BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought Southern Conference contest to ETSU by a score of 88-85 Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 11-6 overall and 1-4 in SoCon play. ETSU improves to 11-8 overall and 3-3 in league play.
 
"At the end of these games in this conference, under four-minute media in particular, when we're short-handed, it's going to be game-winning plays that win the game," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "They made some game-winning plays and some game-winning shots. We were unable to do that late."
 
Samford was led in the loss by Jaden Campbell with a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Logan Dye also scored 20 points for the Bulldogs. Wesley Cardet scored 15 points, while Ques Glover had 12 points and eight assists.
 
ETSU was led by Jordan King with 19 points. Ledarrius Brewer had 17 points for the Bucs.
 
Samford jumped out to a 17-11 lead with 14:56 to go in the first half following a pair of free throws by Glover. ETSU went on a 10-2 run to take a 21-19 lead with 12:05 remaining in the first half after a layup by Mohab Yasser. The Bucs took a five-point lead at 33-28 after a three-pointer by Brewer with 7:50 to go in the first half.
 
The Bulldogs came back to cut the lead to two points at 35-33 after a three-pointer by Jacob Tryon with 3:56 to go in the opening period. Cooper Kaifes tied the game at 46-46 with a three-pointer with 35 seconds left in the half, and the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime knotted at 46-46.
 
ETSU took a 59-51 lead after a three-pointer by King with 14:24 to go in the second half. Samford scored the next nine points to take a 60-59 lead at the 11:22 mark after a layup by Dye. The Bucs came back to take a 67-62 lead with 9:57 to play after a pair of free throws by Brewer.
 
Samford cut the lead to one at 69-68 with 8:03 to go after a free throw by Campbell. ETSU built a six-point lead at 85-79 with 51 seconds left on a dunk by Charlie Weber. Samford closed to within one point at 85-84 with 29 seconds left on a jumper by Cardet. ETSU made several key free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 88-85 win.
 
Samford will play at VMI on Thursday, Jan. 20. The game is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Lexington, Va.





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