March 7, 2009

Box Score

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Samford jumped out to a 23-7 lead and then held on to defeat Furman 57-52 Friday night in the first round of the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship at the MecKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The North Division's No. 3 seed, Samford opened the game hot in jumping out to a 23-7 lead on a three-pointer by Andy King at 12:07 in the first half. The Bulldogs hit six threes in nine attempts in building a 35-24 halftime advantage.

Furman (6-24) chipped away to start the second half with two Bryson Barnes free throws cutting the deficit to five, 36-31, with 16:42 left. After trailing for over 29 minutes, Brandon Sebirumbi's two free throws tied the game at 38-all with 10:41 to play, a 14-3 run to open the half for the Paladins.

The Bulldogs (15-15) answered with eight consecutive points capped by a Trey Montgomery three-point play at 8:33. The Paladins would not go away quietly getting within two late in the game before Josh Bedwell's two free throws with four seconds to play iced the game.

Junior Bryan Friday led the Bulldogs with 17 points. King and Montgomery joined Friday in double digits with 10 apiece. Friday tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds as Samford held a 35-32 edge on the glass.

Jordan Miller led the Paladins, who entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed from the South, with 11 points and five rebounds on the night. Noah States tied Friday for game-high honors with eight boards while adding three steals.

Samford advances to the quarterfinals to face The Citadel in Saturday's nightcap with the game starting 30 minutes after the Chattanooga-Elon matchup.