BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team opened play tonight in its 2025-26 campaign as they faced Alabama A&M in the Ballin in Boutwell exhibition game. A back-and-forth opener for the Bulldogs under head coach Lennie Acuff saw them come up one point short, 74-73.

The Bulldogs got a look at their squad that features 13 newcomers as they faced an opponent for the first time. Starters DaJion Humphrey and Dylan Faulkner got the Dogs off to a strong start as they had nine and six points respectively in the opening 20 minutes of play. The duo combined to go 6-of-8 from the field as the Bulldogs shot 46 percent from the floor as a team in the first half. 

Judson Bjornstad provided a spark off the bench for the second unit as he scored eight points in eight minutes. The Dogs shot just 2-of-9 from three in the opening half and committed seven turnovers as a late 7-0 run gave Alabama A&M a 41-33 lead at the half.

A&M came out of the second half on a run and took the biggest lead of the night as they got up by as much as 12 points in the opening minutes. Samford slowly chipped away throughout the remainder of the second half, finally tying the game at 66 with four minutes remaining. The three-point ball began to go for the Dogs, led by Jadin Booth, who found his offense in the second half, finishing with 15 points. 

The Samford defense held Alabama A&M to just 33 percent shooting in the second half, but they could never retake the lead. Booth knocked down a long two, followed by a Faulkner layup, which tied the game with under 3 minutes left. Samford finally edged ahead when Faulkner finished at the rim and converted the three-point play at the line with 29 seconds left to put the Bulldogs up one. Alabama A&M went down and converted two from the line to retake the lead while Booth's game-winning attempt from three rimmed out at the buzzer as Samford fell one point short, 74-73.

Samford outshot A&M 46 percent to 38 percent, but Alabama A&M won the battle on the offensive boards and committed fewer turnovers. Samford had 17 assists offensively to just five from A&M. Three players finished in double-figures for Samford, led by Faulkner, who had a team-high 15 points and six rebounds.

The Bulldogs open their regular season at Tulane on Nov. 3 before returning to the Pete Hanna Center for their home opener against South Carolina State on Nov. 7.

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