Marshall, Achor Lead Way For Samford
The Samford Bulldogs pick up the win over the other Bulldogs in South Carolina State, 89-72. Samford is led again by star F Jermaine Marshall and budding star Achor Achor with 20 and 17 points respectively.
The Bulldogs were fresh off of a 96-52 win over Mississippi College on Tuesday, the first of nine straight conference games. This is exactly the way you want to start a homestand against the lighter part of the schedule after the challenging first week. There are multiple positives to take away.
Firstly, Achor Achor is living up to the preseason expectations that Samford head coach Bucky McMillan laid out this offseason. Achor finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds after another 17-point performance he had on Tuesday night.
If Achor Achor can be this guy night in and night out, that just increases the ceiling of this basketball team. That includes staying out of foul trouble which then leads to more minutes on the floor, which leads to success against higher quality teams.
Secondly, Jermaine Marshall is awesome; there’s no other way to put it. The energy he brings to this team on the floor along with his production further shows how fun this basketball team is and can be. Marshall was back in double figures tonight with 20 points. This team goes as far as Jermaine takes them. I asked him whether he feels like he needs to be THE guy and what this team is capable of.
“Well we all do a good job, making sure everybody touches the ball and trying to find mismatches with the hot hand. We really just try to share the ball and make sure everybody eats.”
It seems as if Nova Southeastern transfer Dallas Graziani has taken control of the starting point guard spot. While he does not bring a lot of scoring, the way he leads this offense is impressive. As for the other guard spot, Rylan Jones was the hot hand tonight that got going like Jermaine mentioned will happen. Jones finished with 16 points and was perfect behind the three-point line at 4-4. This is what Samford needs to take that next level.
I also asked McMillan about freshman Josh Holloway who continues to shine in his minutes. “Josh, the moment is never going to be too big for him”, said McMillan. “Josh thinks he can play on an NBA floor and it won’t faze him one bit.”
Samford is back on the floor next Wednesday against Alabama State for the MTE (Multi-Team Event) that Samford is hosting, while also playing Merrimack and North Carolina A&T.
