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ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team suffered its second loss to the UNCG Spartans in eight days Friday as the Bulldogs dropped an 81-76 decision in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament held at the U.S. Cellular Center. The loss ended Samford's 2014-15 season.
 
"My hats off to UNCG," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "I have to give them a lot of credit. They did a great job of switching every pick-and-roll that we had and it put our guards in situations where they had to finish over a bigger guy. They also did a really good job with our press and I think (Tevon) Saddler was huge for them, because he was able to use his height and strength to make some of the longer passes."
 
Samford (13-19) trailed UNCG (11-21), 51-40, with 13:30 remaining in Friday's contest, but then rallied to within two points, 67-65, at the five-minute mark.
 
The Bulldogs were able to embark on their second-half run behind nine points from senior Michael Bradley and seven points from true freshman Evan Taylor. Bradley, Samford's 6-foot-10 center from Chattanooga, Tennessee, finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.
 
Taylor, the Bulldogs' SoCon All-Freshman Team member from Cincinnati, Ohio, also registered 13 points against the Spartans and added four rebounds in 32 minutes of playing time.
 
Once Samford battled back to within 67-65, UNCG answered with a deep 3-point basket from senior Nicholas Paulos. The Spartans then received a driving layup from sophomore point guard Diante Baldwin to push UNCG's advantage back to 72-65.
 
"We had some good moments defensively, but every time we tipped a ball or got a deflection, it would go out of bounds, so we never really had many steals," said Padgett. "We're a team of runs and it's really hard to make those runs when you're not getting those turnovers. There were also three or four times in the game when we were on a run and about to overtake them, but then Paulos would come up with a big 3."
 
The Spartans' lead remained at approximately seven points until the two-minute mark when Samford's Darius Jones-Gibson drained an eight-foot jumper from the baseline.
 
Jones-Gibson finished the game with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He also pulled down a pair of rebounds and finished 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
 
After the teams traded free throws down the stretch, UNCG held a 78-74 lead with 37 seconds remaining. Samford's Christen Cunningham, a member of the SoCon All-Freshman Team, drove down the lane and then cut the Spartans' lead to 78-76 with a driving layup over four members of the Spartans' defense.
 
The Bulldogs purposefully fouled on the ensuing possession with 21 seconds to play, but UNCG's Baldwin knocked down both of the free-throw attempts to make it an 80-76 game.
 
On Samford's last two possessions, senior Tyler Hood and Cunningham were both able to get off late 3-point attempts, but the shots weren't falling. UNCG's Kayel Locke connected on a late free throw to make the final score 81-76.
 
Samford shot 51.9 percent from the field Friday, despite a 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) outing from 3-point range. Hood knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and tallied eight points and six rebounds. Junior guard Marcus Johnson came off the bench to add seven points, three rebounds and a trio of assists, while also connecting on a 3-point basket.
 
"I think that if we could have made some 3s, then it would have spread the court out a little more and we would have been able to get to the rim a little better," Padgett said. "That really hurt us missing all of those shots."
 
The difference in the game occurred on the offensive boards.
 
UNCG out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 18-9, and outscored Samford, 21-9, in second-chance points. The Spartans turned in a 49.2-percent shooting mark, but drained half of their attempts (7-of-14) from beyond the arc.
 
"They killed us on the glass," Padgett said. "They finished with 18 offensive rebounds and they had some guys that played big at big moments. (Kayel) Locke had a big tip-in on a play and they came up with the huge offensive rebounds when they needed to."
 
Six of UNCG's seven players Friday finished with double figures in scoring. Baldwin led the way with 19 points, while All-SoCon performer Tevon Saddler added 15 and Paulos dropped in 13. Kayel Locke posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, as Marvin Smith and R.J. White both scored 10.
 
Samford led for 37 seconds in the game, while UNCG was on top for 38:05. Despite Friday's loss, the Bulldogs still own a 9-7 record in the all-time series.
 
The Samford University basketball team completed Padgett's first season as head coach with a 13-19 overall record. The Bulldogs steadily improved throughout the campaign and rattled off a five-game winning streak midway through the SoCon season.
 
Next year, Samford will definitely miss the expertise of seniors Bradley, Brandon Hayman and Hood, but the remainder of the team's young, talented roster will return for the Bulldogs.

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