BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team hosted VMI tonight at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs ran their home winning streak to 27 straight games, which is tied for the third-best streak in the nation, after an 81-68 win tonight. The victory moves Samford's record to 13-3 on the year and 3-0 in Southern Conference play while VMI falls to 6-10 on the season.

A fast-paced opening half with two sides who look to get up and down and shoot threes, saw Samford jump out to a 47-40 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs had a balanced attack offensively as eight different players hit a field goal in the half and all five starters scored six or more points. The two sides combined for 33 attempts from behind the arc in the half with the Dogs connecting on eight and the Keydets making six. 

Both sides struggled to take care of the ball in the uptempo nature of the action as they each had double-digit giveaways in the first 20 minutes. Jaden Brownell led the way with nine of his team-high 20 points as the Bulldogs led throughout and by as much as 10 points.

"We didn't play with the energy we normally play with to start the second half," said head coach Bucky McMillan. "We called a timeout and I told the guys if we keep playing like this we will lose the game. After the timeout, we were way more aggressive and built the lead up to 19 at one point. Just had to get the right guys out there that were sold out and that changed the whole deal."

The road side seemed to be the aggressors out of the half along with a lackluster shooting performance from the Bulldogs in the second half. Samford hit just 3-of-18 attempts from three in the second half but did enough to build their lead back to double digits after VMI cut it to three points. 

Defensively, the Dogs got after the Keydets as they forced 22 turnovers on the night and blocked seven shots. The Bulldogs continue to share the ball well as they finished with 19 assists. Trey Fort, Rylan Jones, and Collin Holloway all scored in double figures while Holloway also pulled down 12 rebounds for his double-double. 

"They are a good team," continued McMillan. "The run zone and make you make some threes. We didn't have a great night making 11-of-38. You think if we make or normal percentage it gives us a little more breathing room but they have been in a lot of games it is what the SoCon is."

Up next, the Bulldogs have one of their toughest tests of the early conference season as they host UNCG on Saturday at the Pete Hanna Center at 5 p.m. Both sides sit atop the league standings at a 3-0 mark with the winner being the lone unbeaten team remaining.





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