Jan. 5, 2008

Box Score

MARTIN, Tenn. - Despite a career-high 20 points from true freshman Josh Bedwell, the Samford University basketball team suffered its first loss against the UT Martin Skyhawks in 15 years Saturday as the Bulldogs were defeated 63-49 at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

"We played with a lack of concentrated effort tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "It looked as if our team was satisfied with one win on the road trip, and that's how we played out there. I thought that Josh Bedwell gave us a lot of effort tonight and I thought that Bryan Friday played better as the road trip went on."

With the loss, Samford (6-7, 3-2 Ohio Valley Conference) had its two-game winning streak against league opponents snapped. Heading into Saturday's contest, the Bulldogs were coming off consecutive OVC wins against Murray State and Tennessee Tech.

UT Martin (6-9, 2-3 OVC) defeated Samford for the first time since Dec. 5, 1992. After the aforementioned loss, the Bulldogs rattled off seven-straight victories in the all-time series, including six-straight wins as members of the OVC.

With Saturday's victory, the Skyhawks also snapped a five-game losing streak.

UT Martin was led in scoring by Marquis Weddle's 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. The Skyhawks' true freshman from nearby Union City, Tenn., was 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Junior Djero Riedewald followed with 15 points on a near-perfect 7-of-8 shooting performance, while the nation's leading scorer Lester Hudson was limited to 13.

Hudson, who entered the game averaging a nation's best 27.6 points per contest, was only 5-of-13 from the field, but finished with seven steals, six assists and five rebounds.

Samford was led in scoring by Bedwell's personal-best 20 points.

He was the only Bulldog to crack double figures Saturday as he was finished 7-of-12 from the floor. Bedwell was also on fire from beyond the arc and knocked down a career-high six 3-point field goals on eight attempts.

Sophomore Bryan Friday followed with eight points, four assists and three rebounds, while centers Andy King and Travis Peterson both added five points apiece.

Samford shot a game-high 44.4 percent from 3-point range, but only connected on 1-of-7 attempts from downtown in the second half. UT Martin shot a consistent 52-percent from the field and out-rebounded Samford 25-21. The Bulldogs committed five more turnovers than the Skyhawks 15-10.

At halftime, Samford trailed UT Martin 32-25.

Weddle paced the Skyhawks with nine first-half points and Riedewald added eight. The Bulldogs limited Hudson, the reigning OVC newcomer of the week, to two points in the opening period, but he compiled five assists and five steals before intermission.

Samford's Bedwell exploded for a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range in the first half alone. The Bulldogs' true freshman from Priceville, Ala., scored 18 of Samford's 25 points in the opening period. Bedwell's previous career-high was 11 points, which he achieved against Reinhardt College on Dec. 15.

Both teams opened the game shooting well from the floor and the score was tied 11-11 with 13:29 remaining in the half.

UT Martin then used baskets from Riedewald, Gerald Robinson and Weddle to take a 19-13 lead behind an 8-2 run. During the Skyhawks' streak, the Bulldogs went nearly seven minutes without scoring a point.

Samford's drought was ended by one of Bedwell's six first-half 3-point baskets as he hit four-straight field goals from beyond the arc.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Monday at 7:30 p.m., as the Bulldogs conclude their current four-game road trip against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at the Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.