Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Samford University basketball team suffered its first defeat in nearly three weeks Thursday as the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 66-64 decision to the UNCG Spartans in front of a sparse crowd of 1,902 fans at the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
“We were right there at the end,” said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. “We came back from an early deficit and cut their lead down to one a couple of times, but we just couldn't get over the hump. We also couldn't get that crucial stop that we needed. You would think that if you held a team to a 38-percent field-goal percentage that you would have a great chance of winning, but we just couldn't get the key stops and they finished with 12 offensive rebounds.”
 
With the slight two-point loss, Samford (7-13, 5-2 Southern Conference) had its four-game winning streak snapped and dropped a SoCon contest for the first time since Jan. 5 against Chattanooga, 74-70. The Bulldogs' four-game winning streak was their longest since mid-January of 2009.
 
UNCG (5-13, 3-4 SoCon) extended its winning streak versus Samford to four-consecutive games. The Bulldogs hold a 6-5 all-time advantage over the Spartans, but UNCG has had Samford's number as of late.
 
In the last three meetings between the teams, the Spartans have only outscored the Bulldogs by a total of five points. On Jan. 22, 2012, UNCG won 61-60 in Greensboro, and then held on for a close 71-69 victory in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 9, 2012.
 
Thursday's contest also proved to be a close battle as Samford held possession of the ball trailing 66-64 with 2.7 seconds left on the clock.
 
On the final play of the game, the Bulldogs' Will Cook took the ball out of bounds on the right sideline. He looked for Clide Geffrard, Jr., at the top of the key for a game-winning 3-pointer, but UNCG's defense wouldn't allow the pass. Cook then attempted to pass the ball in to Raijon Kelly on the right flank, but the ball was deflected and the Spartans took possession as time expired.
 
Samford's best look at a game-winning basket occurred just seconds before as Geffrard, Jr., had a 3-pointer rim out from the top of the key. The rebound was then deflected multiple times towards the right baseline and was knocked out of bounds by a UNCG defender.
 
“This was a tough game for us and it was one that I definitely think we could have won,” said Seltzer. “I have to give hats off to UNCG tonight. They really played well.”
 
The Spartans' Trevis Simpson scored a season-high 30 points Thursday, including 22 in the second half of play. UNCG's junior guard proved to be the Spartans' only scorer in double figures as he tallied his team's final 14 points of the game.
 
“Trevis Simpson is a very difficult guy to guard,” Seltzer said. “He is an extremely tough guard and a very good player. He obviously leads our league in scoring and he showed us just that tonight. We had a difficult time guarding him, but he's also a tough-shot maker. He makes a lot of tough shots and tonight he did that even with a couple of our guys draped all over him.”
 
Samford's offensive production was paced by true freshman Tim Williams' 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., also added nine rebounds and nearly tallied his fifth double-double of the 2012-13 campaign.
 
Tyler Hood came off the bench for Samford on Thursday and scored 14 points on 4-8 shooting. Hood's performance proved to be his best since returning from an injured hand against College of Charleston on Jan. 10. Against UNCG, he also drained a trio of 3-pointers and pulled down three rebounds.
 
“It's great to see the progress that Tyler is making,” said Seltzer. “He really shot the ball well in the first half and I think he's coming along. Eventually, he'll be back to full game shape and it's definitely good to have him back logging some minutes.”
 
Samford's Geffrard, Jr., finished Thursday's contest with 13 points, three rebounds and an assist, while connecting on a huge 3-point basket late in the game to pull the Bulldogs within two points, 66-64, with 1:23 left to play. Samford's Kelly also added 12 points and a game-high six assists versus UNCG.
 
Despite trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, Samford used a late 11-0 run to cut UNCG's advantage to 36-34 with 20 seconds remaining in the opening period. During the Bulldogs' key stretch, Hood drained a pair of deep 3-point baskets, while Williams and Kelly both added critical layups of their own.
 
Samford only trailed by two points on UNCG's final possession of the first half when Derrell Armstrong knocked down an improbable 3-pointer from NBA range at the buzzer. With Armstrong's late basket, UNCG took a 39-34 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Bulldogs' Williams and Hood both scored 12 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Williams was 4-of-8 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, while Hood finished 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. As a team, Samford shot 40 percent from the field in the first half.
 
“We were hoping that Tim would be able to have a big game tonight, but they started switching at the end, and I also think we missed him on some passes as well down there on the post,” Seltzer said. “Our guys will have to do a better job of getting him the basketball, especially at the right time.”
 
Samford never led in Thursday's game and turned in a 40-percent shooting performance from the field. The Bulldogs limited UNCG to a 38.2 shooting percentage, but were out-rebounded, 39-35. The Spartans also led Samford in offensive rebounds, 12-9.
 
Despite their bad start, the Bulldogs finished with 13 turnovers and forced UNCG into 14. Samford also outscored the Spartans, 17-12, in points off turnovers.
 
“We're excited about having the rest of the weekend off, but we have some tough games coming up and in this league it's tough to win on the road,” said Seltzer. “We didn't take care of business tonight, but we have another great opportunity for a big road win next Thursday at Davidson.”
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their three-game road stretch with a key contest against the Davidson Wildcats to be held at Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C.