Feb. 9, 2008

Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University basketball team committed a season-high 23 turnovers Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 67-49 decision on the road against the Ohio Valley Conference-leading Austin Peay Governors at Dave Aaron Arena.

"We didn't start the game very well and even throughout the game we seemed to be winded, but aside from that I thought we tried to do what we could do," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We had way too many turnovers tonight and we were forced to play guys outside of their natural positions."

With the loss, Samford (11-13, 8-8 OVC) had its two-game winning streak snapped and moved to 1-1 against Austin Peay (17-9, 13-3 OVC) this year. On Jan. 26, the Bulldogs defeated the Govs 63-49 in Birmingham, Ala.

Samford dropped to 5-7 on the road this season, while Austin Peay improved to 10-1 at home. The Govs also won their 300th all-time game in Dave Aaron Arena and moved to 9-0 at home in OVC play this year.

Samford was led in scoring by senior Joe Ross Merritt, who finished with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. He also tallied a team-high eight rebounds and knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets.

The Bulldogs' Travis Peterson finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Bryan Friday added eight points and two rebounds. Samford out-rebounded Austin Peay 31-28, but decidedly lost the turnover battle 23-7.

Austin Peay's Drake Reed scored a game-high 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. The Governors' hometown native of Clarksville played 36 minutes and was also 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Point guard Derek Wright added 11 points for Austin Peay and was the only other player to score in double figures.

"Defensively, I thought that we played pretty well," Tillette said. "We held them to 38 percent from the field and 32 from the arc. I thought that we did a pretty good job on that end, but we were just out of rhythm offensively and I have to give a lot of credit to their defense. They forced us into way too many turnovers."

Samford ended the game with a season-high 23 turnovers, by far surpassing its previous worst total of 19. The Bulldogs finished with 19 turnovers twice this season, once against 20th-ranked Clemson on Dec. 29 and again on the road versus Jacksonville State on Jan. 7.

Austin Peay had seven players score in the first half of play en route to a 37-23 advantage at the half.

The Govs were led in scoring by Wright's eight first-half points and Austin Peay shot 43.8 percent from the field. Both Wright and Kyle Duncan knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets in the opening period. The Govs shot 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Samford turned in a solid 42.9 shooting percentage from 3-point range in the first half and was led by Merritt's eight points. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 native of Oklahoma City, Okla., knocked down a pair of 3-point field goals and grabbed three rebounds.

In the first half alone, Samford committed 11 costly turnovers. Austin Peay took advantage of the Bulldogs' mistakes by scoring 15 points off the mistakes. The Govs only suffered one turnover in the first half.

Austin Peay scored the first 13 points of the ballgame and led 18-5 with 11:39 remaining in the opening period.

Samford made a run midway through the first half, but could only trim the Govs' advantage to 30-20 following a deep 3-pointer from Merritt with 3:54 left until intermission.

"I'm not making any excuses, but our guys were not 100 percent tonight and we know that," said Tillette. "Austin Peay is a very good team, especially at home. We have four games left in conference play and we have to perform better than we did tonight."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7:30 p.m., as the Bulldogs square off against the Morehead State Eagles in the first game of a critical two-game OVC homestand.

On Saturday, Samford will play its final home regular-season contest of the 2007-08 season against Eastern Kentucky.

The OVC matchup is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m., but fans are urged to arrive early for the Bulldogs' "Senior Night" celebration. Samford's two graduating seniors Merritt and Peterson will be recognized for their five years of hard work and dedication before the game.