GAME NOTES -- SAMFORD vs. WESTERN CAROLINA (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team closes out play at the Pete Hanna Center tomorrow as they host Western Carolina for its home finale and senior day. The Bulldogs will honor seven players pregame as they look to complete the season sweep over the Catamounts. The game will tip at 2 p.m. as Samford enters with a 20-8 record while Western Carolina carries an 8-18 season record.

The Samford Bulldogs are coming off an 80-72 defeat at home to Furman on Wednesday. The Bulldogs have dropped 3-of-4 games in Southern Conference play and sit in third place in the league, two games behind Chattanooga in first and one behind UNCG in second. Jaden Brownell scored a career-high 25 points against the Paladins as he went 10-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-9 from three.

Samford and Western Carolina are set to meet for the 34th time as Samford holds the all-time series lead at 19-14. The Dogs defeated Western Carolina 88-69 when the two sides met earlier this season. Brownell led the way with 23 points in the previous contest against the Catamounts. Trey Fort added 18 points as the two sides met back in the second game of SoCon play on Jan. 4. 

Samford remains a top-five three-point shooting team in the country, averaging 10.9 makes a game. Josh Holloway has been on a scored tear, averaging 15.3 points per game in the last three games. The Dogs sit 25th in the nation in team assists per game at 16.8. Samford is ninth in the nation in caused turnovers per game at 16.11 per game.

Western Carolina enters the game with an 8-18 record on the season and is 4-11 in SoCon play and fell in a close game to first-place Chattanooga 91-86 in their last contest. Western Carolina hasn't defeated Samford since the 2019-2020 season. Head coach Tim Craft is in his first season with the Catamounts after spending 11 seasons as the head coach at Gardner-Webb. The Catamounts were picked 8th out of 10 teams in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll and have three players scoring in double figures, led by Bernard Pelote who scored 14.0 points per game.

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