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| UNCG guard KJ Younger (photo courtesy of UNCG athletics) |
The Bulldogs looked like one of the pre-conference favorites in their 78-58 win on the road at VMI, while Chattanooga's struggles continued in the Gate City with its 77-72 loss to UNC Greensboro.
It will set up some intriguing action coming up this weekend, with Chattanooga all but facing a must-win situation when the Mocs head to Lexington, VA., on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's slate offers some fun talking points as well, starting with ETSU hosting Mercer in a 4 p.m. contest.
Samford 78, VMI 58
Samford 78, VMI 58
Cameron Hall, Lexington, VA
Jan. 1, 2026
Almost two weeks off weren't enough to phase Lennie Acuff's Samford Bulldogs, as his Bulldogs came up with a masterful performance in its first game of the 2026 calendar year, as Samford routed VMI, 78-58, on New Year's Day at Cameron Hall.
The rust showed a little in the opening 20 minutes of basketball for Samford, as the Bulldogs didn't exactly put on a shooting exhibition, connecting on just 11-of-29 from the field and just 5-for-15 from beyond the arc, and Samford actually found itself trailing, 36-34 at the half.
VMI, which was once again playing without preseason SoCon Player of the Year Rickey Bradley Jr., finished the opening half of play connecting on 40% from the field and shot a solid 5-for-14 from three-point range.
However, it was a complete change of scenery in the second half of this game, as Samford stepped up its defense, limiting the Keydets to just 28.1% over the course of the latter 20 minutes of basketball, and that included holding VMI, which came into the game as the league's leading team in three-pointers made so far this season, to just 11%from three-point range, forcing misses on 16 of the Keydets' 18 attempts from long-range in the second stanza.
As a result of the stellar defense played by the Bulldogs, Samford would end up doubling up VMI on the scoreboard, 44-22, in the second half. After struggling in the opening 20 minutes of basketball, Samford would catch fire, connecting on 15-of-27 from the field, including a 5-for-9 effort from three-point range, as the Bulldogs put together a 24-0 run at one point in the second half to take complete control of the game.
Samford finished the contest with three in double figures, as big man Dylan Faulkner scored 16 of his career-high 25 points in the second half. Additionally, the SoCon's second-leading scorer Jadin Booth posted 16 of his 19 points in the second half as well, and the two Bulldog stars accounted for 32 of Samford's 44 points in the latter 20 minutes.
All told, Faulkner finished the night connecting on 9-of-15 shots from the field and 7-for-12 from the free throw line in the win, and he completed his strong performance adding 12 rebounds and three blocks in the win. Faulkner's 12 boards saw the Lipscomb transfer notch his second double-double of the season.
The only other Samford player to score in double figures in the game would be Keaton Norris, who contributed a solid 11 points, five assists and a steal and only one turnover in the win.
The Keydets ended the day being led by TJ Johnson's 17 points in the loss, while Tan Yildizoglu added 12.
All told, Samford finished the day connecting on 46.4% (26-of-56) from the field and an impressive 41.7% (10-of-24) from three-point range in the game. VMI shot just 33.9% (21-of-62) for the game and just 21.9% (7-of-32) from three-point range. The Keydets shot a solid 75% (9-of-12) from the charity stripe.
The win sees Samford improve to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in league action, while VMI falls to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in league play. Samford returns to action Saturday when it travels to UNCG for a 4 p.m. EST game at Bodford Arena, while VMI will host Chattanooga in a 1 p.m. EST contest at Cameron Hall.
UNC Greensboro 77, Chattanooga 72
It’s been a rough start to the 2025-26 season for the reigning NIT champions and reigning Southern Conference champions, as Chattanooga fell in its first Southern Conference game and first game of 2026, as UNC Greensboro came from behind in the closing minutes to capture a 77-72 win at Bodford Arena.
The first half of the game was a microcosm of how the game would unfold with the Spartans opening strong, using a 9-2 start of the gate, beginning with a Donald Whitehead Jr. three-pointer and ending with a layup by Domas Kazounas.
With the Spartans leading the game 15-7, the Mocs would hit back with an 11-3 run and ended tying the contest, 18-18, following a layup by Jikari Johnson with 9:52 remaining in the opening frame.
From there, over the latter portion of the opening half, neither team would lead the contest by more than five points, with a Johnson a three-pointer giving Chattanooga a 32-27 lead with 2:46 left in the half. A three by Lillian Marville and a free throw from Justin Neely got UNCG to within a point, at 32-31, with 1:48 remaining in the half.
