BIRMINGHAM, ALA. –
Nicholas Robinson and
Joe Petrakis both finished in double figures, but Western Carolina was unable to overcome a pair of Samford first half runs in an 85-60 loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Pete Hanna Center.
Samford improves to 11-4 and 1-2 in the Southern Conference while WCU drops to 7-8 and 1-1.
Robinson paced the Catamounts with 15 points while Petrakis added 11.
Vonterius Woolbright corralled a team-best nine rebounds and distributed four assists.
Marvin Price tallied nine points and swatted a pair of blocks.
Wesley Cardet led three Samford players in double figures with 18 points. Ques Glover added 16 points and Jermaine Marshall recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Catamounts immediately got going, winning the jump ball before
Marcus Banks drained a 3-pointer five seconds into the game. Samford settled in, using a 7-0 run for a 9-6 advantage at the under-16 media timeout. A Banks 3-pointer tied the game at 11 with 14:20 remaining before a Cardet dunk sparked a 10-0 Bulldog spurt for a 21-11 lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Price brought the Catamounts within five, 21-16 at the midpoint of the half only to see the Bulldogs score 12 of the next 16 points to lead 33-20 after a Campbell layup with 6:22 remaining. WCU pulled within seven, 40-33, thanks to a Robinson 3-pointer at the 3:04 mark before Samford closed the half with an 11-2 run to lead 51-35 at intermission.
A Dye layup 13 seconds into the frame opened the second half scoring. Samford took a game-high 22-point lead, 62-40, after a pair of Marshall free throws at the 13:18 mark. The Catamounts used a 6-0 run with a pair of Petrakis 3-pointers to make the score 63-49 with 11:43 remaining. The Bulldogs answered with two straight buckets and led by no fewer than 15 points for the rest of the game.
WCU finished the game 20-for-59 (33.9 percent) from the field, 9-for-29 (31 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 11-for-13 (84.6 percent) at the free throw line. Samford was 33-for-66 (50 percent) from the field, 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) behind the arc, and 11-for-20 (55 percent) at the free throw line. The Bulldogs outrebounded WCU 46-32.
The Catamounts are back in action on Monday, traveling to ETSU for a 7 p.m. tip-off in a rescheduled contest from Jan. 1. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio coverage on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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