Charlton Young said he hated to admit it, but he believes his Georgia Southern men’s basketball players possibly underestimated Samford going into Thursday night’s Southern Conference basketball game at Hanner Fieldhouse.
"And we have no right to overlook anybody because we’re still climbing the ladder," said Young, whose Eagles escaped with a 58-53 victory in front of a crowd of 1,372. "I told my guys, ‘We haven’t done diddly squat.’"
GSU (6-9, 4-1) is 4-1 in the SoCon for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when the Eagles started out 8-1 in league play under coach Jeff Price.
"To be 4-1, the thing is, we’re only playing about 65 percent of the way we’re capable of playing," said Young, whose Eagles rebounded from a 96-74 loss at Davidson on Saturday.
Samford (3-12, 0-4) lost its sixth consecutive game. The Bulldogs played without junior point guard Gregg Wooten, who is out for the season because of a leg injury.
Samford led, 32-29, at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 56.5 percent (13 of 23) from the field compared to GSU’s 40-percent (10 of 25) shooting.
"It was a root canal. It was ugly," Young said of GSU’s performance. "We did not play well for whatever reason, but I am proud of this bunch. They’re growing up."
Samford used its Princeton-style offense to slow the game’s tempo and frustrate GSU.
"The Princeton offense is always tough," GSU senior guard Willie Powers III said. "They hit us with a couple of back doors. We had to show changes. We had to show zones. We had to show press. We had to do something to get them out of their rhythm because it’s a tough offense to stop. They pass it around, pass it around, pass it around and then all of a sudden, back-door layup."
Powers, who scored only two points in the first half, said he received an earful from Young inside GSU’s locker room. Powers responded by finishing with 12 points.
Said Young, "I told him, ‘You’re a 29th-year senior. I don’t want to hear (excuses). Lead. Go out there and lead.’"
GSU guard Jelani Hewitt scored a game-high 13 points. Forward Eric Ferguson scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Eagles.
"We sat back in the zone because they run that Princeton offense," Ferguson said of Samford. "We’re an up and down (the court) team and they like to bring the ball up and slow us down, stopping us from doing what we do, which is pushing the ball up the floor."
With 2:37 to play in the game, Samford center Drew Windler made a 3-pointer to cut the score to 54-53.
GSU’s Hewitt drove baseline and scored on a layup with 30.5 seconds to play, giving the Eagles a 56-53 lead.
Samford’s Windler attempted a 3-pointer but it bounced off the rim with 13 seconds to play, and GSU rebounded to seal its victory. Hewitt made both free-throw attempts with 10.9 second to play to give the Eagles a 58-53 lead.
GSU shot 27.8 percent (5 of 18) from 3-point range, while Samford was 26.9 percent (7 of 26) from long distance.
"We didn’t shoot the ball well," Young said. "We’re the No. 1 3-point-shooting team in the Southern Conference. We shot 27 percent. That’s not going to happen often."
GSU’s next game is at 7 p.m. Saturday against Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C.
Noell Barnidge can be reached at (912) 489-9408.
