BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team hosted Chattanooga tonight at the Pete Hanna Center as the two sides fought for first place in the Southern Conference. The Mocs went wire-to-wire with an early run and ended with the Bulldog's offense going cold dwn the stretch as Samford fell 82-68. The Bulldogs fall to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in league play while Chattanooga moves to 18-8 and 10-3 in the SoCon.

The visitors took control of the game early on as they opened on a 9-0 run. The Bulldogs opened 0-of-6 from the floor and didn't score until after the opening media timeout. After scoring it was a game of runs as the Dogs would close the deficit to four or five and then the Mocs would extend back out to double figures multiple times throughout the half. 

Five Bulldogs scored from the field in the opening half, led by the two bigs Jaden Brownell and Riley Allenspach. Brownell went 2-of-5 from the floor and had six points in the half while Allenspach was aggressive early and scored seven points in the first 20 minutes of play. Samford shot just 35 percent in the half as they went into the break down 36-26.

Samford tried to crank up their press to open the second half, but the Mocs handled it well and got a handful of breakout layups. Chattanooga led by as much as 15 when the Bulldog pressure began to pay off and they went on the run they have made throughout the year. Josh Holloway provided a spark off the bench as he was able to get to the rim repeatedly off the dribble. He finished with a team-high 18 points and his layup with 9:19 to go cut the Mocs lead to just four points. 

A strong crowd inside of Rubin Arena was rocking as it looked like the Dogs were back in the game when another scoring drought hit the Bulldogs that was ultimately too much to overcome. Samford would score just 11 points in the final 9:19 as they went on a nearly nine-minute field goals drought down the stretch of the game. 

Rylan Jones finished with 14 points and Allenspach scored 11 while just the three Bulldogs finished in double-figures. After making 22 three-pointers in their last home game against Mercer, the Dogs finished tonight 23-of-60 from the floor while the Mocs shot 55 percent on the night.

The Bulldogs drop back into third place in the conference after the defeat as they now sit a game behind Chattanooga and UNCG. Up next, Samford hits the road as they face Wofford on Saturday. The Terriers are 8-5 in SoCon play and coming off an overtime win at The Citadel tonight. Samford won 77-61 when the two sides met earlier this season.



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