Jan. 2, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will play its second of four consecutive road games Thursday as the Bulldogs return to Ohio Valley Conference action with a key league matchup against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m., in Cookeville, Tenn.

The game will be broadcast by Samford's play-by-play specialist Kevin Henslee on WVSU 91.1 FM and via the internet at www.al.com/wvsu. A link to Tennessee Tech's Live Stats will also be provided at www.SamfordSports.com.

Samford (5-6, 2-1 OVC), which is coming off a 78-45 loss against the 20th-ranked Clemson Tigers on Saturday, will play 11 conference games in the month of January, including a stretch of five OVC games in the next eight days.

The Bulldogs are fourth in the current league standings and have picked up conference wins against Jacksonville State 41-34 and Murray State 65-64 this season. Samford's lone OVC loss of the 2007-08 campaign came in a last-second defeat at home versus first-place Southeast Missouri 63-62.

Tennessee Tech (4-9, 1-2 OVC), which was picked third in the OVC preseason poll, is currently the eighth-place team in the conference standings.

The Golden Eagles have been defeated in three of their previous four games, but two of the losses came against top-notch foes in Kentucky 69-47 and Georgia Tech 83-63. Tennessee Tech owns a 2-2 record at home this season with wins against Union College 97-54 and Bluefield College 117-88.

Tennessee Tech boasts three players averaging double figures in scoring and is being led by senior Anthony Fisher's 15.9 points per game. Explosive senior forward Amadi McKenzie follows with 13.1 points and five rebounds per contest.

Samford has been victorious against Tennessee Tech in two of the previous three meetings.

Tennessee Tech holds a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series and earned a 73-59 win in the most recent matchup on Jan. 14, 2007. The teams split the annual home-and-home series last season with each squad winning at home. Samford is 1-5 when playing against the Golden Eagles in Cookeville, Tenn.

Samford's Travis Peterson averaged 15 points, five rebounds, and 3.5 three-point field goals against Tennessee Tech last year. The OVC rivals squared off twice during the season and in the game at Tennessee Tech, Peterson finished with 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.

Samford is ranked first in the OVC in three statistical categories. Also, the Bulldogs are ranked among the top-five teams in the conference in an additional seven categories.

Samford is currently the top-ranked team in the OVC in scoring defense (60.5 ppg), scoring margin (+0.8) and field-goal percentage defense (41.2). In addition, Samford is ranked second in both field-goal percentage (47.2) and rebounding defense (31.1 pg). The Bulldogs are also ranked third in assist/turnover ratio (1.01) and fourth in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (35.1).

Individually, Samford's Trey Montgomery is ranked fourth in the OVC in field-goal percentage (55.8) and ninth in steals (1.6 pg). Senior Joe Ross Merritt is tied for eighth place in the OVC in scoring at 14 points per game, while fellow-senior Peterson is ranked 13th with 13.1 ppg.

In only his first season as Samford's starting point guard, Montgomery is proving to be one of the Bulldogs' top performers and a solidifying force on the young team.

Montgomery, a 6-foot-4 native of Destrehan, La., has started in nine of the team's 11 games this season and is averaging 10.9 points, four rebounds and 1.6 steals per contest. Recently, in a 65-64 victory against Murray State, Montgomery scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

Following Samford's OVC matchup against Tennessee Tech on Thursday, the Bulldogs will continue their critical three-game OVC road trip Saturday against the UT Martin Skyhawks at 6 p.m., in Skyhawk Arena.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
Live Stats - Samford at Tennessee Tech