BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford junior guard A.J. Staton-McCray scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Bulldog men's basketball team to its 12^th-straight win, taking down Chattanooga, 89-74 in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Wednesday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"This was a great win," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "You've got to win in different ways, particularly in league play. You've got to have adaptability, to play different ways and have guys that are committed to focus. I felt in the first half we were a little bit flat to begin the game, we just couldn't get our juices going. But the second half, we came out and we were much better, we were much more locked in."
 
Samford improved to 12-2 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play with the win. Chattanooga fell to 8-6 overall and 0-1 in league action. The 12-game win streak is the longest for a Samford team since the 1998-99 team won 13 games in a row. The school record for longest win streak is 14 games by the 1960-61 team.
 
Staton-McCray made 9-of-12 shots from the floor and was a perfect 6-of-6 from three-point range. He also led the team in rebounding with five. Achor Achor had 20 points for the Bulldogs, while Chandler Leopard scored 12 points and Garrett Hicks added 11 points. Rylan Jones dished out a team-high six assists, while Dallas Graziani had five assists.
 
For Chattanooga, Trey Bonham led the way with 21 points and six rebounds. Honor Huff tallied 18 points for the Mocs, while Sam Alexis added 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Chattanooga jumped out to an early 17-12 lead with 15:01 left in the first half after a three-pointer by Huff. Samford fought back to cut the lead to 17-16 with 14:26 left in the opening half after a layup by Staton-McCray. With Chattanooga leading, 22-16, Samford went on an 11-5 run to knot the score at 27-27 with 8:48 to go in the first half following a three-pointer by Jones.
 
The Mocs built their lead back to five points at 32-27, but Samford fought back to take a 37-36 lead with 3:34 remaining before halftime after a jumper by Hicks. Chattanooga scored the next five points to take a 41-37 lead at the 2:26 mark in the first half after a layup by Huff. Samford answered with a 9-0 run to take a 46-41 lead with 42 seconds left in the half after a three-pointer by Leopard. Samford took a 46-43 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Chattanooga cut the Samford lead to one point at 50-49 early in the second half, but Samford scored the next six points to take a 56-49 lead with 17:02 left after a layup by Graziani. Chattanooga cut the lead to one point again at 56-55 with 16:34 left after a free throw by Bonham. With Samford leading, 64-63, the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 71-63 with 11:17 left after a pair of free throws by Achor.
 
Samford extended its lead out to 13 points at 78-65 with 6:44 to go in the contest following a layup by Achor. The Bulldogs eventually led by as many as 17 points at 89-72 with 32 seconds left. Samford finished with the 89-74 conference-opening win.
 
Samford will play at The Citadel on Saturday, Jan. 6. The game is set for a 12 p.m. (CT) start from Charleston, S.C.




 
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).