tipoff is set for 7 PM CST. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Samford and Mercer are meeting for the third time this season and the 119th overall. The Bears hold a 72-46 edge in the series standings after defeating the Bulldogs in back-to-back overtime thrillers, 89-82, in Macon, Ga., on Feb. 8 and 77-70 on Feb. 10 in Birmingham. Friday's game is the first meeting between the two clubs in SoCon Tournament play.

The Bulldogs are 7-12 in Southern Conference Tournament games and have faced eight different schools in the annual postseason clash.

Freshman point guard Jaron Rillie has started the last five games for the Bulldogs, averaging 10.8 points and 4.0 assists during this stretch. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native,  scored a career-high 18 points at Mercer on Feb. 8. 

A.J. Staton-McCray, a 6-5 freshman from Charlotte, N.C., continues to be one of the most productive newcomers in the SoCon, averaging 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds. 

Samford enters the SoCon Tournament averaging 77.8 points per game, ranking fourth overall. The Bulldogs haven't seen the floor since Feb. 17 at Furman.


SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• Freshman point guard Jaron Rillie has started the last five games for the Bulldogs, averaging 10.8 points and 4.0 assists during this stretch. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native,  scored a career-high 18 points at Mercer on Feb. 8, while dishing out a career best seven assists twice. Rillie scored 11 points and handed out four assists at Furman. He is averaging 5.3 points and 2.8 assists per game.
• A.J. Staton-McCray, a 6-5 freshman from Charlotte, N.C., continues to be one of the most productive newcomers in the SoCon, averaging 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. He 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.  
• Junior forward Logan Dye, a 6-8 forward from Haleyville, Ala., is averaging 9.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game coming into the SoCon Tournament. He scored a career-high 21 points in the season-opener versus Alabama A&M and turned in a team-high 15 points and five rebounds at Furman. 
• Sharp-shooting guard Triston Chambers has topped the 600 career point plateau this year with 637. The sharp-shooting guard is second on the team with 23 made 3-pointers. The Cold Springs, Ala., native, is averaging 5.3 points per game. He posted a season-best 21 points earlier this year versus Belhaven.   
• Richardson Maitre a 6-3 senior point guard from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has started all 13 games for the Bulldogs since transferring from Florida Atlantic. The speedy guard is averaging 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for Samford. Maitre had 12 points and three assists in SU's last outing versus UNCG.
• Senior Preston Parks , who scored a career best 17 points with four rebounds at Mercer on Feb. 8, started the season a little slowly, but has turned it on of late. The Greenville, S.C., native, scored 13 points at Wofford after a then career-high 15 versus VMI. He is averaging 7.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. After his eight point performance versus UNCG, Parks topped the 1,000 career point plateau across his time at The Citadel, Tennessee-Martin and Samford. Parks delivered seven points, three rebounds and two assists in his last start at Furman.  
• Jacob Tryon, a 6-11 senior center from Temecula, Calif., is averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. Tryon had eight points and a pair of boards in Monday's showdown with Mercer.
• Marcellus Vail, a 6-2 freshman from Shelbyville, Ky., scored a career-high eight points in a 77-70 overtime loss to Mercer.He has played in 14 games for the Bulldogs, making eight starts. A tremendous on-ball defender, Vail has forced seven steals and routinely finds himself guarding the opposition's leading scorer. He is averaging 1.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game this season for the Bulldogs.
• Jalen Dupree, a 6-8 senior forward from Cordova, Tenn., has battled injuries all season while appearing in 11 games for the Bulldogs. The former Murray State transfer is averaging 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He scored 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds combined in back-to-back games versus Mercer in February.  
• Samford enters Friday's contest with Mercer averaging 77.8 points per game, ranking fourh overall in the SoCon.
• The Bulldogs are holding opponents to 43.6 percent from the field. Samford currently ranks fifth in FG percentage defense in the SoCon.
• Samford has been tenacious on the glass this season, averaging 39.6 rebounds per game, ranking No. 2 in the SoCon.
• The Bulldogs have forced the opposition into 14.6 turnovers per game entering Friday's clash with Mercer.
• Samford has dealt with several COVID related issues throughout the last four weeks, forcing the postponement or cancelation of seven games. 
• The Bulldogs are sharing the wealth, averaging g 15.3 assists per game to rank fifth in the league. 
• Samford's success this season has been fueled by the offensive production of its non-starters, who have outscored the opposition 634-296. 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 a heartbreaking loss at Georgia, the Bulldogs bench outscored UGA 44-19. In the 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. 
• 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.