Dec. 6, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team turned in its second suffocating defensive performance of the 2007-08 campaign Thursday as the Bulldogs limited the Jacksonville State Gamecocks to 34 total points in a 41-34 Ohio Valley Conference-opening victory.

In the win, Samford (3-4, 1-0 OVC) held Jacksonville State (2-6, 0-1 OVC) to its lowest scoring output since the 1958-59 season. The Gamecocks' lowest point total in school history occurred against Oglethorpe 30-17.

"That was some bad offensive basketball," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I think that our guys came out and were nervous in the first half. This was our first league game, our first time on national television this season and (Jacksonville State head coach) Mike (LaPlante) did a great job of switching defenses against us. We played tough defense throughout the game and that is what allowed us to win."

Samford's 34 points allowed was the team's second-lowest total this season.

On Nov. 24, in their previous game held in the Pete Hanna Center, the Bulldogs defeated Brewton-Parker 73-30. Samford has only allowed 64 points in its previous two home games combined.

The key play in Thursday's game occurred with less than one minute remaining in regulation when Josh Bedwell grabbed a critical defensive rebound with 23 seconds left on the clock.

At the time of the game-clinching rebound, Samford only led by three points 37-34. Jacksonville State's Dorien Brown went up for a right-handed layup to cut the lead to one when the ball bounded off the rim into the midst of three Gamecocks. Before Jacksonville State's Erik Adams could pull down the offensive rebound, Bedwell sliced into the lane and grabbed the ball to force a jump ball.

Due to 6-foot Bedwell's fourth rebound of the game, Samford gained possession of the ball and Travis Peterson knocked down four-straight field goals to secure the victory.

Seniors Joe Ross Merritt and Peterson each paced the Bulldogs with 13 points apiece. Peterson tallied his second double-double of the season by adding a game-high 11 rebounds. Samford shot 34.9 percent from the field, but limited Jacksonville State to a 25.5 shooting percentage.

At the half, the Gamecocks led 16-13. The Bulldogs' 13 points scored was their lowest first-half total since they trailed second-ranked Texas 30-13 on the road in 2005.

"At halftime, I told our guys to slow down a bit on the offensive end of the court and I think that allowed us to be more consistent down the stretch," Tillette said. "Throughout the game, we did a good job against their press and we only committed eight turnovers. I was pleased with how we possessed the basketball and forced Jacksonville State to slow their offense down."

Heading into Thursday's game, Jacksonville State was ranked third in the OVC with an average of 79.7 points per contest. Samford leads the conference in scoring defense and is only allowing 57 points per game.

Sophomore Trey Montgomery added nine points for the Bulldogs, while fellow-sophomore Bryan Friday finished with six. Only four players scored for Samford and the first free throw of the game for either team was attempted with 9:26 remaining in the second half.

Jacksonville State was led in scoring by sharpshooter Will Ginn. The Gamecocks' 6-foot guard was 4-of-11 from the field with all four of his field goals coming from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Erik Adams finished with a double-double by scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. DeAndre Bray, at 5-foot-6, turned in a game-high six assists.

Samford has won four-straight games in its series against Jacksonville State and Tillette owns a 14-7 record in the rivalry. The Bulldogs' four-game winning streak against the Gamecocks is their longest since stringing together five-straight victories from 1949-51.

The Samford University basketball team will take nine days off for final exams before hosting Reinhardt College at 2 p.m., on Dec. 15. The game will begin at 2 p.m., and will be played at Seibert Hall due to Samford's inaugural graduation in the Pete Hanna Center.