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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team dropped its third overtime contest of the 2015-16 season Thursday as the Bulldogs suffered a difficult 82-77 Southern Conference loss to the UNCG Spartans at home in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I just talked to the team in the locker room and I really believe that they're at the point where they're just waiting for the other shoe to drop," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "When the game's close and it's at the end, instead of doing the things that you did to get there, which is be aggressive, turn them over, trap them, we started backing off and not even trying to get after them.
 
"I kept telling them to get up and press, but they seemed too afraid to make a mistake. You can't be scared to make mistakes and win basketball games. If we ever want to win a close game like this, you have to believe 100 percent in your teammates, yourself, your system and the coaches. If you do, then you can play with free rein and comfort and you don't worry about those things."
 
With Thursday's loss, Samford (12-17, 3-13 SoCon) moved to 5-7 at home this season and fell short in its third straight game. Since earning a 95-86 road win at The Citadel on Feb. 8, the Bulldogs have dropped consecutive outings to ETSU, 94-90 (OT), Western Carolina, 76-71, and UNCG (11-17, 7-8 SoCon), where all three of the games proved one-possession contests with less than a minute to play.
 
"When there are four minutes left on the clock and you're worried about making a mistake, then that's exactly the time that you make mistakes," Padgett said. "Our effort was very good tonight, but I thought that with about three minutes left in the game, we stopped attacking and we were just hoping that the clock ran out. We also missed some free throws late that could have helped us to put the game away."
 
Samford forced UNCG into a game-high 20 turnovers Thursday, but committed 17 of its own, including four costly miscues in the final minutes of regulation. The Bulldogs finished a respectable 24-of-32 from the free-throw line for 75 percent, while the Spartans turned in an 84-percent clip at 21-of-25.
 
Samford did miss two of its five free-throw attempts in the overtime period.
 
"There's only one good remedy for us right now, and that is for us to go out there and play 40 minutes of energy, effort and confidence for the entire game," Padgett said. "No matter what happens throughout the game, we need to keep fighting. Late in games, we're playing too iffy and you can't be iffy and expect to win."
 
The Bulldogs led by as many as eight points in the second half, 47-39, but the streaky UNCG squad battled back to take a four-point advantage, 68-64, with 2:09 remaining in the game.
 
Samford's Darius Jones-Gibson then scored five straight points and Christen Cunningham connected on the backend of a two-shot foul to give the Bulldogs a 70-68 advantage with 17 seconds left on the clock.
 
On the Spartans' final possession of regulation, senior Kayel Locke drove the lane with five seconds to play and was fouled by Wyatt Walker. Locke then went to the free-throw line and bounced both attempts in to tie the score at 70-70.
 
In overtime, Francis Alonso knocked down an early 3-point basket and UNCG was able to maintain the positive momentum for the remainder of the game. The Spartans held on for the 82-77 victory and finished with their season sweep of Samford.
 
"When we were 9-4 and winning at Nebraska earlier this season, we were not iffy," Padgett said. "We're still the same team. The only difference is our confidence level and the belief is not what it was at that point in the season."
 
Alonso led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. UNCG's freshman from Malaga, Spain, also knocked down four 3-point baskets. Point guard Diante Baldwin added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Locke chipped in with 14 points.
 
Samford finished with five players scoring in double figures for the second time this season Thursday. Walker paced the squad with 17 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots, while Jones-Gibson tallied 14 points and Cunningham notched 12 points, six assists and three rebounds.
 
"Overall, I thought we had a lot of good contributions from a lot of guys," said Padgett. "I thought that Darius (Jones-Gibson) played well and Marcus came in and gave us a great first half. He didn't get as many opportunities as far as shots in the second half. Wyatt (Walker) also played really good and I thought we had several guys that played well."
 
Senior guard Marcus Johnson gave the Bulldogs an early lift with 11 points in the first half. Fellow-senior Iman Johnson played well with 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
"Iman (Johnson) came in and gave us some good minutes off the bench, but at the end of the day, unless you're going to play well for the entire game, it's all just numbers," said Padgett."
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the VMI Keydets in a special Senior Day contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Fans are encouraged to arrive early Saturday as Samford's senior class comprised of Iman Johnson, Marcus Johnson, Jones-Gibson and Jamal Shabazz will be honored with a special Senior Day presentation.
 
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