BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team returned home to the Pete Hanna Center tonight as they hosted South Carolina State in their second game of the season. Samford pulled away in the second half to capture an 82-72 victory and take their record to 1-1 on the season, and capture the first victory for head coach Lennie Acuff at Samford.

The home Bulldogs got off to a strong start as they jumped out to an early lead. Jadin Booth knocked down a pair of quick threes and led Samford with 11 points in the half. Unlike their opener at Tulane, Samford got balanced scoring, as eight players scored in the opening 20 minutes. After a strong offensive start, Samford went on a nine-minute drought from the field as South Carolina State worked its way back into the game.

Samford shot 10-of-26 in the first half, but fortunately for the home side, they were able to offset their field goal drought from the free-throw line, where they went 11-of-16. Isaiah Campbell-Finch provided a spark off the bench with six points. South Carolina State shot 45 percent from the field in the half as they took a 39-37 lead into the break. 

The Samford offense and defense looked much sharper in the second half as they shot 52 percent from the field and held SCSU to just 42 percent. Against the pressure full-court defense from the visiting side, Samford committed just ten turnovers for the game and just two in the second half. The catalyst against the pressure was Keaton Norris, who filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. 

While Norris and Booth were winning on the perimeter, Dylan Faulkner dominated down in the paint. The junior big man had 19 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Defensively, Samford held SCSU for seven minutes without a basket as they built up an 11-point lead. A Faulkner three-point play and a Booth three-pointer iced the game late as Samford captured the 10-point win. 

Booth finished with a game-high 26 points on the night as he went 5-of-10 from three. Jaxon Pollard reached double-figures with 10 points on 3-of-6 from the field while Campbell-Finch, Judson Bjornstad, and Will Shaver combined for 14 off the bench.

Both sides shot it evenly from the field, but Samford won the battle from behind the arc and dominated the free-throw line, taking 37 attempts to the 18 for SCSU. Despite being undersized, Samford won the battle on the glass 35-31 while assisting on 17 of their 24 field goals.

Up next, the Bulldogs hit the road for a three-game series that begins against Texas Southern. Samford will be in Houston for the game against the Tigers on Nov. 12. 





FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS
For the latest news and information on Samford men's basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordMBB (Twitter), and @SamfordMBB (Instagram).