March 6, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Samford's senior basketball player Travis Peterson received All-Ohio Valley Conference postseason honors Thursday as the Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 center was named a Second-Team All-OVC performer at the league's annual awards ceremony.

Peterson, a native of Glendale, Ariz., led Samford in both points and rebounds this year, and helped guide the Bulldogs to an OVC Tournament appearance for a fifth-consecutive season. He played in all 30 of the team's games and averaged 13.2 points per contest. Peterson also pulled down a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game.

Joining Peterson on the All-OVC Second Team were Tennessee Tech's Anthony Fisher and Amadi McKenzie, Austin Peay's Derek Wright and UT Martin's Gerald Robinson. Peterson and Wright both earned their first postseason OVC accolades Thursday.

Prior to the 2007-08 campaign, Peterson was named to the OVC's preseason team. He was also named to the conference's preseason team in 2006.

Following the 2005-06 season, Peterson earned OVC Tournament team honors after scoring in double figures in all three games of the tournament. Earlier this year, he became the 21st player in Samford history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. On Tuesday, he concluded his illustrious four-year career at No. 16 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,121 points.

On Thursday, UT Martin's junior guard Lester Hudson was tabbed as the 2007-08 OVC Player of the Year, while freshman teammate Marquis Weddle took home Freshman of the Year honors in a vote by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

Morehead State head coach Donnie Tyndall, in his second season at his alma mater, was named the OVC Coach of the Year.

Hudson put together one of the best all-around seasons in OVC history in 2007-08 and helped his team make a six-game improvement in its league record. The Skyhawks were picked last (11th) in a preseason poll but finished fourth and qualified for the OVC Tournament for only the sixth time since joining the league in 1992.

Hudson made school, conference and NCAA history during the season by becoming the first Division I men's player to record a quadruple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10assists and 10 steals vs. Central Baptist College) in a college game.

Juniors made up 80 percent of the 2008 All-OVC First Team.

Joining Hudson on the first squad were three other juniors and a senior. The other First-Team juniors included 2007 OVC Player of the Year Drake Reed of Austin Peay, Tennessee State guard Bruce Price and Eastern Kentucky guard Mike Rose. The lone senior was Murray State guard Bruce Carter.

Five players were also selected to the OVC All-Newcomer team, which was comprised of first-year players in the league. That list included the two UT Martin players - OVC Player of the Year Hudson (a junior college transfer) and OVC Freshman of the Year Weddle - who were bestowed with individual awards.

Morehead State also had two selections on the All-Newcomer squad - freshman center Kenneth Faried and junior forward Leon Buchanan. The team was rounded out by Tennessee State freshman guard Gerald Robinson, Jr.

The Samford University basketball team recently 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 Peterson and Joe Ross Merritt, but will basically return five players with significant experience in the starting lineup.

Josh Bedwell and Josh Davis both started regularly for the Bulldogs this season as true freshmen, and sophomores Trey Montgomery and Bryan Friday will also return in 2008-09. 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.

2008 Ohio Valley Conference Postseason Honors

OVC Player of the Year: Lester Hudson, UT Martin
OVC Freshman of the Year: Marquis Weddle, UT Martin
OVC Coach of the Year: Donnie Tyndall, Morehead State

ALL-OVC FIRST TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL, POS., HT., WT., CL., HOMETOWN, KEY STATS
Lester Hudson, UT Martin, G, 6-3, 190, Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 25.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.5 apg
*Drake Reed, Austin Peay, F, 6-5, 210, Jr., Clarksville, Tenn., 15.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 47.3 FG%
**Bruce Carter, Murray State, G, 6-4, 200, Sr., Detroit, Mich., 14.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 49.0 FG%
$Bruce Price, Tennessee State, G, 6-3, 205, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., 17.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg
**Mike Rose, Eastern Kentucky, F, 6-4, 195, Jr., Naperville, Ill., 15.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.3 apg

ALL-OVC SECOND TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL, POS., HT., WT., CL., HOMETOWN, KEY STATS
*Anthony Fisher, Tennessee Tech, G, 6-3, 185, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga., 16.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Derek Wright, Austin Peay, G, 5-10, 165, Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., 11.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.7 apg
**Amadi McKenzie, Tennessee Tech, F, 6-7, 230, Sr., Atlanta, Ga., 14.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg
Travis Peterson, Samford, C, 6-10, 240, Sr., Glendale, Ariz., 13.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 49.8 FG%
#Gerald Robinson, UT Martin, F, 6-9, 230, Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., 14.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg

ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL POS. HT. WT. CL. HOMETOWN, KEY STATS
Lester Hudson, UT Martin, G, 6-3, 190, Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 25. 4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.5 apg
Marquis Weddle, UT Martin, G, 6-1, 185, Fr., Union City, Tenn., 16.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Gerald Robinson, Jr., Tennessee State, G, 6-0, 165, Fr., Nashville, Tenn., 15.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Kenneth Faried, Morehead State, C, 6-8, 215, Fr., Newark, N.J., 10.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 50.8 FG%
Leon Buchanan, Morehead State, F, 6-5, 200, Jr., Albany, Ga., 13.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 54.4 FG%

* - All-OVC First Team in 2006-07
** - All-OVC Second Team in 2006-07
# - All-Newcomer Team in 2006-07
$ - All-OVC Second Team in 2003-04

2008 OVC Postseason Honors Release