Nov. 10, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will begin play in its 2007-08 season Sunday at 2:30 p.m., as the Bulldogs travel to Evansville, Ind., for a non-conference matchup against the Evansville Purple Aces. The game will be played at the 11,600-seat Roberts Stadium.

Sunday's season-opener will be broadcast locally on WVSU 91.1 FM and via the internet at www.al.com/wvsu.

Samford enters the contest looking to maintain its positive momentum from the 2007 exhibition season. The Bulldogs played a pair of home preseason games and finished with a 2-0 record.

In its first exhibition contest, Samford defeated Oglethorpe 75-62 in Seibert Hall on Nov. 1. In their final preseason game, the Bulldogs rallied past Lindsey Wilson 42-33 at the brand-new Pete Hanna Center on Monday.

Samford heads into Sunday's season-opener looking to open its schedule with a win for the third time in the previous four years. Since 2004, Samford's lone loss to open a season occurred last year on the road against top-ranked Florida.

The Bulldogs have played their previous four season-openers on the road.

Sunday's matchup with Evansville is a return game from last season's BracketBusters competition. In the 2006-07 contest, Samford fell short 69-65 as the teams squared off in Birmingham on Feb. 17.

Evansville played one exhibition game this preseason and rolled to a lopsided 82-43 home victory against Oakland City University.

In the Nov. 3 matchup, the Purple Aces finished with four players in double-figures and were led by Victor Gomez's 14 points and 10 rebounds. Gomez, Evansville's lone senior, was injured against Oakland City and will be forced to miss the next 6-to-8 weeks with a fracture in his right foot.

The Purple Aces will begin a new era Sunday as former player and assistant coach Marty Simmons makes his regular-season debut.

Simmons played at Evansville from 1986-88 and led the Purple Aces to their first postseason appearance in over six years in 1988. Following last season, former Evansville head coach Steve Merfeld was let go after a 14-17 overall record and a seventh-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Samford has only squared off against Evansville four times in its 106-year history.

The Bulldogs are 0-4 versus the Purple Aces and fell short in a hard-fought 69-65 BracketBuster matchup held in Seibert Hall last season. The series began during the 1989-90 campaign and Evansville tallied wins three-straight seasons through 1991-92.

Samford's three returning starters Joe Ross Merritt, Travis Peterson and Curtis West have combined for 157 career starts. No one else on Samford's roster has started a regular-season game.

Following Samford's regular-season opener against Evansville on Sunday, the Bulldogs will play their first regular-season game in the brand-new, 32-million-dollar Pete Hanna Center Thursday at 7 p.m., against the Belmont Bruins. On Friday, Belmont defeated Cincinnati on the road 86-75.

Samford Basketball Game Notes