Samford University
Saint Louis
'Dogs Fail To Overcome Slow Start In 70-49 Loss At Saint Louis
12.13.08 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2008
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Samford University basketball team fell to 0-4 on the road this season Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 70-49 non-conference matchup against the Saint Louis Billikens at Chaifetz Arena. In the defeat, Samford was limited to a 1-for-14 performance from 3-point range.
"Even though we lost, I thought we played with a lot of effort," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We got behind early, but our guys fought back hard to get back in the game. We weren't shooting the ball well at all, so we drove to the basket and drew some fouls. We were 18-of-21 from the free-throw line and that was huge, but we have to rebound the ball better if we're going to win on the road."
Samford (3-4) completed its three-game road swing Saturday and will return home to the Pete Hanna Center on Thursday for a 7 p.m., matchup against Louisiana Tech. The game will be the Bulldogs' first at home since Nov. 24.
So far this season, Samford owns a perfect 3-0 record when playing in Birmingham, Ala.
The Bulldogs continued their struggles from beyond the arc Saturday as they finished the game with a season-low 7.1 shooting percentage from 3-point range. Samford's 1-for-14 performance from downtown marked the first time since Feb. 8, 1992 that the Bulldogs were held to only one 3-point field goal, breaking a streak of 476-straight games with at least two 3-pointers.
Conversely, Saint Louis (4-4) turned in its best shooting performance of the season Saturday. The Billikens shot 55.3 percent from the field and knocked down nine 3-point baskets, six of which came in the first half.
Saint Louis finished with three players scoring in double figures and was paced offensively by Tommie Liddell III's 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. The Billikens' senior guard from East St. Louis, Mo., also knocked down 4-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc.
With the win, Saint Louis continued its stellar play at home and improved to 4-1 in the inaugural season of the $81-million Chaifetz Arena.
Samford's Bryan Friday led the team with 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' junior also grabbed three rebounds and knocked down a career-high nine free throws. Friday finished 9-of-11 from the charity stripe as Samford turned in a season-high 85.7 shooting percentage from the line.
The Bulldogs' performance Saturday was a stark contrast from their season-low 11.1 percentage mark from the charity stripe in their previous game against Georgia Southern on Dec. 6.
Samford's Trey Montgomery added 11 points and a team-high four rebounds. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 high-flyer from Destrehan, La., is the team's leading rebounder and has paced Samford in rebounds in each of the previous five games.
Montgomery was 5-for-8 from the floor and scored on a number of driving layups down the lane.
"I thought we did a really good job of scoring the ball around the basket," Tillette said. "We shot more free throws than they did and we only turned the ball over nine times in the entire game, but we just didn't shoot the ball well and they did."
Despite trailing by as many as 16 points (21-5) in the first half, Samford rallied late in the opening period to trim Saint Louis' advantage to 32-23 at the intermission.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Friday's 10 first-half points. Samford's 6-foot-6 forward was only 2-for-7 from the field in the opening half, but knocked down 6-of-7 attempts from the free-throw line. Montgomery added five points in the first half for the Bulldogs and grabbed a team-high four rebounds.
Saint Louis was buoyed in the first half by six 3-points baskets. The Billikens shot 44 percent from the field in the opening period and six of their opening eight field goals came from beyond the arc. Saint Louis was led in scoring by 14 first-half points from Liddell III who was 5-for-8 from the floor in the period.
"Saint Louis shot the ball extremely well and this is the best that they've played all year," said Tillette. "I thought that they definitely earned this win, and there are also things that we can work on defensively. This was our first time using the 1-3-1 zone and we had some glitches, but we'll work them out."
In the second half of play, Saint Louis scored the first two buckets of the half and jumped out to a quick 45-25 lead with 15:46 left to play. The Billikens opened the period with a 14-2 run and used that momentum to hold off the Bulldogs' late charge.
Saint Louis led by as many as 22 points early in the second period, but Samford rallied to trim the lead to 57-43 at the 7:44 point in the game. Then, after a missed 3-pointer from Montgomery, the Billikens' Willie Reed scored four-straight points to extend the lead back to 18 points and Saint Louis scored 13 of the final 19 points of the contest.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs play host to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in a non-conference matchup to be held in the Pete Hanna Center.
