Box Score
Box Score
Samford Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In arguably its best win of the 2013-14 season, the Samford University basketball team boasted a stingy defensive performance Saturday en route to a 62-59 win against the Southern Conference-favorite Elon Phoenix in a pivotal league contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"We played great defense today and I thought that was the key to the game," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "When you hold the No. 1 scoring team in the conference to 39 percent from the field and 59 points, that was the key and we were able to get stops. Getting those stops allowed us to get our offense going and Elon is a very good team. Our defense played a huge part in this win."
 
Samford (9-13, 3-4 SoCon) turned in a brilliant 52.3-percent shooting performance from the field Saturday and limited Elon (10-11, 3-3 SoCon), the league's top scoring team at 77.1 points per game, to only 59 points and a 39.2-percent outing from the floor.
 
The bulk of the Bulldogs' scoring came from the triumvirate of Tim Williams, Raijon Kelly and Tyler Hood, which combined to record 40 of the team's 62 points.
 
Williams, Samford's 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., paced all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while pulling down 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double and third of the 2013-14 campaign. On Thursday, Williams exploded for 29 points and 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 88-78 victory over UNCG.
 
Just a sophomore, Williams, the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year, has already registered nine double-doubles in his young Samford career.
 
"I know we're getting better as a team," Seltzer said. "Our guys are continuing to work and we're learning from our mistakes in the early-going. It's hard to say that we're finding our groove right now, but I like where our team is right now."
 
The Bulldogs' Raijon Kelly, who entered the season as an All-SoCon First-Team selection, provided a key spark off the bench Saturday with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Samford's junior guard from St. Paul, Minn., finished 5-of-9 from the field and drained a crucial 3-point basket.
 
Tyler Hood scored 10 points and handed out a pair of assists Saturday and led the Bulldogs with two 3-point field goals. Jordan Capps added eight points and five rebounds, while Connor Miller carded five points, three assists and a pair of rebounds.
 
Elon scored the first basket of the game Saturday and led 2-0 with 19:35 remaining in the first half. It would prove to be the Phoenix's only lead of the contest.
 
Samford quickly answered with a deep 3-pointer from Miller and went on an early 11-0 run to take an 11-2 advantage with 15:24 to play in the opening period. The Bulldogs led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took a 34-27 advantage into the locker room.
 
Early in the second stanza, Kelly drained a jumper to give Samford a 45-32 lead, but then Elon eventually trimmed away at the Bulldogs' advantage until finally making it a one-point game, 60-59, with just under two minutes remaining.
 
The Phoenix's Ryley Beaumont knocked down a runner in the lane and then Jack Isenbarger connected on a rare four-point play to bring Elon within contention late in the game.
 
"Elon did hit a lot of 3s, but a lot were from three or four feet behind the line and we were willing to take our chances on that," said Seltzer. "Isenbarger went 5-for-11 and he's a really good shooter, but we were able to hold Beaumont to 13 points and (Lucas) Troutman only had eight, so we had to give up something. They're a good shooting team and we were able to hold them to 39 percent from the field."
 
Surprisingly, at the 1:39 mark, Samford's Hood scored the last two points of the contest from the free-throw line giving the Bulldogs their decisive 62-59 advantage. Down the stretch, Isenbarger missed a 3-pointer at 1:12, but then Samford turned the ball over.
 
Elon took another possible game-tying 3-pointer from Tanner Samson at the nine-second mark, but then in a scrum after the rebound, the Phoenix was eventually awarded possession on its own baseline.
 
On the final play with 5.5 seconds remaining, Elon worked the ball to Sebastian Koch on the right wing. As he went up for the last-second 3-pointer, Samford's Tim Williams got a hand in his face and forced Koch to alter his shot. The clinching miss was aimed high and clanked off the back of the rim.
 
"We went zone on the final play, but we wanted to extend the zone all the way our beyond the 3-point line," Seltzer said. "We said anything inside the 3-point line, we're going to let go and finish the game with free throws, but Tim did an unbelievable defensive job on Koch and forced him to take a tough shot. I was really happy about that."
 
With its win, Samford improved to 8-3 all-time against Elon and snapped a two-game losing streak versus the Phoenix.
 
The Bulldogs outscored Elon, 13-0, in fast-break points and 24-18 in points in the paint. Samford only attempted 13 free throws Saturday, but knocked down 11 for a stellar 84.6 shooting percentage.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs begin a two-game, five-day road trip in Greenville, S.C., against the Furman Paladins in a key SoCon rematch to be held at Timmons Arena.

Box Score
Samford Stats