It’s been a rough start to the 2025-26 season for the reigning NIT champions and reigning Southern Conference champions, as Chattanooga fell in its first Southern Conference game and first game of 2026, as UNC Greensboro came from behind in the closing minutes to capture a 77-72 win at Bodford Arena.
The first half of the game was a microcosm of how the game would unfold with the Spartans opening strong, using a 9-2 start of the gate, beginning with a Donald Whitehead Jr. three-pointer and ending with a layup by Domas Kazounas.
With the Spartans leading the game 15-7, the Mocs would hit back with an 11-3 run and ended tying the contest, 18-18, following a layup by Jikari Johnson with 9:52 remaining in the opening frame.
From there, over the latter portion of the opening half, neither team would lead the contest by more than five points, with a Johnson a three-pointer giving Chattanooga a 32-27 lead with 2:46 left in the half. A three by Lillian Marville and a free throw from Justin Neely got UNCG to within a point, at 32-31, with 1:48 remaining in the half.
A Jordan Frison jumper would end up being the final points of the half for the Mocs, and gave UTC a 34-31 lead with 1:09 remaining. However, Whitehead jumper for the Spartans with a second left would cut the Mocs to a point, at 34-33, and the Spartans would take a little bit of momentum into the halftime locker room.
Two free throws and powerful poster dunk from KJ Younger gave the Spartans even more of a boost, and a quick 37-34 lead out of the locker room. A layup and two free throws from Neely and a Kazounas jumper would extend the Spartans lead to nine, 43-34, with 16:12 left. The Mocs hit back with a 16-7 run to tie the game, with a Billy Smith triple tying the game, 50-50, with a three-pointer with 13:03 remaining in the game.
The lead would change hands several times over the next nine-plus minutes and a Frison layup in the paint would give the Mocs a 67-63 lead, with just under four minutes remaining. A Neely free throw cut the deficit to back to three for the Spartans but the Mocs went ahead by five following a Josh Bowman jumper with 3:03 left.
A dunk by Valentino Pinedo and a three from Whitehead Jr. promptly tied the game, 69-69, with 1:52. Tate Darner missed three-pointer and then five -straight points by Noah Norgaard on a three and a layup and a free throw by KJ Younger put the Spartans ahead by six, at 75-69, with 20 seconds remaining. Brennan Watkins connected on a three for the Mocs with nine seconds left to get UTC to within three, at 75-72. However, Norgaard's two free throws after he was fouled with eight seconds remaining closed out a key five-point win for the Spartans.
Two free throws and powerful poster dunk from KJ Younger gave the Spartans even more of a boost, and a quick 37-34 lead out of the locker room. A layup and two free throws from Neely and a Kazounas jumper would extend the Spartans lead to nine, 43-34, with 16:12 left. The Mocs hit back with a 16-7 run to tie the game, with a Billy Smith triple tying the game, 50-50, with a three-pointer with 13:03 remaining in the game.
The lead would change hands several times over the next nine-plus minutes and a Frison layup in the paint would give the Mocs a 67-63 lead, with just under four minutes remaining. A Neely free throw cut the deficit to back to three for the Spartans but the Mocs went ahead by five following a Josh Bowman jumper with 3:03 left.
A dunk by Valentino Pinedo and a three from Whitehead Jr. promptly tied the game, 69-69, with 1:52. Tate Darner missed three-pointer and then five -straight points by Noah Norgaard on a three and a layup and a free throw by KJ Younger put the Spartans ahead by six, at 75-69, with 20 seconds remaining. Brennan Watkins connected on a three for the Mocs with nine seconds left to get UTC to within three, at 75-72. However, Norgaard's two free throws after he was fouled with eight seconds remaining closed out a key five-point win for the Spartans.
For the game, Chattanooga connected on 47.5% (28-of-59) from the field and 31.4% (11-of-35) from three-point range, while knocking down 55.6% (5-of-9) from the charity stripe. The Spartans finished the game 46.3% (25-of-54) from the field and 31.6% (6-of-19) from three-point land, while finishing out the connecting on 67.7% (21-of-31) from the free throw line.
UNCG's scoring efforts were led by talented freshman guard KJ Younger, who led the way with a career-high 24 points, while Justin Neely chipped in with 17 and Donald Whitehead Jr. added 13. Younger connected on 7-of-14 shots from the field and he was 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. He also finished the day 9-for-11 from the free throw line and added nine rebounds and one steal.
Chattanooga finished off the game with four in double figures, with Jikari Johnson leading the way with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Jordan Frison, Brennan Watkins, and Billy Smith added 12 points to round out the double-figure scorers for the Mocs.
The win sees UNCG improve to 5-9 overall and 1-0 in SoCon action, while UTC fell to 6-8 overall and 0-1 in SoCon play.
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