BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team returned home to the Pete Hanna Center tonight on a quick turnaround after winning in overtime on Friday to host Texas Southern. The Bulldogs were on fire from three throughout the night as they came away with a 97-82 victory. The win takes their record to 4-1 on the season while the Tigers fall to 1-4.

The Bulldogs controlled the game throughout today, in large part due to their firepower from behind the three-point line. The Dogs hit a season-high 20 threes as they tied a program record with 44 attempts.

"Shot it good from and we took a lot of them," said head coach Bucky McMillan. "44 attempts from three is indicative of the pace we want to play at offensively. We shot it better, 45.5 percent from three which is good. A lot of those threes were all good shots because the ball was moving. I feel like we got better from our last game to this game." 

24 of the 38 shots taken in the first half from Samford were from three, as they connected on 10 of those to help build a first-half lead. Defensively, the Bulldogs sped up TSU, forcing 11 turnovers which they turned into 15 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Five different plays scored five or more points in the first half, led by Rylan Jones with nine who connected on three shots from behind the arc in the half, and Jaden Brownell who scored eight of his 10 points in the first half.

Josh Holloway provided a nice spark off the bench as he scored four points, dished out three assists, and pulled down two rebounds in his eight minutes of play. Riley Allenspach continues his strong play coming off the bench ever since game three this year as he scored nine of his 15 points in the first half of play as the Dogs led 51-32 at the break.

After shooting 42 percent from three in the first half, Samford wasn't done with their hot shooting as they connected on 8 of their next 11 to start the second half. They would go on to take a lead by as many as 26 points before the Tigers cut into the margin late in the game. The Dogs dominated the bench scoring again, outscoring the visitors 50-20 while also taking care of the ball as they had 21 assists to just nine turnovers.

Jones ended the night with a team-high 18 points, his best mark of the season to date, and a six to zero assist to turnover margin. 

Despite the margin of victory, coach McMillan touched on his desire for the team's improved defensive efforts, "I am tired of seeing our guards get beat off the dribble. It was better early in the game but I don't mental intensity or maturity late in the game to stay at our standard."

Up next, the Bulldogs have their toughest test to date as they hit the road for a game at Michigan State. The Spartans enter the game 3-1 on the season with their line defeat coming against Kansas last week.

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