After a long season and strong performances, Samford Men’s Basketball is the 2023 SoCon Co-Champion. Ending the season with an overall record of 21-10 and a conference record of 15-3 with only one loss at home, Samford looks ready to take Asheville by storm.
In the last game of the season, Samford hosted Furman on Saturday, Feb. 25 in a 93-79 loss. With a packed arena containing 3,562 fans, the team was unable to capitalize on the rowdy environment, as the Paladins handily dispatched the Bulldogs to hand Samford their first home loss. Standout players were junior Ques Glover, who ended the game with 27 points, and sophomore A.J. Staton-McCray, who had three blocks and a steal.
Furman’s Mike Bothwell scored 35 points, including 18 straight to open the game, and Jalen Slawson tallied 10 rebounds and a block. JP Pegues also shined with 16 points.
With this result, Furman joined Samford as SoCon 2023 champions, as the teams tied with a record of 15-3 in the conference. However, Furman was able to jump ahead of Samford with the head-to-head results and became the 1 seed for the upcoming SoCon tournament in Asheville, North Carolina.
At the moment of the release of this article, #7 Chattanooga and #10 VMI have yet to play with their game being 7:30 pm on Friday, March 3. Whoever wins that game will play #2 Samford on Saturday, March 4 at 6pm in Harrah’s Cherokee Center. After that game, the winner will play the victor of #3 UNCG and #6 Wofford at a time to be determined.
Head Coach Bucky McMillan, recently named SoCon Media Coach of the Year for the second straight season, is “so grateful for all of the success” this season and “this could not happen without everyone’s support”.
On the upcoming tournament in Asheville, Coach Bucky is ready for the tournament saying, “The task will not be easy, but I know our guys will give everything they have to represent SamU the way it deserves to be represented.”
Staff Writer (Sports)
