Jan. 31, 2008

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Samford's Travis Peterson scored a season-high 21 points Thursday, including 13 of the team's final 20 as he led the Bulldogs to a critical 65-59 Ohio Valley Conference road win against the Tennessee State Tigers in the Gentry Center.

"Travis is a good kid and I'm glad that he was able to have a great game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Heading into the game, he was in a little bit of a slump and I was glad to see him work his way out of it. As a team, I was really pleased with how we played. We were shorthanded a bit, but we were able to pick up a huge win in a tough place to play."

With the victory, Samford (10-12, 7-7 OVC) concluded its two-game midweek road trip with a 1-1 record. The Bulldogs also earned a split in their annual home-and-home series against Tennessee State (10-12, 7-6 OVC).

Earlier this season, the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 55-46 in the Pete Hanna Center on Jan. 10.

Peterson tallied his game-high 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. He exploded for 17 of his 21 points in the final period of play. Peterson, Samford's 6-foot-10 center from Glendale, Ariz., was also a near-perfect 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. His 10 free throws was a career-high.

The Bulldogs' Joe Ross Merritt and Trey Montgomery both finished with 10 points apiece, while freshman Josh Bedwell and Bryan Friday both added nine points.

Tennessee State was led in scoring by Jerrell Houston's 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. The Tigers' 6-foot-8 transfer from Mississippi State also grabbed seven rebounds and three steals. Senior Ervin Reiley followed with 14 points and five assists, while junior Bruce Price added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

"This wasn't the most artistic victory, but I know our guys will take it," Tillette said. "Tennessee State is a very athletic team and they have some very good players, but tonight we played hard and smart, and that was enough to get the victory. We definitely have a lot of positives that we can build from."

With exactly seven minutes left in the game, Samford and Tennessee State were knotted at 45-45.

Peterson hit a turnaround jumper and ignited the Bulldogs on a 13-1 run to take a decisive 58-46 advantage with 2:32 remaining. During Samford's scoring stretch, Peterson hit eight-straight points and Bedwell draining a 3-point basket from the left wing.

With a 12-point lead and two minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs' Montgomery hit four key free throws to help his team hang on to the 65-59 victory.

"I thought that we played very well defensively late in the half," said Tillette. "As the game wound down, Tennessee State made some shots, but we were able to do a good job of getting fouled and hitting our free throws. We turned the ball over some, but that was due to our guys playing different positions. We'll be able to correct that with time."

Samford played hard-nosed defense in the first half and took a 27-24 lead into the intermission. The Bulldogs' Bedwell, Bryan Friday and Montgomery all scored six points apiece in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Tennessee State's Houston paced the Tigers with nine points in the first half, including eight of team's last 13.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 7-4 advantage in the game, but the Bulldogs used an 11-5 run midway through the half to take a 22-19 advantage. Samford's run was initiated by layups from Peterson and Merritt and was capped off by a 3-pointer from Bedwell.

All six of Bedwell's first-half points came via the 3-point shot. He also knocked down a deep 3-point basket with 37.8 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 27-21 advantage.

Tennessee State's LaDarious Weaver ended the half with three free throws after he was fouled on a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Neither team shot well from beyond the arc in the first half. Samford shot a below-par 25 percent (3-for-12) from 3-point range, while Tennessee State was only 2-of-10 (20 percent) from downtown.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham for an OVC matchup against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.