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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team suffered its fifth-consecutive loss on the road Sunday as the Bulldogs came up short in an 86-78 decision against the UNCG Spartans in a Southern Conference contest held at the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
"Our heart has been out these last three games," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "The heart of our intensity and toughness has been out the last three games. So, I'm hoping that coming next Saturday AP (Alex Peters) is back, because there's a different feel when he's in the game.
 
"That's not me trying to knock on anybody that's taken his place, but it's just not the same. He is the guy who spearheads our defense and you don't get anything easy in that lane when he's in there. Right now, especially today, there wasn't enough fight in that lane, specifically in the second half."
 
Sophomore center Alex Peters, who was injured in the first half of the ETSU game on Jan. 14, has not played in the Bulldogs' last three outings. He is hopeful to return Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) at home against first-place Chattanooga.
 
With Sunday's loss, Samford (11-10, 2-6 SoCon) moved to 4-8 on the road this season, including an 0-5 record in conference play. The Bulldogs' last victory away from home came at Nebraska, 69-58, on Dec. 20. Since then, Samford has dropped consecutive road games against Mercer, Wofford, Furman, VMI and UNCG (7-13, 3-4 SoCon).
 
"Right now, we're in that tough time," Padgett said. "We've lost five of our last six games and mental toughness is a big thing. It's the difference between being a winner and a team that's close a lot. Right now, when it's time to dig down and get that one stop, or when it's time to dig down and execute and get a great shot, we've started taking the easy way out."
 
The Spartans improved to 7-3 at home this season. All of UNCG's victories have occurred in the friendly confines of the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans are 0-10 on the road this season and will play at Samford on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
 
The Bulldogs led by as many as nine points in the first half, 24-15, and six in the second half, 56-50, following a 10-foot baseline jumper from true freshman Dakota Quinn with 11:37 left to play.
 
Samford shot a sizzling 54.2 percent from the field in the opening period, but only shot 33.3 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 43.1 percent from the floor, 29.2 from 3-point range and 27-of-34 (79.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
"I didn't think we had a ton of miscues in the first half," said Padgett. "Defensively, we held them to 41-percent shooting in the first half, but then in the second half, UNCG set the tone on the first play when we had a miscommunication on defense, then we don't get a defensive rebound and before you know it, we're down by two within a minute."
 
A huge turning point in Sunday's outcome occurred with four minutes left to play when Samford sophomore Christen Cunningham was called for a foul on a 3-point field-goal attempt from Diante Baldwin. With the Bulldogs only trailing by three points, 68-65, the official from the farthest part of the frontcourt called the foul despite Cunningham's reach being a good two feet away from Baldwin.
 
UNCG's Baldwin only made one of the three free-throw attempts, but senior Kayel Locke grabbed the long rebound after the final miss and ended up scoring and getting fouled in the process. Locke, who finished Sunday's contest with 17 points and six rebounds, closed out the old-fashioned, three-point play and gave the Spartans a seven-point lead, 72-65.
 
"There is one play that really stands out to me that did change the game," Padgett said. "It is what it is. All I know is that, when we went down the floor it was a three-point game and the next thing you know it's a seven-point game."
 
Once the momentum of the game shifted down the stretch, UNCG was able to hold at least a five-point advantage for the remainder of the contest. Locke scored a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining to make the final tally, 86-78.
 
With the Spartans' victory Sunday, they trimmed Samford's advantage in the all-time series to 9-8.
 
The Bulldogs' Wyatt Walker, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, finished with 17 points, six rebounds and an assist despite playing only 19 minutes. Walker, Samford's talented true freshman center from Jacksonville, Florida, got into some foul trouble early and was plagued by the whistle for a majority of the contest.
 
Sunday's game featured 52 personal fouls and a total of 72 free throws attempted.
 
"We got into some foul trouble that led to Wyatt being out of the game and Jamal (Shabazz) was shaken up and had to be out for a while, so that hurt us as well," Padgett said. "I thought Jamal had one of his best games since he's been at Samford, as far as all-around stats are concerned. Wyatt was playing well and Darius (Jones-Gibson) didn't score near his average, but I liked to see that he had six assists and only one turnover."
 
Samford's Jamal Shabazz and Cunningham both scored 15 points against UNCG, while Matt Rose added 14 points and drained a team-high four 3-pointers. Shabazz also added six rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. Cunningham turned in a perfect 9-of-9 performance from the free-throw line.
 
The Spartans finished with five players scoring in double figures and were paced by Marvin Smith's 20 points. UNCG's sophomore forward from Richmond, Virginia, also connected on a game-high five 3-point baskets and finished 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.
 
Junior center RJ White registered 15 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans, while Baldwin tallied 11 and Francis Alonso finished with 10.
 
"The difference was at the half, they had five offensive rebounds for three points, so they weren't making us pay in that regard," said Padgett. "We did a better job on them then, but in the second half, they had six offensive rebounds for 10 points. They made us pay on it in the second half. The backboard killed us in the second half compared to how we played in the first half."
 
UNCG led Samford in points off turnovers, 16-9, fast-break points, 11-6, and second-chance points, while the Bulldogs won the battle of the boards, 35-34.
 
"When this team learns to hate losing as much as I do, because I'm not going to be able to go to sleep for a week, they'll start doing something about it," Padgett said. "Right now, everybody says they want to win, but who's going to actually take the steps to do all the little things that it really takes to win. Tonight, we didn't do that and we haven't done that in five of our last six games."
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the first-place Chattanooga Mocs to the Pete Hanna Center for a highly-anticipated Southern Rail Rivalry contest to be broadcast live on ESPN3. The game will also mark the opening contest of Samford's crucial four-game SoCon homestand.
 
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