No. 1 Samford 76, No. 7 ETSU 69
 
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Erupting for a game-high 25 points and making 78 percent of his field goals, Bulldogs forward Achor Achor propelled No. 1 seed Samford to a 76-69 victory over No. 7 seed ETSU in the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game Monday night at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina. 
 
The win was the Bulldogs’ 29th of the season–second only behind James Madison (31) in most victories by a NCAA Division I school this season–and clinched Samford’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 24 years.
 
Samford (29-5), ranked No. 11 in the CollegeInsider’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll as the two-time reigning SoCon regular-season champions, won the game at the free throw line.  The Bulldogs made 25-of-37 foul shots (68%), compared to 15-of-29 (52%) for the Buccaneers.
 
Ranked fifth nationally in scoring (86.3 ppg) behind only Alabama, Kentucky, Arizona and Wright State, Samford’s high-powered offense took a backseat to its stout defense.  Coach Bucky McMillan’s club, which played 11 players and substituted liberally, forced 19 ETSU turnovers and also garnered nine steals and five blocks on the evening.
 
Achor, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, reeled off back-to-back highlight reel nights in the SoCon tournament.  In the Bulldogs’ 84-77 semifinal win over Furman Sunday, he scored a game-high 28 points, connected on 80 percent of his field goal attempts (12-for-15) and corralled 14 rebounds.  In tonight’s title game, he was near perfect again from the field, netting 7-of-9 attempts, and also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds, four block shots and two steals.
 
Achor averaged 21.7 points and 9.0 rebounds, shooting 65.3 percent from the field (23-of-35) in his three tournament games.  His sterling performance earned him the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player Award.
 
Jermaine Marshall followed close behind with 23 points on 7-of-14 from the floor and eight rebounds, while Jaden Campbell added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
 
Quimari Peterson hit a jumper to slice Samford’s lead to 46-43 early in the second half, but Campbell followed with a pair of 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 52-43 cushion at the 15:30 mark.  Upset-minded ETSU would not fold, however. The Bucs proceeded to run off an 8-2 spurt to cut the lead to 65-64 on an Ebby Asamoah turnaround jumper with 6:08 on the clock.
 
Samford staved off the rally and widened the lead to 69-64 on a Rylan Jones layup and two Achor free throws with 5:26 left.  ETSU missed four straight free throws in the final 14 seconds of the game, as the tournament favorites hung on for the win.
 
ETSU missed four of its first five shots from the field and committed three turnovers in falling behind, 11-2, in the first two-and-half minutes of the game. 
 
The Bucs, showing the resiliency that has been their trademark in the tournament, scrambled back and wrestled the lead, 16-15, on an Asamoah jumper and free throw at the 13:42 mark.  ETSU continued to trade baskets for the remainder of the first half and trailed only 40-38 at intermission.
 
Samford, which enjoyed a school-record 17-game winning streak earlier this season, will enter March Madness having won four straight games and 11 of its last 13 contests.
 
It was a remarkable Cinderella ride for ETSU, which posted an 8-10 record and seventh-place finish in the regular campaign.  In the tournament, the underdog Bucs demolished VMI by 32 points (98-66) in the first-round round, upset No. 2 seed UNCG, 73-62, in the quarterfinals and overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to shock No. 3 Chattanooga, 85-84, in overtime in the semifinals.
 
In the championship game, Asamoah (18) and Peterson (17) accounted for 35 of ETSU’s 69 points. Jaden Seymour also contributed seven points and a game-high 11 boards. Asamoah was the SoCon Tournament leader with 17 3-point baskets made, which is a tournament record.
 
RECORDS:  No. 1 Samford 29-5, No. 7 ETSU 19-16
 
STATS TO KNOW
 

• While ETSU holds a 16-7 series lead over Samford, the Bulldogs swept all three games this season.
• This is only Samford’s third conference tournament title and third bid in the NCAA Tournament in program history.
• Samford entered this week ranked fourth nationally in bench points per game (34.47 ppg), fifth in 3-point percentage (.398), fifth in fast-break points per game (15.9) and sixth in turnovers forced per game (17.0).
• ETSU had its winning streak snapped at five games.

 
All-Tournament Team
First team
Ebby Asamoah, ETSU
Quimari Peterson, ETSU
JP Pegues, Furman
Achor Achor, Samford (MOP)
Jermaine Marshall, Samford
 
Second team
Jaden Seymour, ETSU
Marcus Foster, Furman
David Thomas, Mercer
Rylan Jones, Samford
Jan Zidek, Chattanooga
 
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Nathan Johnson, Samford
 
2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 8 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) Mercer 84, (9) The Citadel 76
Game 2 - (7) ETSU 98, (10) VMI 66
 
Saturday, March 9 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Samford 70, (8) Mercer 57
Game 4 - (7) ETSU 73, (2) UNCG 62
Game 5 - (3) Chattanooga 75, (6) Wofford 57
Game 6 - (5) Furman 79, (4) Western Carolina 76 (OT)
 
Sunday, March 10 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - (1) Samford 84, (5) Furman 77
Game 8 - (7) ETSU 85, (3) Chattanooga 84 (OT)
 
Monday, March 11 (ESPN2)
(1) Samford 76, (7) ETSU 69