CLEVELAND, Ohio. – The Samford men's basketball improved to 5-0 on the season with a 73-60 win at Cleveland State Sunday afternoon.

This marks the first 5-0 start for Samford since the 1996-97 season. That team finished 19-9 and won the TAAC West Division title under the direction of 2019 Samford Athletics Hall of Famer John Brady. Cleveland State falls to 2-3 on the season.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

·       Brandon Austin scored a career-high 21 points to lead Samford in the win.

·       Ruben Guerrero followed with 14 points and nine rebounds.

·       Josh Sharkey added nine points and seven assists.

·       Stefan Kenic led Cleveland State with 15 points, while Dibaji Walker followed with 10 points.

·       Samford won the rebounding battle, 38-35.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

·       In the first half, Samford jumped out to an early 15-5 lead with 15:17 to go in the first half after a jumper by Guerrero.

·       Samford built its lead to 14 points at 28-14 with 8:30 left in the half after a three-pointer by DeAndre Thomas.

·       With Samford leading, 35-26, CSU scored the final eight points of the first half to cut the Samford lead to one point at 35-34 heading into the locker room at halftime.

·       After Cleveland State took a brief 36-35 lead early in the second half, Samford went on a 14-0 run to take a 49-36 lead with 12:46 to go after a free throw by Kevion Nolan.

·       CSU fought back to cut the lead to eight points at 49-41 with 11:57 remaining in the game.

·       Samford then pushed its lead back out to 15 points at 58-43 with 8:52 to go after a layup by Robert Allen.

·       Cleveland State then cut the lead to nine at 58-49 with 5:21 left in the contest.

·       CSU could get no closer as Samford closed out the game with a 73-60 win.

UP NEXT

·       Samford will play at Ohio State Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. (CT). The game can be seen live online on the BTN2GO at the following link: WATCH LIVE.