BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team played in one of its biggest games of the season tonight as they hosted North Carolina - Greensboro at the Pete Hanna Center. The matchup between the two lone unbeaten teams in the Southern Conference was a physical affair that went the way of the Bulldogs 76-69. Samford moves to 14-3 overall with the win and now tops the SoCon with a 4-0 record while the Spartans fall to 10-7 on the year.

It was apparent from the jump tonight what type of game it was going to be as the Spartans brought a level of physicality and defensive effort different from what has been seen from opponents in the Pete Hanna Center so far this season. Despite the challenge they presented as a top-20 defensive team, the Bulldogs handled themselves well offensively in the opening half. Trey Fort once again got things going with two early triples on his way to 10 first-half points. Colling Holloway added seven, including his opening layup which put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career. 

The biggest difference in the half came off the Bulldog's bench as Lukas Walls and Riley Allensoach were needed on the night. Walls scored all seven of his points in the half but was even more of a plus matching the playing style of the Spartans with his 27 minutes. Allenspach was efficient in his eight minutes of play, scoring nine points as Samford won the bench battle 16-10 in the half. 

The Dogs played one of their better halves of defense in the opening 20 minutes as they limited the Spartans to 8-of-22 shooting and just 25 percent from three. The Bulldogs countered at 42 percent as a team and connected on 5-of-14 attempts from behind the arc. UNCG made it a point of emphasis to get to the free throw line which they did 16 times to keep them in the game where Samfrod led 36-28 at the half.

"I am really proud of how we won that game," said head coach Bucky McMillan. "Our players really played their hearts out. It is never going to be a pretty game against them but you have to show you can win multiple ways in this league and I think we needed to win a game like that."

Having adjusted to the style of play, both offenses picked up their pace and scoring in the second half. Samford started the half well, building the lead up to as much as 16 points, but UNCG shot over 55 percent as they were carried by Donavan Atwell who scored 16 in the second half. The Spartans got the deficit down to six at the under eight-minute timeout, but the Bulldogs stayed the course, getting clutch plays from Rylan Jones who scored 13 in the half, and Fort who scored 11 to finish with a game-high 21 points.

The two sides finished the night very similar statistically in a lot of areas with the slight edge coming for Samford behind the three-point line and in second-chance points. "These types of games just always seem to come down to a few possessions that make the game go either way," continued McMillan.

With the victory, the Samford home winning streak moves to 28 straight which is tied for the second-longest active streak in the country with UConn. It also moves the Dogs into solo first place in the SoCon through four games as they sit as the last unbeaten side.

Up next, the Bulldogs hit the road to face Mercer on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. The Bears are 9-7 on the year overall and 2-1 in league play with a matchup against Western Carolina scheduled tomorrow. 





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