Rylan Jones’ answer came in fits and starts.
He’d get a few sentences out about what it was like to end his career against Kansas in an absolute barnburner back in his home state. Then his eyes would well up, his throat would catch, and he’d pause. He went through that routine three times before he settled on the words he was looking for.
“I could feel the whole stadium at the end. They were behind us,” Samford’s senior point guard, and Logan native, said. “I had a lot of family and friends, Utah family, Utah State family, Logan High, Olympus, everybody supporting. I wish we could have got it done one more time in front of all these people.”
Jones finished his career inside Delta Center with perhaps the most memorable game he’d been part of. Samford nearly completed a 22-point, second-half comeback to take down the four-seeded Jayhawks. It cut the lead all the way down to one with 20 seconds left, only for a fateful foul call to go against the Bulldogs in the waning moments.
Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake went up for a breakaway dunk. Samford guard A.J. Staton-McCray chased and rose with him, tipping the ball out and creating the chance for a fast break that could’ve won Samford the game.
But a whistle came in, giving Timberlake two free throws to effectively ice the game. On replay, it looked like Staton-McCray caught only ball. But without the opportunity to review the matter, the game went on to end in a 93-89 Kansas win.
“I have seen the play. I thought A.J. made an incredible play on it. You know what I’m saying?” Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. “I’m not faulting the call. Some people can see it different ways. But I was really proud of our guys’ ability to go make a play.
“There’s no whistle, we’re going to have a numbers advantage to go the other way to advance to round two. That’s how close the game was. That’s how well our guys played.”
That moment was partly authored by the local guard. Jones played high school ball at Logan and Olympus High schools.
In college, he made stops at Utah and Utah State. He spent two seasons at each school and started 75 games. When Utah State coach Ryan Odom left for VCU last spring, Jones took his own chance.
He went all-in on a one-year run at Samford. He’d be the featured guard and could get the Bulldogs to the tournament.
He was rewarded with this moment.
With gauze hanging out of his nose in the second half, Jones scored all nine of his points in the final 12 minutes of the game. He leaned into a layup with Kansas guard Dejuan Harris all over him. It cut the Kansas lead to 79-78 with five minutes left. The Delta Center erupted.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kansas Jayhawks guard Nicolas Timberlake (25) shoots a lay up as Samford Bulldogs center Riley Allenspach (35) defends with guard Rylan Jones (21) in the First Round of the mens basketball NCAA Tournament at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 21, 2024.
Kansas coach Bill Self said it was a better environment than any Big 12 game the Jayhawks played in this year.
“God almighty. It doesn’t get this loud in our league,” he said.
Self would later speculate it was leftover Gonzaga fans from the game before cheering for an upset. But the Gonzaga section was mostly empty as the clock ticked past 10:30 p.m. and the comeback kicked into high gear.
This was a home crowd wanting it for their native son. Jones knew it.
Even in a loss, he had his moment.
“I can’t describe that feeling. I grew up here, 22 years,” Jones finished said. “Chose to go to Birmingham, Alabama, trust in Coach Bucky, these guys. We had a historic season for Samford. To come back here and be able to play in Salt Lake City, I just can’t describe the feeling.”
