JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Samford men's basketball team hit the road in the Southern Conference as they looked for payback against ETSU tonight. The Bulldogs and Bucs were in a tight game throughout before the home side pulled away late as Samford fell 66-59. The Dogs fall to 19-6 with the defeat and 9-3 in SoCon play while ETSU moves to 15-10 overall.

The Bulldogs were carried offensively by Rylan Jones. Coming off a career three-point shooting night in the Dog's previous game against Mercer, Jones connected on three triples early on as he had 11 points in the first half. He got help from his wingman Jaden Brownell who was a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor and 2-of-2 from deep as he had eight points. Outside of those two for Samford, no other player scored more than a basket or had more than three points. 

Defensively, the Bulldogs held the home side to 28 percent shooting from the floor as ETSU went just 10-of-29 from the floor. Samford shot 47 percent, took two more shots, made two more threes, but the home side used the free-throw line to stay in the game as the Bulldogs led 31-30 at the break.

The first half was lower scoring for the Dogs, but they were still efficient on the offensive end. The second half however was played at the pace of ETSU and the Bulldogs struggled to get anything going. They went on multiple offensive droughts in the half as they were held to 22 percent shooting in the second half, 8-of-36 overall and 3-of-18 from three. Samford was strong defensively again in the half, holding ETSU in the low 30 percents from the floor again but the Bucs got to the line 21 times where they made 16 in the second half. 

Despite their offensive struggles, the Dogs were right in the game with a chance to win late. Neither side led by more than four points throughout the second half as the Bulldogs went to the line down two with 58 seconds left. Samford missed the pair as they were just 9-of-18 from the line on the night as ETSU pulled away from there.

Brownell and Riley Allenspach were really the only offense for the Bulldogs in the second half. Brownell scored 10 of his 18 in the second half but did it on 2-of-8 shooting while Allenspach chipped in with seven points in the second 20 minutes.

Samford has arguably their biggest game of the season next as they host Chattanooga on Wednesday at the Pete Hanna Center. Samford now sits tied with the Mocs and UNCG but defeated both teams so holds the tiebreaker. The Bulldogs pulled out a 73-69 victory when the two sides met in Tennessee earlier this season.



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).