BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's basketball team was back in home action tonight against Mercer at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs got ahead early and never looked back on their way to a 69-49 victory over the Bears. Samford moves to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in the Southern Conference.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-4 lead, taking control of the game early on. The Dogs made everything they looked at early on in the game, led by Jadin Booth, who built a double-digit lead for Samford as he went on a personal 9-0 run. He scored 16 points in the first half, as he went 4-for-4 from the field, with two threes and 6-of-6 from the line. The only thing that could stop him was when he picked up his second foul and went to the bench.

Samford went 14-of-28 from the floor as a team in the first half. Dylan Faulkner scored 10 of his 16 points in the paint and handled Mercer on both ends inside, recording his fifth-straight double-double. Defensively, Samford held Mercer to 25 percent shooting from the field and just 2-of-7 from three. Cade Norris knocked down two of the five Samford threes in the half as the Dogs led 40-22 at the break.

The Dogs kept their lead above 20 for most of the second half as they shot 46 percent from the field and Mercer remained below 30 percent with stifling Samford defense. Booth put on a scoring clinic with a game-high 28 points, going a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line, setting a new season high for made free throws, and marking his 12th 20-point outing of the year. Isaiah Campbell-Finch played solid once again, finishing with eight points and four rebounds.

Samford held Mercer to their season-low of 49 points, and has now won three games in a row. The Dogs sit in fifth place in the league, just one game behind Mercer who they will play again in two weeks.

The Bulldogs are playing their best basketball of the season and have one more game on their home stand as they host Wofford on Wednesday night in the Pete Hanna Center at 6 p.m. The Terriers defeated Samford 88-78 when the two sides met earlier this season.

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