Feb. 13, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will begin a critical stretch in its Ohio Valley Conference schedule Thursday as the Bulldogs welcome the streaky Morehead State Eagles to the Pete Hanna Center for a 7:30 p.m., matchup.

Fans unable to attend the contest in person can listen to Samford's Kevin Henslee call the game live on WVSU 91.1 FM and via the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu.

The game will be the first of Samford's final regular-season homestand of the season. On Saturday, the Bulldogs will play their home finale against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 7 p.m.

Samford (11-13, 8-8 OVC) has won two of its previous three games, but is coming off a 67-49 defeat at Austin Peay on Saturday. In the loss, the Bulldogs committed a season-high 23 turnovers.

Samford is in sole possession of seventh place in the OVC standings and has four conference games remaining this season. The Bulldogs will close out their OVC schedule with challenges at Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois on Feb. 28 and March 1, respectively.

Samford's Joe Ross Merritt leads the team with an average of 12.3 points per game.

Morehead State (12-11, 9-6 OVC) enters Thursday's matchup as one of the hottest teams in the OVC. They have won eight of their previous 10 games and are currently in sole possession of fourth place in the league's standings.

Despite its recent winning trend, Morehead State is coming off a 64-52 loss at home against Murray State on Saturday. So far this season, the Eagles have played much better at home. They own a near-perfect 10-1 record in Morehead, Ky., but are only 2-10 when playing on the road.

Morehead State's Nikola Stojakovic is the conference's leader in assists with 160. The Eagles' native of Belgrade, Serbia, is averaging seven assists per game.

Samford owns a 7-4 all-time record against Morehead State and has been victorious in five of the previous seven meetings between the teams. When squaring off at home in Birmingham, the Bulldogs are 4-1 against the Eagles.

Morehead State has won the previous two meetings between the teams, including a 62-46 victory earlier this season.

Samford's Josh Bedwell, who is expected to return to action tonight after missing the last two games with a high-ankle sprain, has made 45 field goals this season, 41 of which have come from beyond the arc. Therefore, 91.1 percent of his field goals have come from 3-point range.

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

Samford is currently the top-ranked team in the OVC in scoring defense (59.2 ppg), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (34.4), field-goal percentage defense (42.8) and rebounding defense (29.8 pg). In addition, Samford is ranked fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.04).

Individually, Samford's Trey Montgomery is ranked seventh in the OVC in steals (1.7 pg) and 10th in field-goal percentage (50.0).

Merritt is ranked 10th in the OVC in 3-point field goals per game (2.3) and 16th in scoring at 12.3 ppg. Fellow-senior Travis Peterson is ranked 20th in scoring at 12.1 ppg and is third in the league in blocked shots (1.3 pg).

In Samford's version of the Princeton offense, Jimmy Tillette's Bulldogs generally aim to get a back-door layup or a wide open look at a 3-point shot.

So far this season, Samford has averaged 8.0 3-point baskets per game and has connected on 34.2 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs are also averaging 9.6 layups per game and are shooting 57.8 percent from 2-point range.

Following Samford's matchup against Morehead State on Thursday, the Bulldogs will play their final regular-season home game of the 2007-08 campaign Saturday at 7 p.m., as they host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a "Senior Night" matchup.

Samford Basketball Game Notes