GAME NOTES: A couple of teams hoping to rebound from defeat get together on Sunday afternoon as part of the Maui Invitational, as the Samford Bulldogs battle the UMKC Kangaroos.

The Kangaroos, who have wins over Missouri and Missouri S&T, took a step back on Saturday when they bowed to host school Arkansas-Little Rock, 73-68.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have only one win in the first four opportunities on the schedule, the triumph being a narrow 68-67 final versus Austin Peay on Wednesday night in Birmingham. Yesterday afternoon, Samford was right back in the loss column with a 79-72 setback versus Cal State Northridge.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Kangaroos are ahead by a count of 2-0, winning the most recent meeting back in 1990 by a score of 109-77 in Kansas City.

Against UALR, the Kangaroos were led by Reese Holliday and his double-double consisting of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the losing cause. Just ahead of him in the scoring department were Martez Harrison and Frank Williams with 15 points apiece, while Deshon Taylor chipped in 10. Shayok Shayok pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, but shot only 1-of-5 from the field and was charged with six of the team's 18 turnovers.

A starter in all four games thus far, Harrison is easily the leading scorer for the 'Roos with his 18.8 ppg, almost twice as high as his closest teammate, Williams, who is putting up 10.0 ppg, partly due to the fact that he has come off the bench in half of the outings.

But more than just a scorer, Harrison is also the one who gets his teammates involved in the action with his 5.5 apg.

Samford led by as many as six points about five minutes into the game with Cal State Northridge, but the team allowed CSUN to convert 55.6 percent from the floor and make all seven chances at the free-throw line through the first 20 minutes, resulting in a 37-31 deficit at the break. Tyler Hood hit on 5-of-7 behind the 3-point line as he finished with 19 points for the Bulldogs, followed by Brandon Roberts and Christen Cunningham with 16 and 11 points, respectively.

For a team scoring only 59.0 ppg, while giving up 72.3 ppg to the competition, the Bulldogs are led by Hood with his 11.8 ppg, thanks in large part to his 44.4 percent accuracy on the perimeter. Cunningham checks in with 10.8 ppg, although he is the opposite of Hood on the outside with a mere 1-of-9 shooting to this point.

UMKC may lead the all-time series between the teams, but it has been more than two decades since they last met and that should have given the Bulldogs enough time to prepare themselves to tackle the Kangaroos.