Maryland 75, Samford 63
COLLEGE PARK, Md. --- The Samford University basketball team concluded its three-game, year-ending road trip with a hard-fought 75-63 road loss against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday in the Bulldogs' final non-conference game of the regular season held at the Comcast Center.
With the loss, Samford (3-9) dropped to 1-4 on the road this season. The Bulldogs will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as they return home to Birmingham for a key early-season Southern Conference matchup against Appalachian State. The contest will be held at Samford's Pete Hanna Center.
Maryland (9-3) extended its season-long winning streak to six straight games Saturday. The Terrapins concluded the month with a perfect 6-0 record and have not been defeated since a 71-62 setback against Illinois on Nov. 29. Maryland will next be in action Jan. 3 at home versus Cornell.
Maryland held the lead for a majority of Saturday's contest, but Samford rallied to trim the Terrapins' advantage to 48-38 early in the second half as Tyler Hood knocked down a 3-point basket, Drew Windler scored on an up-and-under move and Devin McNeil dropped in a floater from the middle of the lane.
After a few scoreless possessions, Maryland's Nick Faust knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers en route to a 10-0 Terrapin run as they quickly extended their lead to 58-38.
Late in the game, Samford strung together a 3-point basket from Will Cook, a jumper from Hood and a back-door layup from Hood to cut Maryland's final advantage to 75-63.
Saturday marked the first meeting between Samford and Maryland, but the fifth on-court battle between Tillette and Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon. Tillette owns a 2-3 record against Turgeon, who also spent coaching stints at Jacksonville State, Wichita State and Texas A&M.
Maryland was led in scoring by sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin, one of the most prolific scorers in the nation this season, finished with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also knocked down a game-high six 3-point baskets and pulled down five rebounds.
The Terrapins' Alex Len and Faust both added 13 points apiece to help lead Maryland to its sixth straight victory.
Samford was paced offensively by Hood and Windler. Hood, the Bulldogs' redshirt freshman from Kingston, Tenn., led the Bulldogs with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, while Windler chipped in with 13 points on a 5-of-13 performance from the field.
Windler, Samford's 6-foot-9 center from South Milwaukee, Wis., drained a pair of 3-point field goals and grabbed a pair of rebounds in 27 minutes of playing time.
Also turning in good games for the Bulldogs were true freshmen Brandon Hayman and Raijon Kelly. Both of the aforementioned Samford youngsters scored eight points and provided a spark off the bench.
Samford shot 42.9 percent from the field Saturday, but Maryland scorched the nets with a 50.9 percentage, including a stellar 52.9 mark from 3-point range. The Bulldogs connected on eight 3-point attempts in the contest, while only shooting 29.6 percent from long range.
After committing a season-high 25 turnovers against Sam Houston State on Wednesday, Samford only turned the ball over 11 times versus Maryland. The Bulldogs also forced the Terrapins into a game-high 17 miscues.
One of the main differences in Saturday's game was the battle of the boards. Maryland out-rebounded Samford 40-22, including a 13-8 differential on the offensive end of the court.
At halftime, Maryland held a 44-31 advantage over the Bulldogs. Midway through the first half, the Terrapins only led Samford by four points, 27-23, before they rallied for a 17-8 run to close out the opening period.
During its first-half ending stretch, Maryland received seven straight points from Stoglin, a driving layup from Mosley and a deep 3-point basket from Faust. The Terrapins also used a 3-point play from Mychal Parker and a pair of free throws from Len.
Maryland's Stoglin, the fifth-ranked scorer in the nation at 21.5 points per game, led all players with 15 points at the intermission.
Samford's Windler tallied a team-high 11 points in the first period, while Hood followed with six and Hayman added four. After a resounding drive and dunk from Hood at the 16:44 mark in the game, the Bulldogs held an early 5-4 lead over the Terrapins.
Maryland then used a 3-point basket from Stoglin and a spinning layup from Mosley to take a 9-5 advantage.
Samford continued battle early in the first half of play and trimmed the Terrapins' lead to 19-14 following back-to-back layups from Hood and a 3-point basket at the top of the key from Windler.
NC State 82, Western Carolina 55
RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina State put its starting five players in double figures and shot nearly 58-percent for the game in handing Western Carolina an 82-55 setback on Saturday afternoon at the RBC Center. C.J. Williams led the Wolfpack to its fourth-straight seasonal victory with 21 points, snapping the two-game win streak for the Catamounts.
NCSU (10-4) claimed its 14th-straight win over WCU in the overall head-to-head series with all but one of those victories coming in Raleigh - three in the RBC Center.
Senior Keaton Cole was the lone Catamount to reach double figures, scoring a dozen off the bench including a pair of 3-pointers. Brandon Boggs and Trey Sumler both finished with eight points while Harouna Mutombo was limited to seven points on just 2-of-9 shooting.
Sophomore Preston Ross led the Catamounts with six rebounds as NCSU out rebounded Western Carolina, 39-to-31. A dozen of WCU's rebounds came on the offensive end.
Williams scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in what proved to be a decisive first half. Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie scored 14 points apiece with Brown dishing out eight assists. Post Richard Howell recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds with Scott Wood rounding out the double-digit scorers with 11 points including three 3-pointers for the 'Pack.
WCU was limited to 30.8 percent (20-of-65) shooting on the afternoon - its second-lowest percentage of the season - and was outscored 34-to-4 on fast-break points including 20-to-0 in the first half alone.
Both teams struggled through the early going on Saturday afternoon as it took nearly five full minutes for the first field goal. Williams broke the drought with a lay-up that ignited a 14-to-6 Wolfpack run and a 12-point, 19-7, lead for the home squad.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Sumler and Boggs pulled the Catamounts back within six, 19-13, and prompting a NCSU timeout. It would be as close as Western Carolina would get the remainder of the game, though, as North Carolina State responded out of the stoppage with a 17-to-2 run that opened with nine-straight points.
N.C. State led 47-24 at halftime and scored the first nine points of the second half. WCU trailed by as many as 41 points in the second half, but used a 19-to-7 run during a five-minute stretch during the final 10 minutes to trim the margin back to 29, 79-50, on a second 3-pointer by Cole. Dillon Dunford's 3-pointer inside the final minute provided the final margin at 27 points, 82-55.