Samford holds off ETSU to claim SoCon championship, automatic NCAA Tournament bid
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The Samford Bulldogs weathered some tight moments in the Southern Conference championship in Asheville, NC on Monday evening, but when the final horn sounded the #1 seed Bulldogs had prevailed over surprising opponent #7 seed ETSU to claim their first ever SoCon tournament championship.
The Bulldogs (29-5, 16-3) will return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000 by virtue of the conference’s automatic bid, their third overall appearance in the Big Dance. The Buccaneers (19-16, 8-11) came oh so close to knocking off the Bulldogs, but their underdog run through the tournament came to a close at the mauling hands of the Bulldogs defense.
While ETSU kept the game within striking distance for its duration, there was a constant feeling that Samford had everything under control. The Buccaneers pulled as close as 65-64 with 6 minutes left in the contest, but the Bulldogs quickly built a small cushion and maintained it for the remainder of the game until the final horn sounded, leaving Samford the SoCon champs by a 76-69 final margin.
Achor Achor led the way for the victorious Bulldogs with 25 points and 9 rebounds while also throwing in 4 blocks on the defensive side of the ball. Jermaine Marshall finished just behind Achor with 23 points and 8 boards
Ebby Asamoah led the Buccaneers with 18 points while Quimari Peterson slotted in just behind him with 17 points. Jaden Seymour finished with 7 points and 11 rebounds for the Buccaneers.
Samford will eagerly await Selection Sunday on March 17th, where their NCAA tournament seeding will be decided.
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