BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University basketball team turned in its best shooting performance of the 2008-09 season Thursday as the Bulldogs streaked to a 71-58 win against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at the Pete Hanna Center. Samford shot 57.9 percent from the field, including a torrid 70.6-percent performance in the second half.

With the win, Samford (4-4) remained undefeated at home this season and improved its record to 4-0 when playing at the Pete Hanna Center. In their four games at home this season, the Bulldogs have compiled an impressive 51.4 shooting percentage from the field and a 43.2 mark from beyond the arc.

Samford also picked up its second straight victory against Louisiana Tech (5-6) on Thursday. Last season, the Bulldogs rallied for a hard-fought 73-70 overtime win at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La. The 2007-08 matchup was a part of the ESPNU BracketBusters Classic.

Samford’s Andy King exploded for a career-high 20 points Thursday as he paced three Bulldogs in double-figure scoring. King, a 6-foot-8 center from Omaha, Neb., finished 7-of-8 from the field and knocked down 6-of-7 three-point baskets. Both totals proved to be career-highs.

The Bulldogs’ Josh Bedwell added 14 points and knocked down a pair of 3-point field goals, while Bryan Friday turned in a solid all-around performance with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Friday’s rebounds and assists were both team-highs.

At halftime, Louisiana Tech held a slight 28-26 advantage in the game.

Junior Jamel Guyton paced the Bulldogs with seven points in the opening period as they shot 48 percent from the field. Louisiana Tech out-rebounded Samford 18-9 in the first 20 minutes of action and scored 10 second-chance points.

In the second half, Samford connected on its first four shot attempts of the period and used a quick 12-0 run to take a 44-34 lead with 13:06 remaining. During the streak, the Bulldogs’ King and Bedwell both knocked down 3-point baskets and Trey Montgomery and Friday drove down the lane for layups.

Louisiana Tech was limited to a 12.5-percent shooting performance from 3-point range in the second half. The Bulldogs were 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in the final stanza and only 3-of-15 in the game.

Counting field goals, 3-pointers and free throws, Samford attempted 40 total shots in the second period. The Bulldogs only missed seven; one 3-pointer, one free throw and five field goals.

Since Samford’s dismal 1-for-9 free-throw percentage at Georgia Southern on Dec. 6, the Bulldogs are shooting 85 percent (34-of-40) from the charity stripe.

Louisiana Tech’s Guyton finished the game with a team-high 15 points, but was 5-of-15 from the field. Kenneth Cooper and Kyle Gibson added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Samford’s Jim Griffin tied a career-high with eight points Thursday. The Bulldogs’ fiery junior from Chicago, Ill., was 2-for-4 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Montgomery also added eight points and three rebounds.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs return to the road for a non-conference matchup against the Chicago State Cougars. The game will be held at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center (7,000) in Chicago, Ill.

Kent State 73, UNC Greensboro 62

KENT, OH ?  Tyree Evans scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half and Kent State held off a late Spartan rally for a 73-62 victory over UNC Greensboro in men’s basketball action Thursday night at the MAC Center.

It was a tale of two halves for UNCG ? a theme that has seemed to be recurring in the last few games for the Spartans. The Golden Flashes outscored the Spartans 35-12 over the first 13 minutes of the second half. Although this time, UNCG had a late rally in them, cutting a 20-point margin to seven with three minutes to play. But the Golden Flashes held on for the win by scoring on five straight possessions to weather the Spartans’ 13-0 run.

Kent State (5-5) used a 21-3 run to erase a five-point Spartan advantage. The Golden Flashes scored the last bucket of the first half and then scored 16 of the first 19 points to open the second half. UNCG had held a 32-27 lead in the closing second of the first half.

Evans, a junior from Richmond, VA, was making his debut for Kent State after sitting out the first nine games this season due to NCAA eligibility issues. He was 7-of-11 from the floor, including 5-for-8 from three-point range.

Kendall Toney was the only Spartan in double figures. The junior from Charlotte, NC had 14 points off the bench, including four three-pointers. Montel Smith added nine points for UNCG (1-7).

