BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford men’s basketball team earned its third-straight win, taking down Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga, 80-72, Wednesday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford improves to 14-8 overall and 4-6 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga, which has a net ranking of 42 in the latest NCAA rankings, falls to 18-5 overall and 8-2 in league play.
“We won both halves, we were locked in on defense,” Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. “We played winning basketball, we had 10 turnovers against a very good defensive team. When our team plays with that type of awareness and values every possession, we’re very good.”
For Samford in the win, Ques Glover led the way with 20 points. Logan Dye posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jermaine Marshall and Jaden Campbell added 13 points each for the Bulldogs.
Chattanooga was led by David Jean-Baptiste with 28 points. Malachi Smith had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Mocs.
Samford jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with 15:08 to go in the first half after a layup by Jaron Rillie. Chattanooga fought back to take a 16-13 lead at the 10:58 mark in the first half following a three-pointer by Grant Ledford. The Bulldogs came back to take a 17-16 lead with 10:31 to go in the opening half after a layup by Wesley Cardet.
The Bulldogs built their lead to 21-18 with 7:24 left in the first half after a pair of free throws by Dye. Chattanooga answered to retake the lead at 25-23 with 5:26 left in the opening period after a layup by K.C. Hankton. The Bulldogs scored the next eight points to take a 31-25 lead at the 3:45 mark in the first half after a three-pointer by Cardet. Samford took a 39-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Chattanooga opened the second half with a 10-4 run to cut the Samford lead to one point at 43-42 with 17:36 to go after a three-pointer by Jean-Baptiste. After Chattanooga tied the game at 45-45, a Jacob Tryon three-pointer gave Samford back the lead at 48-45 with 15:51 to go in the second half. The Bulldogs built an eight-point lead at 55-47 with 12:48 left after a free throw by Dye.
After Chattanooga cut the led to four at 57-53, Samford scored the next five points to push the lead back out to nine points at 62-53 with 8:18 to go after a basket by Glover. Chattanooga cut the lead to four points at 68-64 with 2:38 to play after a layup by Smith. The Bulldogs, however, pushed the lead back out to eight points at 74-66 with 1:25 to go following a three-pointer by Campbell. Chattanooga, however, could get no closer than five points the rest of the way and Samford finished with the 80-72 win.
Samford will play at The Citadel on Saturday, Feb. 5. The game is set for a 12 p.m. (CT) start from Charleston, S.C.
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