Feb. 13, 2007

Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. - Despite a season-high 23 points from junior Travis Peterson, the Samford University basketball team dropped a 46-38 decision on the road against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in McBrayer Arena on Tuesday.

With the loss, Samford (14-12, 11-6 Ohio Valley Conference) suffered its second straight defeat and was limited to its lowest scoring output of the 2006-07 campaign. The Bulldogs' previous low in scoring was a 41-point outing at Tennessee State.

"I was very disappointed in our play, especially in the first half," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "It took our players the entire half to figure out their zone and we didn't receive much leadership from our seniors. I thought that Travis Peterson played better and he did a much better job on the offensive end."

With the victory, Eastern Kentucky (16-9, 11-6 OVC) extended its winning streak to six-consecutive games. The Colonels currently possess the longest winning streak in the conference and have not been defeated since Jan. 25.

Peterson was one of only four players to score for the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

Samford's 6-foot-10 center shot 9-of-13 from the floor and also led the team with seven rebounds. Throughout his career, four of Peterson's five 20-point performances have come against Eastern Kentucky.

Randall Gulina, the OVC's leading scorer, was limited to nine points Tuesday. He failed to reach double figures for only the second time this season. The Bulldogs' senior guard was averaging 18.2 points per contest heading into the game.

Junior Curtis West and sophomore Jason Black closed out Samford's scoring with three points apiece.

Eastern Kentucky finished with three players scoring in double figures. Michael Brock and Adam Leonard tallied 12 points apiece, while Mike Rose added 10 points and registered a block. The Colonels' Julian Mascoll and Brock both pulled down eight rebounds.

Samford shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor against Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday and finished with 16 turnovers, its second highest total of the 2006-07 campaign.

"We continued to make tactical errors in the second half and we weren't able to hit any 3-point shots," Tillette said. "We shot the ball well today at our shoot-around, but tonight they just weren't falling for us. I thought that defensively we were fine, it was just our offense that bogged us down, especially with 16 turnovers."

Despite its shaky performance on offense, Samford used a deep 3-point basket from West to trim the Colonels' lead to 41-38 with 44 seconds remaining.

The Bulldogs then fouled to force Eastern Kentucky to make its free throws down the stretch. The Colonels answered the call and were able to make 5-of-8 from the charity stripe to hold on for the victory.

Samford out-rebounded Eastern Kentucky 32-30, but failed to grab a couple of key rebounds after missed free throw attempts from Brock and Mascoll late in the game.

Following a low-scoring first half of play, Samford trailed the Colonels 21-15 at the intermission. The Bulldogs shot 31.6 percent from the field and only 9.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Samford's Peterson scored 13 of the team's 15 points in the opening period.

The Bulldogs' junior from Glendale, Ariz., was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor in the first half. Black scored Samford's remaining two points in the first 20 minutes of play as he knocked down a pair of free throws.

In a contrasting style, Eastern Kentucky finished the opening period with eight players scoring at least two points. Leonard, who connected on a 3-point basket right before halftime, led the Colonels with six points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Eastern Kentucky only shot 37.5 percent from the floor in the first half, knocked down 22.2 percent of its 3-point attempts.

The Colonels jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage in the game, but Samford stormed back to take a 13-12 lead behind the play of Peterson. He scored the Bulldogs' first 11 points and helped Samford take its only advantage of the game at 8:52 when he threw down a thunderous dunk from the right baseline.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs conclude their final regular-season road trip year against the Morehead State Eagles. The critical OVC contest is scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m., at Johnson Arena in Morehead, Ky.