Dec. 30, 2008
Box Score
LAKE CHARLES, La. -
The Samford University basketball team picked up its first road victory of the 2008-09 campaign and snapped a seven-game road losing streak on Tuesday as the Bulldogs earned a dramatic 57-52 win against the McNeese State Cowboys at Burton Coliseum.
"This was a big win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I thought that we played extremely well the entire game and we bounced back even though we made some mistakes. We got some great contributions from everyone on the floor and everybody played to their strengths. It was also huge for us to get our first road victory."
In the win, Samford (5-5) tied its best road shooting performance of the season and finished with a 50 percent mark from the field. The Bulldogs ended the game shooting 21-of-42 from the floor and 11-of-24 from 3-point range. Prior to Tuesday's win, Samford's best road outing of the year was also a 50-percent mark against Belmont.
The Bulldogs finished with three players scoring in double figures and were paced offensively by both Andy King and Josh Bedwell. King and Bedwell tallied 14 points apiece, while Josh Davis added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.
Bedwell was also 4-of-7 from 3-point range and knocked down three of his triples in the second half. Samford's 6-foot sharpshooter from Hartselle, Ala., scored nine of the Bulldogs' final 14 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 in the final period.
King, Samford's 6-foot-8 center from Omaha, Neb., was 4-for-8 from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs' sophomore only played 19 minutes in the game, but finished with two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
"It was great for our guys to break out of their shooting slump," Tillette said. "We shot the ball better and we did an outstanding job of overcoming adversity. Josh Bedwell had a death in his family and missed three practices this week. Jeffrey Merritt missed two practices with a stomach virus, so this was a great win for us against a very good team."
With the loss, McNeese State (5-6) dropped its first home game of the 2008-09 season and fell to 4-1 when playing in Burton Coliseum. The Cowboys' John Pichon led the team with 18 points and scored 10-straight points for McNeese State down the stretch.
Pichon, the Cowboys' 6-foot-6 senior from Slidell, La., was 7-of-11 from the field Tuesday, but committed a game-high five turnovers.
McNeese State's Diego Kapelan, the team's leading scorer heading into the contest, finished with 14 points on a 5-of-16 performance from the floor. Kapelan, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, scored 12 of his 14 points from 3-point range.
"McNeese State beat Louisiana Tech by 20 points this season and then only lost at LSU by three," said Tillette. "They are very tough to play against in this building and this was their only home loss of the season. I'm extremely proud of our guys and how they played today. We really deserved this win."
Following Bedwell's third 3-point basket in a four-minute span, Samford took a game-high 10-point lead, 53-43, with 3:56 remaining.
After the final media timeout of the game, McNeese State's Pichon scored eight of his 10-straight points and trimmed the Bulldogs' advantage to 53-51. Then, with 1:15 left in the contest, Samford's Bryan Friday scored on a double-clutch layup with the shot clock nearing expiration to extend the lead to 55-51.
On the Cowboys' next possession, Elbryan Neal knocked down a free throw with 14 seconds left to make the score 55-52. Samford's King then put the game out of reach with a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs their decisive 57-52 advantage.
Tuesday's game was Samford's final regular-season non-conference matchup of the year. With the victory, Samford earned a 5-4 mark in non-conference games, securing its first winning record since 1999.
"This was our last non-conference game of the season and it secures our first non-conference winning record since 1999," said Tillette. "We've played some very solid teams on the road this season and this win tonight was big for us. Hopefully, we can take this momentum and build on it for the Davidson game."
Samford shot 52.4 percent from the floor in the first half of play and took a 27-26 advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs knocked down five 3-point baskets in the opening period and turned in a 41.2 percentage from beyond the arc.
Davis and King were both 2-for-3 from 3-point range in the first half and helped lead Samford with three players scoring six points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Freshman center Friday also tallied six points in the first half.
The Bulldogs trailed the Cowboys 14-12 with 7:58 to play in the opening period when Samford caught fire for a 12-0 run. During the stretch, the Bulldogs' Matthew Friday scored four points and Bedwell and Jim Griffin both added layups. Samford used the run to take a 24-14 lead with 5:24 remaining in the half.
McNeese State used nine first-half points from Kapelan to trim the Bulldogs' first-half lead to 27-26. All nine of Kapelan's points came from 3-point range.
Samford's Bryan Friday finished Tuesday's game with seven points, while younger brother Matthew Friday added six. Davis and Trey Montgomery both paced the Bulldogs with five rebounds apiece.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs resume Southern Conference play with a road game against the Davidson Wildcats to be held in Davidson, N.C. Samford's first SoCon matchup of the 2009 calendar year will be at the Wildcats' Belk Arena (5,223).
