GAME NOTES: Belhaven (0-1) @ Samford (3-3)
Complete game release in PDF format
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The
Samford University men's basketball team closes out the fall semester on Monday, Dec. 21 with a pre-Christmas tilt versus
Belhaven University. Tipoff is set for
7 PM at the
Pete Hanna Center. Monday's matchup is the final non-conference clash for the Bulldogs this season. Complete coverage is available on
ESPN+.
Jacob Tryon's rebound and put back with 0.8 seconds left in the game, lifted the Bulldogs (3-3) to a 65-63 victory over Kennesaw State (3-4) at the KSU Convocation Center on Saturday. Myron Gordon (17), A.J. Staton-McCray (14), Logan Dye (11) and Tryon (10) all scored in double figures for Samford.
Belhaven (0-1) is coming off a 95-78 loss at Birmingham Southern on Thursday, Dec. 17. Rance Champ (20.0 ppg) and Luke Couch (12.0 ppg/7.0 rpg) lead the Blazers into the contest.
Monday's meeting marks the 17th between Samford and Belhaven in a series that dates back to the 1959-60 season. The Bulldogs own a commanding 14-2 edge in the series, including three wins in a row over the Blazers. In fact, Samford has claimed eight of the last 10 meetings with Belhaven. The two teams last met on Nov. 25, 1996, at Seibert Gym, a 70-67 victory under then-head coach John Brady.
BULLDOGS TO OPEN SOCON PLAY WITH VMI: Samford will open Southern Conference play versus Virginia Military Institute on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at the Pete Hanna Center. Tipoff is set for 7 PM. The matchup is the 17th all-time between the Bulldogs and Keydets with Samford owning a 13-3 edge in the series. SU was picked to finish eighth in the SoCon this season with VMI tabbed ninth.
SAMFORD GRABS LAST SECOND WIN AT KSU: A put-back by Jacob Tryon with just four seconds left gave the Samford men's basketball team the lead for good in a 65-63 win at Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon. With the win, Samford improves to 3-3 so far this season. Kennesaw State falls to 3-4 with the loss.
Tryon's basket gave Samford a 64-63 lead, and then Richardson Maitre came up with a steal and his free throw with eight-tenths of a second to go made the final score 65-63.
Myron Gordon led the Bulldogs with 17 points, all coming in the second half. A.J. Staton-McCray added 14 points with Logan Dye (11) and Tryon (10) joining them in double figures. Tryon also finished with a team-leading eight rebounds.
BULLDOG BITES:
- Samford enters this week's games at Troy and Kennesaw State receiving votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
- Senior guard Myron Gordon turned his best performance of 2020-21, scoring 29 points with three rebounds and three assists at Georgia. The Bordentown, N.J., native is leading the team in scoring, averaging 20.2 ppg.
- Christian Guess , a 6-6 junior transfer guard, currently ranks 16th in the SoCon in scoring at 15.3 points per game and 4th in rebounding (9.3). The Cleveland, Ohio, native, has scored in double figures in every game this season, including a double-double at Georgia with 14 points and 10 rebounds. His 22 points and 10 rebounds versus Alabama A&M established career-highs at Samford.
- Junior forward Logan Dye, a 6-8 forward from Haleyville, Ala., enters the week averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
- Senior center Jacob Tryon , who is averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his second start for the Bulldogs in a 98-73 win over Covenant. The Portland transfer chipped in 16 points and cleared seven rebounds at Belmont.
- A.J. Staton-McCray, a 6-5 freshman guard from Charlotte, N.C., enters Monday's match-up with Belhaven averaging 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He tied his career-high with 15 points at Belmont.
- Senior point guard Richardson Maitre , a 6-3 transfer from Florida Atlantic, leads Samford in assists with 18, averaging 3.2 per contest.
- Samford has been strong this season out of the gate, outscoring the opposition 263-214 in the first half.
- The Bulldogs are holding opponents to 39.7 percent shooting from the floor, including a mere 27.2 percent from 3-point range.
- Samford plays by the motto "Hard Working, Unselfish, Fearless" and this season the Bulldogs are using those words to define their frenetic style of play. SU is averaging 15.5 assists per game while forcing the opposition into 14.7 turnovers per game.
NON-STARTERS PROVIDING BIG LIFT: Samford's success this season has been fueled by the offensive production of its non-starters, who have outscored the opposition 257-73. In a 98-73 win over Covenant, the Bulldogs bench outscored the Scots, 48-21, and in a 96-83 win at Belmont, SU held a dominating 64-4 edge in bench scoring. In Saturday's heartbreaking loss at Georgia, the Bulldogs bench outscored UGA 44-19. In Saturday's win at Kennesaw State, the Bulldog bench dominated the scoring, 37-7.
SAMFORD PLAYING ITS 103RD SEASON: The Bulldogs are playing their 103rd season in Samford University Men's Basketball history. Samford has won 1,128 games in its previous 102 seasons, including 603 as an NCAA Division I institution.
BUCKYBALL COMES TO SAMFORD: Arguably one of the nation's most distinct brands of basketball, #BuckyBall, has come to Samford with new head coach Bucky McMillan. The former standout at Birmingham Southern won 332 games and five Alabama state championships in 13 seasons as head coach at Mountain Brook High School. The up-tempo, in your face style of play became a staple in Birmingham, as MBHS transformed into a national power. McMillan has been named "Coach of the Year" 12 times in his career, including 2019 USA Today National Coach of the Year.
BULLDOGS PICKED 8TH IN PRESEASON POLL: With the start of the 2020-21 season in less than two weeks, the Samford Bulldogs were picked to finish 8th in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll. UNC-Greensboro, which received 76 votes, narrowly edged Furman as the league's preseason favorite. The 2020-21 SoCon Preseason Poll was voted on by the league's head coaches.
