Got to Love It, Samford Beats ETSU in OT
Don’t look now, the Samford Bulldogs go on the road into a hostile environment to pick up a massive 82-72 win overtime over ETSU. Lennie Acuff’s squad is rolling with their fifth straight win. Samford is hitting their stride right when you need to be.
Much like the win over Wofford, Samford started fast as that has helped lead to this winning streak. In the earlier portion of SoCon play, Samford was prone to starting slow and trying to come from behind. They led by as many as 13 in the first half as ETSU had no answer for Dylan Faulkner.
Faulkner’s 14 points at the halftime break led Samford as they clung onto a one point lead at the half. Jadin Booth was kept in check for the most part but still managed to end the first half with 10 points. ETSU still shot 52% in the first half but most of that was due to ETSU’s Brian Taylor who had 18 first half points.
The game slowed down in the second half and it felt like Samford was close to letting this one slip through their fingers. Both teams had field goal less stretches in the half with Samford going over six minutes without a basket. Meanwhile ETSU had almost a seven minute stretch without making a field goal.
It was Samford’s defense that went up a level holding the Bucs to just 33% shooting from the floor. Neither team scored the ball well in the second half but ETSU is the best defensive team in the league. ETSU’s largest lead in the half and game was just three points.
Samford kept getting to the free throw line and converting from there. They shot 15-20 from the free throw line in the second half but made them when they needed to. That carried over into the overtime period where Samford went 9-10. Samford finished 31-40 from the charity stripe.
ETSU held a three-point lead with 1:20 left in the game and ran a great set on the other end for Jadin Booth three to tie it up. Again Samford’s defense stepped up big time as ETSU had a chance to win it at the end again but a great Zion Wilburn steal pushed the game into overtime at 68-68.
Samford dominated the overtime session holding ETSU to just four points in overtime getting stop after stop. Then a Zion Wilburn corner three ended up being the dagger to help Samford get the road upset win.
As Keaton Norris keeps finding his stride on the offensive end, that takes Samford up to another level. Norris finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds along with six assists. Those 12 rebounds led Samford as a team. Dylan Faulkner finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. That was Faulkner’s seventh straight double-double.
Jadin Booth did Jadin Booth things, stepping up when Samford needed him the most. Booth finished with 19 points and hit that big three to tie the game up in the second half. The extremely consistent Cade Norris had 12 points of his own. That’s officially back-to-back games where Samford had four players score in double figures.
Not to bury the lede but the play of Zion Wilburn might be the reason why Samford got this win over ETSU. He finished with 10 points but it was his defense that helped Samford. He finished +17 which was the best on the Samford team.
The two and or three seed in the SoCon Tournament is within striking distance for Samford but four more games still remain. One thing is for certain, however, Samford is playing their best basketball of the season. Now also Samford has their marquee win of the season.
