In a game that will be remembered by Samford fans for years to come, the Bulldogs fell short in an instant March Madness classic against the Kansas Jayhawks 93-89.
This was Samford’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2000, and the season ends for the Bulldogs with their record at 29-6, the best in program history. As for Kansas, the Jayhawks moved on to face Gonzaga, where they were dismantled 89-68.
Head Coach Bucky McMillan’s statement in the postgame press conference reflected the moment.
“This was a great game,” McMillan said. “We kind of knew what it would be. They’d be trying to impose their will on the inside, and we’d obviously try to space and play fast and make threes. I had no doubt if we could get it to single digits, in my mind, under the 10-minute mark, I thought we would win.”
McMillan reflected on his players and their expectations throughout the game.
“This is a group that I just enjoyed coaching so much,” McMillan said. “We’ve kind of been in these spots before where we’d have big comebacks and we have the juice at the end of the game, and I thought we had it. A play here, a play there, it could be different.”
The game was defined by runs. Kansas went on an early 8-0 run to push the lead to nine. The Jayhawks then went on a subsequent 10-1 run to push the lead to 16 with 7:32 left in the first half. Samford then answered with an 8-0 run, punctuated by an impressive poster dunk from Achor Achor.
“We fought really hard,” Achor said postgame. “These are my brothers right here.”
At halftime, the Bulldogs trailed by 10. Considering Kansas shot a 69% from the floor in the first, the deficit wasn’t as bad as it seemed. However, what ensued in the early stages of the second half proved too much for the Bulldogs to bear. The Jayhawks opened the second half with a 15-3 run to push the lead to 22 with 16:55 to go. This was Kansas’s largest lead of the game, and it was a lead that Samford never managed to overcome.
The effort displayed by the Bulldogs, though, in those next 16 minutes and 55 seconds was the stuff of March legend. Samford cut the lead to 13 with 13:25 to go. That lead was then cut to eight with just over nine minutes to play. Back-to-back threes from Achor Achor and Jaden Campbell cut the lead to four with 6:25 left, and the roof of the Delta Center about blew off.
An acrobatic, contorting layup from Rylan Jones cut the lead to one with 5:14 left. The poise displayed by Kansas, though late, pushed the lead back to seven with two minutes to go. Jaden Campbell hit a three to cut it to four, and after a Johnny Furphy turnover, Achor Achor converted it to another poster slam to cut the lead to two with 38 seconds left.
After this, KJ Adams made a fastbreak dunk to push the lead to four. Samford fans were ready to throw in the towel, but after an inbounds play from Bucky McMillan that led to a Jaden Campbell three, the lead was just one with 20 seconds left. After this came a play that will be ingrained in the memory of Bulldog fans for years to come. AJ Staton-McCray seemingly made an incredible chase down block on Nic Timberlake, but the referees called a shooting foul. Upon replay, it appeared that the call was incorrect, but Timberlake made two free throws to ice the game for the Jayhawks.
Samford will now look ahead to the 2024 season, seeking to repeat as SoCon champions and once again return to the Big Dance. The losses of Chandler Leopard, Garrett Hicks, Rylan Jones, and Nathan Johnson are confirmed, as all are grad students. However, Bucky McMillan recently signed a contract extension with Samford, ensuring the head coach will stay in Homewood for the foreseeable future. The returning status of many players, though, including Jermaine Marshall and Achor Achor, remains up in the air.
Sports Editor
