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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford shot 57.9 percent from the floor and held on for a 74-73 win over the Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team Saturday night in the Pete Hanna Center. With the win, the Bulldogs (12-14, 9-9 OVC) completed the season sweep over the Colonels (13-12, 10-7).
Samford's two best shooting games of the year have come against Eastern Kentucky. Earlier in the year in Richmond, the Bulldogs shot 58.5 percent overall on the way to a 64-57 victory.
The host team led throughout much of the evening and built a nine-point cushion early, 19-10, thanks to holding the Colonels scoreless for almost six minutes. Eastern did not hit a three-pointer the entire first half, the first time that has happened all year, as the Bulldogs took a 23-16 lead into halftime.
A
Darnell Dialls jumper midway through the second half helped Eastern Kentucky creep within two points, 41-39. From there, the Bulldogs went on a 13-2 run to extend its lead to 13 points, 54-41.
However, the Colonels would not go away as back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore
Adam Leonard and junior
Mike Rose sliced the deficit to four points, 57-53, with 3:31 remaining. Samford responded with a Trey Montgomery trifecta to push the advantage back to seven points.
Eastern Kentucky decided to play the foul game the final three minutes in hopes of extending the contest. The strategy allowed the Colonels to close the gap to two points, 72-70, when sophomore
Josh Taylor netted a three-pointer with 22 ticks left. Unfortunately, Samford's Josh Davis hit both free throws on Samford's ensuing possession to seal the game. Freshman
Justin Stommes nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough as EKU shot just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from behind the arc.
Dialls led Eastern Kentucky with 25 points, which equaled his career high. Rose added 23 tallies, marking the seventh time this year the forward has reached the 20-point plateau.
For Samford, senior center Travis Peterson recorded a career-high 26 points on 80 percent (8-of-10) shooting. Montgomery chipped in with 17 points and four assists. The Bulldogs converted 83.3 percent (15-of-18) of their shots inside the three-point arc on their way to the win.
Even with the loss, the Colonels clinched a spot in the upcoming OVC tournament tonight thanks to a loss by Southeast Missouri.
Eastern Kentucky now returns home for its final four games of the regular season. First up is OVC rival Morehead State on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
