Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University basketball team took sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference North Division Thursday as the Bulldogs streaked to a 64-60 victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
“This was a total team effort tonight and I'm extremely proud of how our guys played,” said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. “The crowd was awesome and it was great to hear the student section chanting defense while we were in crunch time down the stretch. I know the weather forced some people to stay home tonight, but for those who missed it, we definitely need your support here Saturday.”
 
With Thursday's triumph, Samford (6-12, 4-1 SoCon) extended its winning streak to three-consecutive games and snapped a three-game losing streak in its series against Western Carolina (7-11, 4-2 SoCon). The Bulldogs also improved to 3-4 at home this season and 2-1 versus conference opponents in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Appalachian State Mountaineers to the Pete Hanna Center. Appalachian State enters the game with a 3-2 SoCon record.
 
Samford's Tim Williams led all scorers with 16 points and also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season. Williams, the Bulldogs' talented true freshman from Chicago, Ill., went 7-of-13 from the field and added four assists, two blocked shots and a pair of steals.
 
“Today, (Assistant) Coach (Yasir) Rosemond challenged Tim by asking him why it's taken him so long to get back to getting double-digit rebounds,” Seltzer said. “And what do you know, Tim goes out and gets 10 rebounds tonight, so I thought our guys did a good job of rebounding the ball. We had 15 offensive rebounds and 37 overall, and that's what it's going to take to win. It's going to take an effort from every single one of our guys to continue to win.”
 
Raijon Kelly, Samford's leading scorer this season with 14.6 points per contest, didn't have his best game of the year Thursday, but still finished with 10 points, six assists and a rebound. The Bulldogs' native of St. Paul, Minn., went 3-of-13 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.
 
Thursday's game consisted of 12 lead changes and proved to be a back-and-forth contest throughout the night. Western Carolina led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Samford battled back to even the score at 37-37 heading into the locker room.
 
The Catamounts shot a sizzling 61.5 percent from the field in the first half, while Samford turned in a solid 45.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of action.
 
Late in the second half, the Bulldogs held a slim 57-56 lead with 5:58 remaining when sophomore forward Tyler Hood drained a deep, high-arcing 3-pointer from the left flank to extend Samford's advantage to 60-56. The Bulldogs' defense then maintained the team's momentum and recorded four key stops.
 
“We knew that the only way we were going to win was if we were able to get stops,” said Seltzer. “They scored on six of their first seven possessions to start the game and we were down by seven points early, and it's going to be hard to win if you allow a team to score that easily. We made a couple of substitutions and Russell Wilson gave us a spark and we took off from there. In these types of games, you have to get stops to win.”
 
Both teams continued to battle back and forth down the stretch and Samford held a 60-58 lead with less than a minute of play. The Catamounts' Trey Sumlin attempted to tie the game with a drive and a right-handed layup, but the Bulldogs' Williams blocked his shot and Clide Geffrard, Jr., came up with the rebound.
 
Williams then scored a huge bucket on the other end as Kelly found him down low on the left block for the decisive layup with 36 seconds remaining.
 
Kelly knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give Samford its 64-60 victory.
 
“Our guys are learning how to win,” Seltzer said. “And look, we are still a work in progress. We are still far from where we need to go, but it's still very nice to get a win when you are learning how to win. I can't say enough about my staff and how hard they worked for this game and I'm extremely proud of all those guys in the locker room as well.”
 
Samford's Connor Miller knocked down a trio of key 3-pointers Thursday and the Bulldogs also received some key bench play from Russell Wilson and Hood. Hood accumulated eight points and three rebounds in only 14 minutes of playing time, while Wilson lit up the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds and three steals.
 
“Tyler is still working his way back into playing shape, so it was exciting to see him hit that huge 3-pointer as well as a couple post moves,” Seltzer said. “He finished with eight points and three rebounds in 14 minutes and that was good for us.”
 
Wilson, Samford's aggressive defensive specialist from Lake Wales, Fla., played stifling in-your-face defense on Western Carolina's point guard Sumler. Sumler entered the game as the second-highest scorer in the SoCon with 17.8 points per game, but was limited to 13 points on a 6-of-16 performance from the field. He also committed a game-high four turnovers.
 
“When a guy shoots 16 times and only gets 13 points, then I think we played some unbelievable defense on him,” said Seltzer. “I told our guys that if we could keep Sumler at his average, or just a bit below, then I really liked our chances of winning. Our guys, collectively, did a really good job on him.”
 
Additionally for the Bulldogs, junior guard Will Cook turned in a solid game with six points, six rebounds and two assists. Geffrard, Jr., also finished with seven points and seven huge rebounds.
 
“We'll enjoy this win for the night, but then tomorrow we have to get ready to face another really good basketball team,” said Seltzer. “Appalachian State has been playing well lately and Saturday's going to be a really good game. We would love to have the house filled with Bulldog basketball fans for that one.”
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their key SoCon North Division homestand against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.