Brandon Parks chipped in with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor for the Golden Flashes. Al Fischer added 11 points and Chris Singletary had 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals.

“I thought they really turned it up a notch in the second half and really got after us,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “We had worked our way into the lead going into the half and then we came out and struggled to score for about eight minutes. We’ve done that a lot lately, we’re in the game and then all of a sudden we fall apart a little bit. The other teams start getting shots. Tonight, though, I thought our guys fought back pretty well, cutting it to seven with the ball.

“They had four guys in double figures tonight and we only had one and that has been happening a lot lately. So obviously we have to improve our defense and we need to find some guys that can score. We are missing some easy shots, but again, I think they really turned up their pressure and made it more difficult for us to get some of those easy shots.”

Kent State looked to get a little separation midway through the first half, running off six straight points to break a 10-10 tie. But the Spartans came right back with an 8-2 run to tie it, including a trey by Mikko Koivisto to extend his streak to 32 straight games with a three-pointer ? the third-longest streak in the nation currently.

UNCG got its first lead of the night late in the first half. Kendall Toney knocked down a deep three-pointer from the left wing to give the Spartans a 30-27 advantage with 90 seconds left before the break. UNCG took that three-point lead to the locker room, 32-29.

But UNCG had just one field goal in a nearly eight minute span to open the second half as Kent State opened up the first double-digit lead for either team. Points off turnovers, which has been a thorn in the Spartans’ side in the early part of the season, helped lead to the Golden Flashes’ run. After just two points off Spartan miscues in the first half, Kent State had 10 in the first eight minutes of the second half.

The Spartans chipped away at the lead late. After a three-pointer by Evans stretched the lead to 64-44, UNCG ran off seven straight to get back to within 13 with 5:33 to play. Two Koivisto free throws followed and made it 64-53 with 4:24 to play. Then a Damian Eargle put-back got the margin back to single-digits with four minutes to go and things started to get interesting.

After a pair of missed free throws by the Singletary, Pete Brown’s jump hook in the lane made it 64-57 with three minutes left. But Kent State scored on its next five possessions to put the game away.

The Spartans complete their weekend trip to Ohio on Satutrday night when they visit Dayton for an 8 pm tip.

North Florida 77, Furman 66

Greenville, S.C. - Eni Cuka poured in a career-high 27 points as North Florida downed Furman 77-66 to secure its first victory of the season and snap its 54-game road losing streak in men's basketball action Thursday evening at Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.

The loss marked Furman's seventh straight defeat and dropped the Paladins to 1-7 on the season. The Ospreys improved to 1-8 on the campaign.

With Furman leading 18-17 and 5:40 left in the first half, North Florida reeled off a 9-0 run capped by a Cuki three-pointer to take a 26-18 lead with 2:31 remaining in the half that they would not relinquish.

After leading 30-23 at the break, Stan Januska scored UNF's first eight points of the second half as the Ospreys used a 12-2 run to open up a 42-25 margin with 13:33 left. Furman trimmed the margin under 10 points on four occasions down the stretch, but UNF converted 23-of-29 second half free throws to clinch its first road victory since February 15, 2005, at Clayton State.

Cuka connected on 8-of-12 field goal attempts, including 4-of-6 beyond the arc and 7-of-7 at the foul line, to spark the Ospreys' offensive attack. Januska totaled 15 points, five rebounds and five assists while guard Cortez Riley added 15 points six boards and six assists.

North Florida shot 56.1% (23-41) from the floor, 4-of-8 from three-point range and 27-of-33 (81.8%) at the charity stripe. Kyle Groothuis grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to help UNF to a 30-26 advantage on the glass.

Jordan Miller netted a career-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long range, to pace the Paladins. Alex Opacic reached double figures with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Justin Dehm chipped in with nine points and five assists.

Furman shot 40.7% (22-54) from the field and 14-of-23 (60.9%) form the foul line. The Paladins made 8-of-22 attempts from three-point range.

Furman will continue its non-conference slate on Monday when it travels to Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game will be televised live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).