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GAME NOTES: A crucial Southern Conference matchup is set in Birmingham tonight, as the Samford Bulldogs host the UNC Greensboro Spartans in a battle for second place in the standings at the Pete Hanna Center.

UNCG is just one game behind first-place Elon in the SoCon standings with a 7-5 league tally, and the club recently turned around a miserable 1-15 start to its 2011-12 campaign with an eight-game win streak. That run came to an end last Saturday however, as the Spartans suffered a hard-fought setback at Furman in a 93-85 final.

As for Samford, the Bulldogs enter this meeting a game behind the Spartans (6-6, SoCon), and are on a bit of a hot streak themselves. The squad has won back-to-back decisions and four of their last five overall, improving their overall ledger to 9-14 in the process. On Saturday night, the Bulldogs found themselves in a battle at Wofford, a contest that went into an extra session and ended in a 66-61 Samford victory.

Samford owns a 6-3 edge over UNCG in terms of the brief all-time history between the two programs.

The Spartans found a rhythm too little too late in the eight-point loss to Furman, as a 53.1 percent effort from the field over the final 20 minutes was negated thanks to a first half that saw UNCG hit only 30.0 percent of its attempts from the floor and head into the break trailing 39-30. The Spartans were also guilty of a game-high 18 giveaways that accounted for 24 Furman points, and the club sent the Paladins to the charity stripe a whopping 47 games during the contest, from which Furman gained 37 points. Trevis Simpson posted a game-high 28 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the way for UNCG, while Derrell Armstrong tallied 24 points. Aloysius Henry came in from off the bench to add 13 points as well in a losing effort. Adversaries have tallied a whopping 77.8 points per game against the Spartans this season, which has been the main contributing factor in their lack of success this year. The Opposition is shooting at a 47.4 percent clip that includes a 40.0 percent mark from three-point land as well, and the Spartans have sent their opponents to the charity stripe an incredible 617 times, resulting in a 70.7 percent success rate. UNCG averages 69.1 ppg itself on a 39.9 percent team- shooting mark, and own a pair of double figure scorers. Simpson, with 17.4 ppg, leads the way for UNCG this season, while Armstrong follows with a 12.0 ppg tally.

The Bulldogs trailed Wofford, 54-47, with 3:11 remaining, but a key steal by Brad Loesing led to a three-pointer that cut the Terriers' lead to 54-50 and a huge momentum swing. Samford tied the contest at 54-54 with 40 seconds left in regulation, which is how the score remained until the buzzer sounded. The Bulldogs then outscored the Terriers, 12-7, on a 50.0 percent effort from the field during the extra session to capture a five-point victory. Samford shot 46.3 percent from the floor overall during the meeting, and had five players reach double figures, beginning with Raijon Kelly and his 17 points. Drew Windler added 16 points, while Will Cook notched 11 points to go with a team- high eight rebounds. Tyler Hood and Jeffrey Merritt got into the mix as well, finishing with 10 points apiece for the Bulldogs. Samford owns an underwhelming 65.1 ppg tally this season, a weakness further exasperated by a 68.4 ppg mark for the opposition. The Bulldogs are shooting just 43.7 percent from the field as a team, which includes a mere 33.7 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc, and have also struggled at the foul line as well (66.4 percent). The Bulldogs own just two players with a double-digit scoring average, with Windler leading the way at 13.7 ppg. Hood follows (10.7 ppg), while Merritt is also worthy of mention due to his 9.0 points and team-leading 6.8 rebounds per contest contribution.

UNCG will be looking to get back on the winning track that has seemingly saved its season, but the Bulldogs have their own resurgence going on. Give the homecourt advantage to Samford here, but expect a high-scoring battle throughout. The Bulldogs can run away with it though, provided they make the most of their opportunities at the foul line, of which UNCG should provide plenty.