BIRMINGHAM, AL Bryan Friday led the way with 23 points as Samford defeated UNC Greensboro, 73-60, in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs snapped a four-game losing streak and moved to 12-13 overall, 7-9 in the SoCon North. UNCG dropped to 4-20 overall, 3-12 in league play.

The Spartans got 16 points from junior guard Mikko Koivisto and 12 points by junior guard Kendall Toney. Freshman forward Damian Eargle added 10 points, giving him double figures in nine of the last 12 games.

UNCG was within one at 45-44 midway through the second half, but a 10-2 run by the Bulldogs opened the lead back up to eight again. Samford made its free throws down the stretch, knocking down 8 of 10 in the final 1:38. For the game, Samford made 20-of-23 at the line. UNCG was 9-for-11 at the stripe.

Samford also turned UNCG's 15 miscues into 19 points to make for a 19-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

Friday, who had 20 points in the first meeting between the teams, was 9-of-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line for Samford on Thursday night. The Bulldogs also got 16 points from Josh Davis and 14 by Trey Montgomery.

The opening half featured seven lead changes as both teams came out scoring. UNCG led by five early, but seven straight points by the Bulldogs erased the early 7-2 lead. Neither team got much separation from there until Samford went on a 13-3 run, five of those points by Montgomery. That helped open up an eight-point lead for the home squad.

The Bulldogs held UNCG without a field goal for 6:40 during that run, missing six straight shots. But as the halftime buzzer sounded, Toney's three-pointer went through the net to cut the deficit to just 33-28 at the break.

The Bulldogs held off the Spartans for a while in the second half, but Toney's three-pointer from the right side cut it to 45-44 with 10:39 left. Samford went on a 10-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Davis, to open it back up to an nine-point lead with 7:27 to play.

The Spartans close out their five games in 10 days stretch on Saturday at Chattanooga. Game time is set for 7 pm.

AGATE

SAMFORD 73, UNCG 60

UNCG (4-20, 3-12 SoCon)

Mikko Koivisto 4-9 5-5 16; Kendall Toney 4-8 0-0 12; Damian Eargle 4-12 2-4 10; Pete Brown 3-4 2-2 8; Montel Smith 2-5 0-0 5; Daniel Oliver 1-5 0-0 3; Ben Stywall 1-4 0-0 2; Elhanan Bone 1-1 0-0 2; Deangelo Jackson 1-1 0-0 2; Sean Spooner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 9-11 60.

SAMFORD (12-13, 7-9 SoCon)

Bryan Friday 9-12 4-4 23; Josh Davis 4-11 4-4 16; Trey Montgomery 3-7 7-9 14; Andy King 2-6 2-2 8; Curtis West 2-3 3-4 7; Jeffrey Merritt 1-1 0-0 3; Jim Griffin 1-3 0-0 2; Gaby Bermudez 0-0 0-0 0; Matthew Friday 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Bedwell 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 20-23 73.

Halftime: Samford 33-28. 3-point goals--UNCG 9-22 (Kendall Toney 4-8; Mikko Koivisto 3-8; Daniel Oliver 1-4; Montel Smith 1-2), Samford 9-25 (Josh Davis 4-10; Andy King 2-5; Bryan Friday 1-3; Jeffrey Merritt 1-1; Trey Montgomery 1-3; Josh Bedwell 0-2; Curtis West 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-Daniel Oliver, Samford-None. Rebounds--UNCG 28 (Pete Brown 6), Samford 27 (Trey Montgomery 7). Assists--UNCG 14 (Daniel Oliver 4), Samford 12 (Curtis West 4). Total fouls--UNCG 20, Samford 13. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Samford-None. A-740

FREE THROWS: The Spartans are now 0-4 all-time against Samford. It was the first game in Birmingham since January 1992... It was Koivisto's 15th game this season of 10 or more points. He had scored in double figures in 14 games in each of his first two seasons... UNCG officials announced prior to Thursday's game that sophomore guard Landon Clement has withdrawn from the university for personal reasons... The Spartans had a 28-27 advantage on the glass... Samford, which was blistering hot from three-point range (13-26) at Fleming Gym a month ago, was a cooler 9-for-25 from three-point range on Thursday night... Samford had a 24-10 advantage in points in the paint.

- UNCG -