Nov. 24, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team earned its first win in the brand-new Pete Hanna Center on Saturday as the Bulldogs rallied for a lopsided 73-30 victory against the Brewton-Parker Barons. In the win, Samford (2-2) shot 57.1 percent and registered a 43-5 run.

With the victory, Samford ended a two-game losing streak and held Brewton-Parker (2-4) to 12 field goals. The Bulldogs' 30 points allowed was an opponent's lowest total since Dec. 9, 2004, when Samford held Tennessee Wesleyan to 30 points in a 68-30 victory.

"Our effort was a lot better today and that was our theme throughout practice this week," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We shuffled our lineup around a bit in terms of starting some different players and I think that got our guys' attention. I think that overall we had longer periods of qualitative play on both ends of the floor."

Samford was led in scoring by senior center Travis Peterson's 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Peterson, at 6-foot-10, tied a career-high with four 3-point baskets. He turned in a 4-of-6 outing from beyond the arc and added six rebounds and four assists.

Fellow-senior Joe Ross Merritt scored 10 points and pulled down three rebounds in only 19 minutes of play. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., was 4-of-7 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range.

"Our intensity and our judgment was better today than in the last couple games and that showed in the outcome," Tillette said. "I think that we're heading in the right direction, but by no means have we arrived. We still have a long way to go and today was a step in the right direction."

Brewton-Parker failed to have a player reach double figures in scoring. Junior point guard Jurbien Byrd led the team with eight points. The Barons' native of Calhoun, Ga., was 3-for-7 from the floor and 2-for-6 from beyond the arc. Nate Greene followed with seven points and Maurice Veal added five.

Samford never trailed in the game and jumped out to an early 8-0 lead.

Sophomore Savoy Fraine made his first career start Saturday and opened the game with a 3-point basket from the corner. Peterson then followed with a layup and a 3-point basket to give the Bulldogs their 8-0 advantage.

Brewton-Parker's Bradley Wilson scored on an acrobatic layup with 8:40 remaining in the first half to trim Samford's lead to 16-15.

After a Samford timeout, the Bulldogs used a convincing 43-5 run to take a decided 59-20 advantage with 7:22 left in the game. Samford led 35-17 at the half and outscored Brewton-Parker 24-3 to open the second period.

"We only had seven turnovers today and that goes to judgment decision making," said Tillette. "I told our guys that if they want to play, then they have to bring intensity on defense and judgment decision-making on offense. We know that we have a lot of young guys but we can't have them throwing the ball away."

Samford only committed seven turnovers and forced Brewton-Parker into 14. The Bulldogs also won the battle of the boards and out-rebounded the Barons 32-20.

Samford's Josh Bedwell, Gaby Bermudez, Fraine and Matt Robertson all tallied career-highs in scoring Saturday. Bedwell knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points and three rebounds, while Bermudez scored the first four points of his collegiate career.

Fraine was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and finished with seven points and two assists. He also grabbed a rebound in 17 minutes of play.

Robertson, a redshirt freshman, came off the bench in the second half and scored the first field goal of his collegiate career. During his first offensive possession, he cut down the middle of the lane and was wide open for a right-handed layup. Bedwell earned the assist on the play as he sent a perfectly-placed pass to Robertson.

Samford outscored Brewton-Parker 30-8 in the paint and 27-8 in bench points. The Bulldogs shot 39.3 percent from 3-point range.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs play at Lipscomb in a non-conference road matchup to be held in Allen Arena.