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ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team's 2017 Southern Conference Tournament run came to an end Sunday as the Bulldogs' second-half rally fell short in an 81-72 loss against the third-seeded ETSU Buccaneers in a semifinal contest held at the U.S. Cellular Center.
 
"Defensively, I thought they came out and pressured us early on," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "We settled a lot. Once we settled on some tough shots, I think we allowed that to affect our defensive intensity. When we finally said, 'All right, we have to lay it all out on the line,' we went to a full out press.
 
"I thought our guys did great, but at that point, you have to play the perfect game to win. I thought there was one constant for us and that was settling. We had about six steals in the second half that we didn't convert on. I love them for the fight. They really fought back."
 
Samford (19-15) outscored ETSU (26-7), 44-40, in the second half of play, but the Buccaneers' strong first half proved to be the difference in Sunday's outcome.
 
With its win, ETSU returned to the championship game of the SoCon Tournament after losing a year ago to Chattanooga.
 
Samford made its second appearance in the semifinal round this season in nine years in the league, the first was in their inaugural SoCon campaign in 2009.
 
Sunday's semifinal contest proved to be the T.J. Cromer show for ETSU. The senior guard tied the tournament record for 3-pointers made with nine en route to a career-high 41 points. He was 9-for-11 from long range and 11-of-16 overall.
 
The Bucs led from start-to-finish. The biggest advantage was 23 points, 53-30, following a Cromer 3-pointer. Despite trailing by double figures from the 12:21 mark of the first half, Samford never gave up.
 
The Bulldogs chipped away at the lead cutting it to 10, 76-66, with 2:21 to go on a Wyatt Walker layup. They then got the stop they needed, but missed a layup and 3-pointer on the ensuing possession with a chance to get it to single digits. ETSU made five of six free throws down the stretch to stave off any serious threat.
 
Cromer's 40-point night overshadowed Christen Cunningham's career-high, 30-point effort for the Bulldogs. Alex Thompson and Wyatt Walker added 14 apiece. ETSU's Desonta Bradford chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bucs.
 
"When we give effort, we are a good defensive team," said Cunningham. "We can rebound. We got beat up on the backboards during conference play and we didn't defend well. During this tournament, we've had two good defensive and rebounding games. Our recipe for success is defense and rebounding. That's what makes championship teams."
 
Cromer hit 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the field, 9-of-12 (75.0%) from 3-point range and 10-of-11 (90.9%) from the free-throw line. The rest of the Bucs combined for 11-of-34 (32.4%) on field goals, 4-of-11 (36.4%) on 3-pointers and 14-of-20 (70.0%) on free throws.
 
Samford turned in a 40.6-percent performance (26-of-64) from the floor including 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from 3-point range.
 
"This is year three, and each year we've improved," Cunningham said. "It's obviously a building block, but it hurts now. What coach said, we'll be able to use tonight's loss going into next season, to focus in more on the little details, to pay attention to the game plan more, and to be locked in. It's definitely a step in the right direction, but it's not the step we wanted."
 
ETSU will meet UNCG in the SoCon championship game Monday at 6 p.m. (CT), on ESPN2.
 
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