BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team hosted a strong opponent from out west for the second-straight night as they took on the Utah Valley Wolverines. For the second game in a row, the Bulldogs used a 14-1 scoring run to jump into the lead late and earn the 84-76 victory. The win moves Samford's record to 6-2 on the season.

"A total team win tonight," said head coach Bucky McMillan. " Had guys that scored the ball like Jaden and Rylan. Some guys that won't get mentioned, Isaiah West and Josh Holloway, we wouldn't have won that game without their work defensively. The story of the game for us despite everything, a heavy-weight fight, and both teams were exhausted, we had 18 steals and forced 23 turnovers which I fetl was probably the difference in the game against a very good team."

It was the roadside that got off to a hot shooting start as they hit on nine of their first twelve shots from the floor to take a quick lead. The Bulldogs battled their way back, mostly through Jaden Brownell who scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the first half. The Wolverines were beating the Dogs on the glass in the opening 20 minutes of play as they outscored Samford 8-0 in second-chance points. An extremely physical game saw the Bulldogs trail 43-38 at the half.

Both teams looked like they were playing their second game in as many days in the second half but the intensity from both sides remained high and UVU extended their lead to as much as 15 with 16 minutes left. It was like Deja Vu inside the Pete Hanna Center as right when it looked like the Wolverines were in control of the game, the Bulldog's defensive pressure reached another level that got them back into the game.

Samford was able to cut the deficit to 10 and then 7 with five minutes remaining behind forced turnovers after wearing down Utah Valley. After seven turnovers in the first half, the visitors committed 16 in the second half to get the Bulldogs back into position to win. In winning time, it was Rylan Jones who stepped up making two huge threes as part of the 14-1 run. His second triple put them up with three minutes left and the Dogs never looked back on their way to the eight-point win.

Lukas Walls was strong off the bench with 10 points while Josh Holloway had his fingerprints on much of the Samford run late before fouling out. West finished the game with five steals for the Dogs and was the spearpoint in their pressing late. 

Both sides ended near 50 percent shooting on the night but Samford got 13 extra looks at the basket through forced turnovers and won the battle from the three-point line 10-5 on the night.

The Bulldogs get a day off for Thanksgiving but are back in action at home on Friday. They wrap up play at the MTE against West Georgia who has played two competitive games at the Pete Hanna Center but is 0-8 on the season.

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