BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Trailing by five points with 45 seconds left in the game, the Samford men's basketball team made a frantic comeback to pull out a thrilling, 74-72 win over Furman in Southern Conference action Wednesday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford trailed, 72-67 with 45 seconds to go. Jaden Campbell hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 72-70 with 39 seconds left. Jermaine Marshall then stole the Furman inbounds pass and drew a foul. He made both free throws to tie the game 72-72 at the 38-second mark. Furman's J.P. Pegues missed a three-pointer with eight seconds left and Marshall grabbed the rebound, raced down the court, and made a layup with two seconds left to give Samford the 74-72 win.
 
Samford improved to 24-4 overall and 13-2 in SoCon play. The 24 wins ties the school record for single-season wins. Furman dropped to 15-13 overall and 9-6 in league play.
 
Marshall scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win. The 15 points puts him over the 1,000-career point mark with 1,002 points in his collegiate career. Rylan Jones led Samford in scoring with 17 points, to go along with his four assists. Nathan Jonson scored 13 points and Campbell added 12 points for the Bulldogs.
 
"We won this game for one reason and one reason only, because of how competitive our players are," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "Most importantly, the most competitive player I've ever coached (Marshall) said not today."
 
For Furman, Pegues scored 33 points and grabbed six rebounds. Garrett Hien had 10 points and six rebounds for the Paladins.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 14-4 lead with 13:10 left in the first half following a layup by Josh Holloway. With Samford leading, 16-6, Furman went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to two points at 16-14 with 9:47 to go in the first half after a layup by Ben VanderWal.
 
The Bulldogs stretched the lead back out to seven points at 21-14 at the 8:35 mark in the first half following a layup by Marshall. Furman fought back to cut the lead to two points at 21-19 with 6:20 left in the first half after a layup by Carter Whitt. Samford built the lead back to nine points at 30-21, but Furman scored the final five points of the period to cut the lead to 30-26 heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
Furman came back to tie the game at 32-32 with 18:21 left after a three-pointer by PJay Smith. Samford scored the next five points to take a 37-32 lead with 15:47 to go after a three-pointer by Jones. Furman cut the lead to one point again at 41-40 with 12:12 left after two free throws by Marcus Foster.
 
With Samford leading, 45-44, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to push their lead to 10 points at 56-46 with 8:23 left after a three-point play by Jones. Furman scored the next nine points to cut the lead to one point again at 56-55 with 6:21 left after a three-pointer by Pegues.
 
Samford stretched the lead back to five points at 60-55 with 5:29 left after a dunk by Campbell. Furman then went on a 9-2 run to take a 64-62 lead with 3:48 left following a three-pointer by Pegues. Samford then took a 65-64 lead at the 2:38 mark after a free throw by Marshall. With the score tied at 67-67, Pegues hit a three-pointer to give Furman a 70-67 lead with 56 seconds to go. Two free throws by Pegues gave Furman a 72-67 lead with 45 seconds left, setting the stage for Samford's thrilling comeback.
 
Samford will next play host to ETSU on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.




 
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