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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford men’s basketball team closed out its regular season and the final game in the Pete Hanna Center of the year by hosting UNCG on senior night. The Bulldogs used a historic performance from Jadin Booth to capture an 87-78 win. Samford’s record moves to 18-13 overall and 11-7 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs finish the year tied for second in the league and will be the three seed in Asheville at the SoCon Tournament.
On a night where the Dogs honored Jaxon Pollard, Keaton Norris, and Jadin Booth, both teams came out hot from the field as UNCG shot 75 percent from three in the first half. Samford answered by going 11-of-17 from deep, and Jadin Booth wasted no time heating up, drilling seven threes in the first half and piling up 26 points before intermission. The Bulldogs and Spartans went back and forth in the opening minutes, but Samford led almost wire-to-wire, and they used a late first-half surge to push a slim lead into a 50-41 advantage at the break. Keaton Norris went a perfect 3-of-3 from the field as he scored eight in the first half, and Kam Martin added nine off the bench in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Booth’s shooting display continued in the second half, as he set a school record with 11 made threes on the night and tied his career-high of 40 points. Norris ran the offense, dishing out seven assists with zero turnovers while adding 10 points on efficient shooting. Dylan Faulkner was quiet on the offensive end while Booth was carrying the scoring duties, but he pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Will Shaver was also active on the boards as he collected nine rebounds in 14 minutes and Booth added eight rebounds of his own.
The Dogs shot 50 percent from the floor as a team, 31-of-62, and tied a season high in threes made, going 18-of-35 from deep. The Spartans shot the ball from behind the arc also, at 55 percent, but they couldn’t keep up with the 11-of-22 performance from Booth as the Bulldogs led by as much as 19 points late before finishing with the 87-78 win.
The Bulldogs close the regular season winning eight of nine game in SoCon play. After a 2-5 start in the league, the Dogs finished tied with Wofford and Mercer for second place. After the tiebreaker scenarios played out, the Bulldogs will face Furman as the three seed in Asheville on Saturday night at 5 p.m.
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For the latest news and information on Samford men’s basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordMBB (Twitter), and @SamfordMBB (Instagram).
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