CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Samford men's basketball team took to the road in the Southern Conference tonight to face a strong Chattanooga team. With first place on the line in the league, the Bulldogs fell behind early before dominating the second half on their way to a 73-69 victory. The win moves the Dog's record to 16-4 overall and atop the SoCon standings with a 6-1 mark.

Coming off their first conference loss of the season in their last game, the Bulldogs looked like they might have a hangover off that performance. They struggled to get much going on either end of the floor as they went on an extended scoring drought early and fell behind by double-digits. 

Six players scored in the first half for the Dogs as they shot 44 percent from the floor as a team. The Mocs countered with 47 percent but won the battle at the free-throw line and the three-point line. The Bulldogs were sloppy with the ball at times as they trailed by as many as 16 points in the half. Fortunately for the Dogs, Riley Allenspach was a spark off the bench, leading the way with 10 points in just six minutes of play as Samford was behind 42-31 at the half.

The halftime adjustments for head coach Bucky McMillan and his staff paid off quickly as after the first four minutes of play in the second half, the difference in the Bulldogs were obvious to see. They ran the offense through Jaden Brownell who scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half. A 13-0 run early on in the second half gave the Bulldogs their first lead since 2-0 to open the night. 

The Dogs took control of the game, building their lead up to nine at the under-eight media timeout as Trey Fort came to life, scoring eight of his 10 points. Another major piece of the run was Josh Holloway who finished the night with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists. He was running the show and using his speed to get to the basket throughout the second half to propel the Dog's run. 

Defensively, Chattanooga was held to 35 percent in the second half by the Bulldogs who weren't able to effect the game with their press as much as normal and relied on strong half court defense. Samford was able to execute down the stretch offensively and finish the game off at the finish line to earn the four-point win.

Up next, the Bulldogs return home and look to start a new home-winning streak after seeing their 28-game streak snapped in their previous game at the Pete Hanna Center. They host Wofford at 5 p.m. with the Terriers entering the game with an 11-9 record overall and a 5-2 mark in conference play.

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