BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball returns home to host Samford in the beginning of a three-game homestand. Thursday's 7 p.m. contest has been designated "Celebrate Watauga Night." Fans who live or work in Watauga County may purchase $5 tickets for the event, which includes local youth halftime performances at the Southern Conference North Division matchup.

The Mountaineers (10-13, 6-7 SoCon) seek a season sweep against the Bulldogs and a third-straight win overall. Appalachian rides a two-game winning streak into the contest with road victories at UNC Greensboro and Elon last week.

Omar Carter paced the Mountaineers with two double-doubles on the week and averaged 21.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in the wins. The junior ranks second on the team in scoring (16.2) and rebounding (5.9) for the season.

Donald Sims scored his 2,000th career point in the win at Elon and is one of fewer than 500 players to reach the milestone in NCAA Division I history. He ranks ninth among active players with 2,015 points. For the season, he is 12th nationally with 21.0 points per game.

Holmes Court Advantage Student Scholarship Giveaway 
ASU Athletics will donate $1 for every ASU student in attendance at Thursday's game. The promotion will take place during a timeout in the second half, and students must be present to win. Scholarships will be given away in $500 allotments (max of 5 scholarships awarded). Students will be chosen at random by their ticket number. *To be eligible, students must pre-print tickets prior to the game using the link above.*

Scouting the Bulldogs (12-12, 4-8 SoCon)
• Samford travels to the High Country after a 58-50 win at Georgia Southern last Saturday.
• The Bulldogs are 2-4 away from home in league play, with the other win coming at UNC Greensboro in early January.
• Jeffrey Merritt leads the squad with 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
• Samford boasts the SoCon's second-stingiest defense, allowing just 64.9 points per game.
• On the offensive end, more than half of the Bulldogs' field goal attempts have come from downtown on the season (53 percent), where the squad makes 35.5 percent of its attempts. Josh Davis leads Samford from beyond the arc with 44 three-pointers on the season.
• SU is holding opponents to a 41.3 field goal percentage, the lowest in the SoCon this year.

Series History
• Appalachian leads the series with Samford, 3-2, dating back to the Bulldogs' entry in the Southern Conference in 2008-09.
• The Mountaineers extended their streak to three-straight wins in December with a 78-69 victory in Birmingham in the league's opening weekend.
• Appalachian is 1-1 in two home games, including last season's 82-68 triumph in the regular season finale.
• In December, Sims scored a game-high 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting while Jeremi Booth tallied a career high 22 points with four three-pointers.
• Andre Williamson added 16 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks in the win. The forward was 7-for-9 from the floor. In five games against Samford, the junior averages 4.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
• In five games, Sims averages 18.0 points and 2.0 assists against Samford, while Booth scores 13.5 points on 51.4 field goal percentage in four games against the Bulldogs. He also swipes 2.0 steals per game.
• Sims' highest output was last season with 25 points at home. He came off the bench on ASU's Senior Day but drained 6-of-9 treys to secure the win.

Following Thursday's game, Appalachian hosts division leader Chattanooga on Saturday at 2 p.m.