Jan. 10, 2008

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In its first home game in three weeks, the Samford University basketball team turned in its worst shooting performance of the 2007-08 campaign Thursday as the Bulldogs were 16-of-53 (30.3 percent) from the field in a 55-46 loss to the Tennessee State Tigers in the Pete Hanna Center.

"We didn't shoot the ball well tonight at all," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We can't have (Travis) Peterson go 0-for-5, (Joe Ross) Merritt go 1-for-7 and (Trey) Montgomery go 1-for-5 from 3-point range and expect to win. We need to be better in our zone offense and that falls on me, because I need to do a better job of coaching it."

With the loss, Samford (7-8, 4-3 Ohio Valley Conference) was defeated at home for the first time since first-place Southeast Missouri hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer on Dec. 18. The Bulldogs' loss was also their first home defeat against Tennessee State (6-9, 3-3 OVC) since Nov. 28, 1986.

Samford fell to 4-4 at home this season as the Bulldogs are still getting used to shooting in the brand-new Pete Hanna Center.

In its seven games in the 32-million-dollar arena (one game was played at Seibert Hall due to the University's commencement ceremony), Samford is shooting 29.4 percent from beyond the arc. On the road this season, the Bulldogs are shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range.

Samford's Josh Bedwell scored a game-high 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs' true freshman from nearby Hartselle, Ala., was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, while the rest of the team combined to shoot 3-for-20 from 3-point range.

Bedwell also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

"Josh Bedwell had a great game tonight, but he can't make every three," Tillette said. "I thought that Tennessee State's defense was good in the half court and they did some different things against us that we hadn't seen from them. They're very athletic and they were challenging every one of our shots, especially from beyond the arc."

With the win, Tennessee State snapped a two-game losing streak and picked up its second victory against Samford in the previous three meetings.

The Tigers were led in scoring by Jerrell Houston's 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. The junior transfer from Mississippi State also led the team with four assists and pulled down three rebounds.

Tennessee State's senior guard Reiley Ervin added 10 points and two rebounds, while the team's leading scorer Bruce Price was limited to six points on 3-of-7 shooting. The Tigers' senior native of Minneapolis, Minn., was also forced into a game-high four turnovers.

Samford starters Travis Peterson and Trey Montgomery combined to score 23 points for the Bulldogs on Thursday, but the team only received three points off the bench.

Peterson finished with 14 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Montgomery added nine points, six rebounds and three steals. Samford's lone basket from a non-starter was a 3-point shot scored by Josh Davis in the waning seconds of the game.

"It really hurt us not having Bryan Friday at 100 percent today," said Tillette. "He had his front four teeth knocked out against Jacksonville State and hadn't really practiced the last two days. His rhythm was totally off tonight, especially on the offensive end of the court, and I thought that also affected our depth and our substitution patters."

Early in the first half, Samford jumped out to its biggest lead of the game 15-7 with 10:06 remaining in the period. Tennessee State then rattled off 15-straight points en route to a 22-15 advantage with 5:28 left.

Late in the first half, Samford used a layup and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Montgomery to trim Tennessee State lead to 24-22 at the intermission.

To open the second period, Peterson scored on one of the Bulldogs' four layups in the game and then Bedwell drained a three to take a 27-24 advantage.

In the next nine minutes, neither team led by more than three points until the Tigers' Ladarious Weaver scored to give his squad a 38-33 advantage with 9:13 remaining. The basket was part of a decisive 12-3 run that gave Tennessee State a 44-36 lead with only 6:55 remaining.

From that point on, Samford's smallest deficit was 51-46 with 43 seconds left following Davis' 3-pointer.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m., against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in the Pete Hanna Center. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles were defeated by the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 79-74 for JSU's first Division I victory of the season.