Taylor leads East Tennessee State against Samford after 23-point game

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2026.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers (12-6, 4-1 SoCon) at Samford Bulldogs (9-9, 2-3 SoCon)

Birmingham, Alabama; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: East Tennessee State visits Samford after Brian Taylor II scored 23 points in East Tennessee State’s 72-68 loss to the Western Carolina Catamounts.

The Bulldogs are 5-2 on their home court. Samford ranks fourth in the SoCon with 14.9 assists per game led by Keaton Norris averaging 4.9.

The Buccaneers are 4-1 in SoCon play. East Tennessee State is the leader in the SoCon allowing just 66.5 points per game while holding opponents to 40.5% shooting.

Samford makes 43.4% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.9 percentage points higher than East Tennessee State has allowed to its opponents (40.5%). East Tennessee State averages 7.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.4 fewer makes per game than Samford gives up.

The Bulldogs and Buccaneers match up Saturday for the first time in SoCon play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jadin Booth is averaging 19.9 points for the Bulldogs. Dylan Faulkner is averaging 16.9 points over the last 10 games.

Taylor is scoring 14.5 points per game and averaging 4.6 rebounds for the Buccaneers. Maki Johnson is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 5-5, averaging 78.0 points, 33.6 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 4.4 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.1 points per game.

Buccaneers: 6-4, averaging 76.3 points, 30.2 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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