Dec. 12, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team overcame a lackluster shooting performance from 3-point range Saturday to fight to a 58-48 victory against the Spring Hill College Badgers. In the win, Samford only shot 20.8 percent from 3-point range, but did finish with four players scoring in double figures for the first time this season.

"We did some good things today, but we are definitely capable of playing a lot better," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We worked very hard in practice this week, but I didn't see the way that we practiced in our game today. I am very disappointed in the way that things transpired in the final five or six minutes of the game and we really need to continue to work to get better."

Samford (3-6) was led in scoring by guards Jeffrey Merritt and Trey Montgomery. Both players finished with 12 points. Merritt, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 sophomore from Oklahoma City, Okla., also tallied game-highs in both rebounds (8) and steals (4). He was 5-for-7 from the field and logged a career-high 38 minutes of playing time.

Montgomery also finished with 12 points and added six rebounds, three assists and a trio of steals. Samford's junior point guard from Destrehan, La., was 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Montgomery's two 3-pointers led the team Saturday.

"I thought that Jeffrey Merritt and Matthew Friday were our most consistent players today," Tillette said. "Jeffrey turned in a complete game and was good on both sides of the ball. Matthew made his first start of the year and finished with eight points, seven rebounds and five assists. I thought that he played well and really helped our offense while he was in there."

Matthew Friday made his first start of the 2009-10 campaign Saturday and registered season-highs in points (8), rebounds (7), assists (5), field goals (4) and minutes (28). His eight points proved to be a career-high total and surpassed his previous mark of seven, which was scored against Spring Hill (4-1) last season.

Samford's Bryan Friday and Josh Davis both added 11 points Saturday. Friday was 5-for-10 from the field and pulled down four rebounds, while Davis was 5-of-15 from the field and grabbed six rebounds.

The Bulldogs only shot 20.8 percent from 3-point range marking their second worst performance of the season. Earlier this year, Samford turned in a 15.4-percent outing in a hard-fought 55-52 loss to UAB on Nov. 15.

"We had a lot of good looks through the offense, but we just couldn't score the ball," said Tillette. "On the other end of the court, I was disappointed in how many offensive rebounds we gave up. I have to give Spring Hill credit; they had a few talented players and could really play and shoot the ball. We didn't have a complete performance, but we did do a few things well and we were able to win the game."

Spring Hill, which outscored Samford 28-27 in the second half, was led in scoring by both Chris Dees, Jr., and Antonio Burch. Both Dees, Jr., and Burch finished with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field as the Badgers only turned the ball over 10 times Saturday.

Guard Marcus Coleman added 11 points for Spring Hill on a 4-of-18 performance from the floor. He was also 3-for-12 from 3-point range.

The Badgers only shot 31.6 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs finished the game with a 48-percent shooting mark, but were only 5-of-24 from long distance.

Samford outrebounded Spring Hill 41-34 and was 5-of-9 from the free-throw line. The Badgers were only 7-of-17 from the charity stripe.

Samford jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead in the game and held a 16-7 advantage at the 11:29 mark in the first half.

Midway through the opening period, following a layup from Matthew Friday to give the Bulldogs their 16-7 lead, Samford went on a 6:02 scoring drought which was finally broken by a layup from Bryan Friday at 5:27. Luckily for the Bulldogs, Spring Hill only scored two points during the stretch and Samford held an 18-9 lead with 5:27 to play in the half.

The Bulldogs extended their advantage to 31-20 at the intermission following additional buckets from both Matthew and Bryan Friday as well as a running jumper from Davis.

In the second half, Samford extended its lead to as many as 16 points before Spring Hill rallied late to only trail by eight, 56-48, with 46 seconds remaining in the game. The Bulldogs then iced the victory with a pair of free throws from Montgomery.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs square off against the Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time since Nov. 14, 2001. The in-state matchup will be held at Alabama's Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala.