March 4, 2008

Box Score

MARTIN, Tenn. - In arguably the most exciting Ohio Valley Conference game this season, the Samford University basketball team dropped a hard-fought 101-94 triple-overtime matchup against the UT Martin Skyhawks on Tuesday in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

"I thought that we played like champions," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Our guys played their hearts out, but we just fell short. You look at some of the plays that UT Martin made and it's unbelievable. I mean (Marquis) Weddle goes 9-of-21 from the arc. Every time we got close or were ahead, he would step back and hit a three."

With the loss, Samford (14-16) fell just short of reaching the OVC Tournament semifinals for a third-consecutive season.

Tuesday's game was also the Bulldogs' final contest as a member of the OVC. In five years in the conference, Samford finished with a 3-5 OVC Tournament record. In 2006, the Bulldogs advanced to the championship game of the eight-team competition.

Against fourth-seeded UT Martin (17-15) on Tuesday, Samford withstood blow after blow from the homestanding Skyhawks and answered their runs with key shots of their own down the stretch.

The Bulldogs' Joe Ross Merritt, in the final game of his illustrious four-year career, scored a personal-best 29 points and nailed a pair of game-tying 3-pointers. Samford's all-time record-holder in games played with 121 was 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-13 from 3-point range.

For UT Martin, freshman Marquis Weddle scored a career-high 39 points. The Skyhawks' shooting guard was 14-of-28 from the floor and exploded for nine 3-point field goals in a sizzling 9-of-21 performance from beyond the arc.

"Weddle's play was hard to overcome and I don't really know what else we could have done," Tillette said. "It all really came down to one play at the end of the game and that was what decided the outcome."

Junior Lester Hudson, who will probably be crowned the OVC Player of the Year on Thursday, added a somewhat quiet 28 points and 10 rebounds for UT Martin on 9-of-19 shooting from the field. The Skyhawks' talented point guard finished a near-perfect 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

With possession of the ball and trailing 95-94 in triple overtime, Samford's Merritt drove to the basket with 14 seconds remaining on the clock for what seemed to be the game-winning layup. After sending his shot over a pair of Skyhawk defenders, Merritt's attempt bounced off the glass and was then swatted away by Djero Riedewald in what appeared to be goaltending.

The officials deemed the deflection to be a block and Samford was forced to put Weddle on the free-throw line with 14 seconds remaining. In the waning seconds of the game, UT Martin connected on all six of its free-throw attempts.

After the midway point in the first half, the Skyhawks primarily held the lead in the game by an average of 4-to-6 points.

Samford's offensive attack was buoyed by Merritt and fellow-senior Travis Peterson. Peterson, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 center from Glendale, Ariz., scored 18 points and added nine assists. He was 8-of-16 from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds.

"Joe Ross and Travis are champions," said Tillette. "They both made some big threes down the stretch for us and they were the guys to send it into double and triple overtime. I can't say enough about those guys and their character. I've been extremely lucky to be affiliated with them and it speaks volumes about what they are about and what their families are about."

True freshman Josh Davis turned in his second straight outstanding performance for the Bulldogs as he recorded his first career double-double.

Davis led Samford with 12 rebounds and added 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. He was also 4-of-8 from 3-point range and played 52 of the game's 55 minutes.

At the end of regulation, UT Martin held a 67-64 advantage following a pair of free throws from Gerald Robinson. Samford then took possession with 28 seconds left and Merritt quickly buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 67-67.

Defensively, Peterson blocked a layup from Olajide Hay to preserve the tie ballgame.

"I told the guys in the locker room that I've never been prouder of any group of guys in my life," said Merritt. "This was a great game by both teams and we scored 94 points. I think that this was the best played game of my career. We played three overtimes and everybody gave everything that they could. We left it all on the court."

In overtime, Peterson stepped up big again as Samford's senior drained a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key to even the score at 77-77. On the ensuing possession, the Skyhawks' Weddle actually missed a 3-point attempt to send the game into double-overtime.

In double overtime, Merritt hit one of the most exhilarating 3-pointers in Samford history.

The Bulldogs trailed 87-84 with 16 seconds left and took possession of the ball after a free throw from Hay. As time wound down, Samford ran through its offense and Davis attempted a 3-pointer from the corner with five seconds left. The ball hit the side of the rim and Josh Bedwell jumped out of bounds to save the rebound.

While flying towards UT Martin's band behind the basket, Bedwell hurled a pass out to Merritt at the top of the key. With less than two seconds remaining, Merritt gathered the pass, barely had time to set his feet and sent an arcing 3-pointer towards the rim.

On the shot, which would tie the game and send it into triple overtime, the ball hit the back iron, bounced six feet into the air and caromed off the backboard. Time expired as the shot was in the air and after a slight kiss from the glass, Merritt's shot dropped through the rim to tie the score at 87-87.

"Late in the game, I don't really feel the pressure and I wanted to be the guy with the ball," Merritt said. "I was lucky that my shots went down. One of them went halfway to the roof and came down, but it still went in. I don't think that I've ever made a shot like that in my life, but we'll take it."

Both teams torched the nets in the first half of play, but UT Martin took a 37-33 advantage into the intermission.

Samford shot 54.5 percent from the field in the opening period and knocked down 6-of-14 attempts (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Skyhawks also shot well from the field and turned in a 51.9 shooting percentage in the first half.

UT Martin connected on 46.7 percent of its opening period 3-point attempts, including a 4-of-8 outing from Weddle. Weddle, the odds-on favorite to be named the OVC freshman of the year, led all scorers with 16 points in the first half. The Skyhawks' native of nearby Union City, Tenn., was 6-of-10 from the field.

Samford was also led in scoring by a freshman in the first half Tuesday. Davis, the Bulldogs' talented freshman from Lubbock, Texas, scored eight points in the opening period and was 3-for-4 from the field. He also knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets.

With 10:31 remaining left until halftime, Samford used a layup from Peterson and a 3-pointer from Trey Montgomery to take a 21-17 lead in the game.

The Bulldogs maintained their lead for a couple of minutes, but then the Skyhawks' Hudson highlighted a 6-0 run as UT Martin earned a 32-26 advantage. During the stretch, he scored four straight points on a pair of acrobatic layups.

The Samford University basketball team concluded its 2007-08 season with a 14-16 overall record and a 10-10 mark in OVC play. The Bulldogs earned a No. 5 seed in the OVC Tournament and qualified for its 15th-consecutive postseason tournament.

Next year, Samford will be without the efforts of record-setting seniors Merritt and Peterson, but will basically return five players with significant experience in the starting lineup.

Bedwell and Davis both started regularly for the Bulldogs this season as true freshmen, and Montgomery and Bryan Friday will also return. Samford will also receive a boost from two-year starter Curtis West, who is expected to be back in the starting lineup after being forced to redshirt this season with an injured shoulder.