Jan. 3, 2009

Box Score

DAVIDSON, N.C. - In its first Southern Conference game against the Davidson Wildcats, the Samford University basketball team dropped a hard-fought 76-55 decision to the three-time defending conference champions Saturday. The Bulldogs held Stephen Curry below his season scoring average, but he finished with a game-high 21 points.

"This was an instructive lesson for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We didn't play our worst game today, but we definitely have to play better as the season goes on. We got off to a poor start, our subs came in and did a better job, but Davidson put together that spurt at the end of the first half because our starters didn't play well."

With 3:59 remaining in the first half, Samford (5-6, 0-2 SoCon) only trailed Davidson (10-2, 3-0 SoCon) by five points, 26-21, following an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs. Samford's scoring streak was highlighted by 3-pointers from Bryan Friday and Jeffrey Merritt, as well as a pair of free throws from senior Curtis West.

After West's free throws and the final media timeout of the first half, Davidson caught fire from the floor and ended the period on a 15-4 run. The Wildcats took a 41-25 advantage into the intermission.

Curry paced all scorers with 14 points in the opening period and knocked down four early 3-point baskets, including a deep heave from the right flank with five seconds remaining in the half.

"Our subs were able to hit some shots for us in the first half, but then Davidson's late run really hurt us, " Tillette said. "That was a poor finish for us in the half and then in the second half (Will) Archambault hit those three 3s and that really did some damage. Curry also did his job of spreading the floor and he hit some key shots as well."

Curry only scored seven points in the second half of play, but Davidson's supporting cast of Will Archambault and Ben Allison combined to score 15 of the Wildcats' 35 points in the period.

Archambault, Davidson's 6-foot-6 junior from Hubert, Quebec, came off the bench to score nine-straight points for the Wildcats, all of which came in the form of deep 3-point baskets from the right flank. He finished the game with 12 points and was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Davidson's Allison added six points in the second half and totaled 12 points in the contest. He was 5-of-7 from the floor and pulled down a pair of rebounds in 13 minutes of action.

Samford's Bryan Friday scored a team-high 10 points Saturday and finished 4-of-11 from the field. Merritt, the Bulldogs' highly-touted freshman from Oklahoma City, Okla., added a career-high eight points and turned in a 3-for-5 outing from the floor. He was 2-for-3 from 3-point range and added four rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore Josh Davis also scored eight points for Samford, all of which came in the second half. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 guard was 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

"We only committed six turnovers in the second half and that's good for us," said Tillette. "We made a couple of mental mistakes late, but I was pleased that we finished with 10 offensive rebounds. We missed some wide open shots in the second half and those are definitely shots we are capable of making. But it's all about competing and aspiring to reach the point where we can beat the Davidsons of this league."

Samford finished the game with a 36.2 shooting percentage from the field and a 34.5 percent mark from 3-point range. Davidson shot 47.3 percent from the floor and turned in a sizzling 52.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. The Wildcats knocked down 12 of their 23 attempts from 3-point range.

With Saturday's victory, Davidson extended its home winning streak to 23-consecutive games and improved its record to 8-0 when playing in Belk Arena this season.

The Wildcats' Curry, who entered the game as the nation's leading scorer with an average of 29.9 points per contest, finished with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Davidson's junior All-American from Charlotte, N.C., was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

In the first half of play, Curry reached the 2,000-point plateau in his career.

"Curry was able to get a couple of 3s in transition early, but I thought that overall we guarded him well, "Tillette said. "We went to sleep a couple of times late in the first half and that hurt us. In the second half, I thought we did a good job against him. He didn't score his first points of the half until seven minutes in or so."

Following a reverse layup from Samford's Bryan Friday at the 9:35 mark in the second half, the Bulldogs trimmed the Wildcats' lead to 53-37. Davidson's Archambault then drained his three-straight 3-pointers and the Bulldogs never were able to get any closer than the final 21-point disadvantage.

"Davidson's a very good team and I think that they have a very good chance to win the league and go to the NCAA Tournament again," said Tillette. "What can you say? They just beat College of Charleston at Charleston (S.C.) and now they're going to turn around and play Duke next. I think they'll have good preparation for the league."

After Samford cut Davidson's advantage to 26-21 in the first half, the Wildcats closed out the final four minutes of the first half with a 15-4 run. Curry and Brandon McKillop both scored six points during the stretch as they each knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets.

Bryan Friday led the Bulldogs with seven points in the opening period of play, while Merritt added six points on two deep 3-point shots. West, Samford's lone senior this season, followed with five points in the first half.

Davidson opened the game with an early 7-0 lead, but Samford fought back to trim the deficit to 13-12 with 10:31 to play in the first half. During the Bulldogs' rally, Andy King, Merritt, Josh Bedwell and West all knocked down 3-pointers.

Six of Samford's seven field goals in the first half came from beyond the arc.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 5 p.m., as the Bulldogs return home to the Pete Hanna Center for the first time since Dec. 18 for a conference matchup against the Furman Paladins. The game will be Samford's inaugural home contest as a member of the SoCon.