BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Despite a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds from
Jermaine Marshall and 22 points and six assists from
Ques Glover, the Samford University men's basketball team fell 85-73 to Belmont (7-3) on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs (6-2) had a huge second half, outscoring Belmont 48-39. Will Richard led the Bruins with 23 points.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Belmont 85 | Samford 73
Venue | Time: Pete Hanna Center | Birmingham, Ala. | 7 p.m.
Series: 30th meeting | Belmont leads 18-12
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Bruins raced out of the gate to take a 13-3 lead at the 15:50 media timeout. Nick Muscynski led Belmont and all scorers with six points. Will Richard had five.
- Samford was 1-of-11 from the field before a 3-pointer at the top of the key by Ques Glover cut the deficit back to 10, 18-8, with 13:43 left in the half.
- Out of the under-12 media timeout, a steal and layup by Grayson Murphy extended Belmont's lead to 12, 20-8.
- A pair of 3-pointers by Jaron Rillie cut the Samford deficit to eight, 22-14, with 8:21 left in the half.
- The Bruins used three turnovers to build their largest lead of the half, 33-14, with 4:22 to go. Richard scored the eight of the last 11 points for Belmont.
- Jacob Tryon canned a pair of right wing 3-pointers to try and get the Bulldogs offense untracked.
- After a 3-pointer by Samford's Cooper Kaifes with 2.3 seconds left in the half, Belmont took a 46-25 lead into the locker room.
- Richard led the Bruins with 15 points at the break followed by eight from Luke Smith.
- Tryon led the Bulldogs with eight points with Rllie dropping in six.
- The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 5-2 run behind a floater from Glover and 3-pointer from Kaifes with 18:44 to play in the game.
- Samford continued to knife into the deficit, outscoring the Bruins 15-7 over the first 5:22 of the second period. Glover had eight for the Bulldogs during the stretch, as Belmont led 54-40 with 14:38 to play.
- Marshall's 3-pointer with 13:54 cut it 11, 54-43, for the Bulldogs.
- Sheppard responded with a 3-pointer followed by a pair of free throws from Richard to end Samford's run and push the Bruins' lead to 58-43 with 13:28 to go.
- After back-to-back baskets from Marhsall, Belmont got a 3-pointer from Muscynski and a layup by JaCobi Wood to stretch the lead to 18, 65-47.
- Marshall's second 3-pointer of the game stopped an 8-0 run from the Bruins with 5:54 to play.
- Rillie's 3-pointer with 3:45 to go cut the margin to 15, 77-62.
- With Belmont in the middle of a 4:17 field goal drought, Glover dropped in a quick five for the Bulldogs, as the Bruins led 81-68 with 2:25 to play.
- Belmont made 10-of-12 free throws in the final 5:57 to secure the win.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Samford shot 36.7 percent (24-of-62) from the floor for the game and 34.4 percent from 3-point range (12-of-36). Belmont connected on 52.8 percent (28-of-53) of its attempts including 10-of-25 from beyond the arc. The Bruins were also 19-of-27 at the free throw line.
- The Bulldogs forced 18 Belmont turnovers leading directly to 21 points.
- Samford held Belmont without a field goal for the final 6:06 of the game.
- Rillie (11) and Tryon (10) finished in double figures to join Marshall and Glover.
- Luke Smith (15), Ben Sheppard (13) and Nick Muscynski (11) also scored in double digits for Belmont.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Saturday's game was the 30th all-time between the Bruins and the Bulldogs. Belmont owns an 18-12 edge in the series standings.
UP NEXT:
- The Bulldogs travel to Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday, Dec. 8, as Samford faces the Hornets of Alabama State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on YouTube TV.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
- For the latest news and information on Samford Men's Basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordMBB (Twitter), and @SamfordMBB (Instagram).
