Feb. 22, 2002

SAMFORD (14-13, 11-8 A-Sun) vs. MERCER (6-22, 4-15 A-Sun)

TIP: 2:00 p.m., Seibert Hall

SAMFORD PROBABLE STARTERS

F-14 Jon Mills(6-6, 205, RFr., 6.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)

F-24 Corey Green (6-3, 190, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)

C-44 Phillip Ramelli (6-10, 215, So., 9.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)

G-20 Chris Weaver (6-2, 190, Sr., 14.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg)

G-32 Cornell Felton (5-11, 175, Jr., 8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.1 apg)

MERCER PROBABLE STARTERS

F-14 Aleem Muhammad (6-4, 202, Jr., 17.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.5 apg)

F-44 Andrew Walker (6-9, 245, So., 5.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.9 apg)

C-55 Justin Howard (6-8, 280, Jr., 12.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 0.6 apg)

G-10 Tyler McCurry (5-10, 180, Fr., 4.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.1 apg)

G-12 Clarence Baker (5-9, 170, Jr., 7.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.9 apg)

SAMFORD: It's been nearly three months since Samford defeated Mercer in the fifth game of the season on Nov. 29. Samford leads the series in Birmingham, 26-22.

Senior Day at Seibert Hall will honor Corey Green and Chris Weaver. Weaver leads the Bulldogs with 14.0 ppg and Green is the leading rebounder with 5 per game.

Jimmy Tillette can tie John Brady for the most coaching victories (89) with a win over Mercer. Tillette is 6-3 against the Bears.

Weaver scored 20 and Phillip Ramelli added 16 in the 69-60 win in Macon on Nov. 29. Ramelli also had seven rebounds and a career-high five blocks in the game.

Currently tied at fifth, a win could push the Bulldogs as high as a third seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Samford has not lost four home games in a season since the 1994-95 season under Brady, when the Bulldogs finished 7-4 at Seibert Hall and 16-11 overall.

Samford has shot better than 37 percent from three-point range only once in the last 10 games, while opponents have fired 47 percent or better in two of the last three. Four Bulldogs are shooting 52 percent or better from the field and three are firing 42 percent or higher from three-point range in conference games.

MERCER: Mercer leads the all-time series 56-45, including wins in two of the last three games. The Bears won last year's game in Birmingham, 67-58, in overtime. Aleem Muhammad leads the Bears in scoring with 17.0 ppg and Justin Howard adds 12 per game. The Bears average 66.5 points per game, while allowing 77.

INSIDE STUFF: Samford senior Chris Weaver needs nine points to total 1,000 for his career. The Bulldogs are 4-0 on Senior Day under Tillette.

AIR: WVSU-FM 91.1, also on the internet at www.samfordsports.com

NEXT: Samford opens play in the Atlantic Sun Championship in Orlando on Thurs., Feb. 28. The Bulldogs' game time and opponent are still to be determined.