Nov. 13, 2009

Box Score

KENT, Ohio - The Samford basketball team mounted a late rally against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Friday, but eventually came up short in a 69-66 season-opening loss on the first day of the 2009 Hispanic College Funds Classic being held at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.

The Bulldogs led the hard-fought contest 34-31 at halftime, but couldn't overcome the Golden Flashes' 20-1 run to begin the second period. Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, Samford (0-1) rallied late in the period to trim Kent State's lead to a three-point deficit.

The Bulldogs scored seven of the game's last eight points, but ran out of time in the first all-time meeting between the teams to finish up just short, 69-66.

"We allowed way too many offensive rebounds and they used that to go on a 20-1 run to open the second half," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We were able to stay in the game late and we made some threes down the stretch, but it just wasn't enough. I thought we took care of the ball better late in the game, but we ultimately lost because they just crushed us on the glass and we couldn't score at the beginning of the second half."

Samford outshot Kent State (1-0) 54 percent to 41 percent Friday, but the Golden Flashes won the battle of the boards, 41-31. The Bulldogs also allowed 19 offensive rebounds, 12 of which occurred in the second half.

Kent State capitalized on its second-chance opportunities and finished the game with a 26-4 scoring advantage in the category. In the first half, the Golden Flashes' lead in second-chance points was only 9-2.

"They were able to rebound the ball and just shove us around," Tillette said. "They were able to get a ton of offensive rebounds and it seemed like they were scoring all of their points in the paint. Rebounding is always going to be our weakness, but I thought that we showed up a lot better in the first half."

Samford out-rebounded Kent State 18-16 in the first half. The Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the game and took a 34-31 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs shot 59.1 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play and were led in scoring by Trey Montgomery with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.

During the Bulldogs' 9-0 run to start the game, Bryan Friday scored on a running layup in the lane and Josh Davis knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the left flank. Montgomery then added the next four points with a steal and a layup, as well as a back-door cut and basket from the baseline.

Kent State answered Samford's early momentum with a 15-5 run beginning at the 17:03 mark in the game. The Golden Flashes used a pair of 3-point plays from Tyree Evans and Justin Greene to take a 15-14 advantage with 11:29 remaining in the period.

Samford's Andy King was held scoreless in the first half, but bounced back to tally a team-high 14 points in the second half. The Bulldogs' junior center from Omaha, Neb., played a key role in Samford's second-half comeback and scored all 14 of his points in the final 6:32 of the game. King accounted for 14 of the team's final 18 points.

"I have to give our team credit for not giving up and for coming back late in the game," said Tillette. "This was a tough learning curve for us, because Kent State is a very well-coached team and this is a tough place to play. They play in a very good league and it was a hard first game for us."

Kent State finished Friday's season-opener with three players scoring in double figures. Senior guard Chris Singletary led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, while Evans and Greene both finished with 11 points apiece. As a team, the Golden Flashes shot 14-of-27 from the free-throw line, but Singletary knocked down 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Samford also struggled from the free-throw line and finished the game with a 10-of-19 mark. King finished 4-of-5, while Montgomery was 5-of-10.

"We can't go 10-for-19 from the free-throw line and expect to win," Tillette said. "That's a fact for our team, especially when we're playing on the road against a tough team. This was only the first game of a three-game tournament and we face another good team in Wisconsin-Green Bay tomorrow."

Samford's Montgomery finished with 11 points against Kent State and Bryan Friday added 10. Montgomery was also the Bulldogs' leading rebounder with six.

Juniors Josh Bedwell and Davis both finished with eight points apiece, while John Peterson and Kaylin Johnson came off the bench to tally six and five, respectively. Jeffrey Merritt rounded out Samford's scoring with four points. He also grabbed three rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 43.5 percent from beyond the arc, but committed 14 turnovers.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue play in the 2009 Hispanic College Fund Classic with a day two matchup against the Green Bay Phoenix. Green Bay lost to UAB in Friday's opening game by a score of 68-56.

Live Stats - Samford at Kent State