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Bulldogs Eager For Monday's Home-Opening Game Against McNeese State
Nov. 23, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will play its first home game of the 2009-10 season Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the McNeese State Cowboys to the Pete Hanna Center for an early-season non-conference matchup. Fans unable to attend the game in person can listen live to Samford's broadcast on WVSU 91.1 FM or via the Internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu. Live stats will also be available through SamfordSports.com. Samford (0-4) heads into the contest looking to end a four-game losing streak. The Bulldogs opened the season with four hard-fought defeats on the road against Kent State 69-66, Wisconsin-Green Bay 70-68, UAB 55-52 and Texas A&M 68-49. The overall record of Samford's first four opponents is 15-4. Kent State's current record is 4-1, while Wisconsin-Green Bay is 4-2, UAB is 4-1 and Texas A&M is 3-0. In Samford's most recent matchup against Texas A&M on Friday, the Bulldogs only trailed the Aggies 36-35 at halftime in front of a season-high 8,329 fans at Reed Arena. The second half proved to be a different story as the Bulldogs only completed 30 percent of their shots in the 68-49 loss. Samford was paced offensively by junior center Andy King, who finished the game with 17 points; 15 of which came in the first half as he went 5-of-7 from 3-point range. McNeese State (1-3) enters the contest with hopes of winning its second straight game. On Saturday, the Cowboys demolished Louisiana College in a lopsided 73-36 victory at home in Lake Charles, La. The win snapped McNeese State's three-game losing streak to open the season. Junior guard Stephan Martin leads the Cowboys in scoring with 14.3 points per game. Diego Kapelan follows with an average of 11.8 points per contest. The Bulldogs will square off against the McNeese State Cowboys for only the second time in school history Monday. The teams first met last season in Lake Charles, La., as Samford posted a hard-fought 57-52 victory at Burton Coliseum. In last year's win, the Bulldogs' Josh Bedwell, Josh Davis and King all scored in double figures.
Against the bigger, taller Texas A&M Aggies on Friday, Samford was only out-rebounded, 29-28. McNeese State comes in to Monday's game only averaging 28.5 rebounds per contest and is allowing 34.8 boards per outing. The Bulldogs should be able to crash the boards and win the rebounding battle against the Cowboys. Monday's game will be the Bulldogs' first home matchup of the 2009-10 campaign. After four-consecutive games on the road, Samford is eager to play on its home floor, especially considering that the Bulldogs were 10-4 at the Pete Hanna Center last season. Last year, Samford averaged 64.5 points per game and tallied a 47.8 shooting percent from the field (35.8 from 3-point range). Conversely, the Bulldogs were only 4-12 on the road last season and scored at an average of 58.5 points per road contest. In 2008-09, Samford turned in a 45.2 shooting percent from the floor (35.9 from 3-point range) when playing away from home. A key matchup in Monday's game will be the Bulldogs' King versus McNeese State's center Preston David. King, Samford's 6-foot-9 center from Omaha, Neb., is the team's second-leading scorer this season with 12 points per game, while Davis is only averaging four points per contest this year. It is safe to say that Samford's offensive style is unique. While most teams play pressure defense and tend to run the ball up the court, the Bulldogs use patience and precision cutting on offense to get either a back-door layup or a wide open look at a 3-point shot. With that in mind, Samford's offense is hard to prepare for and often poses problems for the opposition's coaches in the league to scout. Since head coach Jimmy Tillette incorporated the Princeton offense at Samford in 1997, the Bulldogs have reeled off a 76-48 record in games played against teams that have less than three days to prepare. McNeese State's most recent matchup was Saturday against Louisiana College. The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 537-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against Texas-San Antonio. The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008 against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. Following Samford's matchup with McNeese State on Monday, the Bulldogs will next be in action Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST), as the travel to Lubbock, Texas, for a non-conference game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The contest will be held at Texas Tech's United Spirit Arena (15,098).
Samford Basketball Game Notes |
