BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team played its third game in four days today as they hosted West Georgia at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs finished off a 3-0 week by taking down West Georgia 86-65 to take their record to 7-2 on the season. 

The game went more to West Georgia's style in the first 20 minutes of play. Samford was able to shoot just 38 percent from the floor in the first half, led by Jaden Brownell who had nine of his eleven points in the half. Despite the slow offensive start, the Bulldogs stayed in control of the game, leading throughout, unlike the previous two games in the MTE event. Riley Allenspach used his size and strength advantage down on the block and scored eight quick points off the bench for the Dogs. Samford led 37-32 at the half.

"It was good to get our offense clicking in the second half," said head coach Bucky McMillan. "Struggled to shoot it in the first half but shot 62 percent in the second half. We made the decision to make our defense more aggressive at halftime and that kind of got our offense going, got out in transition a little bit more, and made more shots."

Led by Trey Fort's ten points in the second half, the Bulldogs began to pull away from the visitors after the break, building their lead up to the highest margin of 21 points to end the night. Josh Holloway continues to be a spark plug off the bench these last few games for the Dogs. He finished with an efficient 13 points, 5-of-6 shooting, and added six assists. He was one of five Bulldogs to finish with double figures on the night, alongside Brownell, Fort, Allenspach, and Rylan Jones.

The Bulldogs shot in well from deep on the night as they knocked down 12-of-26 attempts from three. They shared the ball well, assisting on 18 of 30 field goals. Defensively, the Dogs held UWG to 41 percent from the floor, forced 17 turnovers, and right at their season average of points.

The Bulldogs get a break from games and are back in action again on Dec. 5 when they hit the road to face South Carolina State. SCSU is 4-4 on their season and has a game at Xavier prior to facing Samford.

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