Greenville, S.C. – The 16^th-ranked Samford Bulldogs built a 17-point second half lead and held off a fourth quarter charge by Furman to down the Paladins, 34-27, in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
 
Jaylan Thomas rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Michael Hiers completed 29-of-38 passes for 228 yards and two scores to power the Samford attack.
 
Furman built a 10-0 lead and appeared to have the football on the Samford 28-yard line after an Ivan Yates' interception, but the turnover was nullified on a second official review. Hiers connected with Jay Stanton on a 36-yard touchdown strike to cap the drive five plays later and Thomas put the Bulldogs in front 13-10 with a 28-yard touchdown run following a Jace Wilson fumble at the Furman 48-yard line on the Paladins' next possession.
 
After carrying a 20-17 lead into the half, Samford (4-1, 2-0 SoCon) scored a pair of third quarter touchdowns on a 44-yard run by Thomas and six-yard pass from Hiers to J.R. Tran-Reno to extend its lead to 34-17. Furman's Axel Lepvreau connected on a 34-yard field goal on the opening play of the fourth quarter. With 2:03 remaining, Wilson found Joshua Harris in the back of the end zone on a two-yard touchdown toss to trim the deficit to 34-27.
 
The Paladins stopped Samford with just over a minute remaining to get the ball back at their own 22-yard line, but Furman turned the ball over on downs with three seconds left to end the threat.
 
Wilson completed a school-record 38 passes on 59 attempts for 329 yards and three touchdowns. The Paladins outgained Samford 457-360, however, Furman lost three fumbles which led to 14 Bulldogs points. 
 
Furman (3-2, 1-1 SoCon) travels to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel next Saturday before returning to Paladin Stadium to host Western Carolina on Saturday, October 15.