BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team kicked off their Thanksgiving multi-team event tonight by hosting the North Dakota State Bison at the Pete Hanna Center. NDSU was on fire from deep and it forced the Bulldogs to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as they closed regulation on a 14-0 run to force overtime. Samford controlled overtime to take a 103-98 victory to take their record to 5-2 on the season.

The first half was an offensive shootout tonight. Both teams played free-flowing offense as each shot well over 50 percent from the floor. Trey Fort and Collin Holloway led the way for the Bulldogs as they scored 15 and 10 points respectively in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs carried a slight lead into the halftime locker room despite the sharp shooting from deep from the Bison as they opened 10-of-15 from behind the arc in the half. The Dogs countered shooting it well themselves, 6-of-13 from three, and led 50-44 at the break.

The visitors stormed out of the half and quickly took control of the game early in the second half. The Bulldogs struggled in the half-court as they shot just 39 percent from the field and were just 2-of-14 from three in the second half. NDSU built a double-digit lead with nine minutes remaining and built it to as much as 15 points with 4:30 left in the game as it looked like they were on their way to a victory.

Down 14 with 3:02 left, everything changed in the course of the game. The Bulldog's pressure, which the Bison had handled decently well on the night, became overwhelming as NDSU struggled to get the ball across halfcourt. A Rylan Jones three cut the lead to single digits with 2:30 left, followed by a Larry Olayinka dunk and another Jones three. Despite the fury of punches thrown from the home side, the Bison still led by four, with the ball and 52 seconds remaining. 

In the final 3 minutes of play, NDSU turned the ball over six of their 17 times on the night. Josh Holloway scored a floater in the paint off a turnover and Bulldogs offensive rebounds to cut the NDSU lead to two with 34 seconds left. A final Bison turnover led to Collin Holloway going to the line where he missed two attempts, but the Bulldogs got multiple offensive rebounds again as Olayinka got a layup to go with 10 seconds left. Samford got one final stop on a rushed Bison attempt and the Bulldogs had all of the momentum heading to overtime. 

Fort, Collins Holloway, and Jones scored 14 of the team's 18 points in the overtime period as they were able to jump out in front and not look back on their way to a five-point overtime win. 

Fort and Collin Holloway each scored a team-high 24 points as both shot over 50 percent from the floor on the night. Collin Holloway also led the team in rebounding with 11 while Jones finished with a 19-point, 6-assist night including a few massive threes down the stretch. The bench was uncharacteristically quiet for the Bulldogs but Olayinka led the unit with 10 points.

The Bulldogs are back in action tomorrow as they take on Utah Valley. The Wolverines were victorious over West Georgia today and have a 4-1 record on the season.

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