Samford University
Chicago State
Bulldogs Look Sharp In 63-46 Victory Against Chicago State
12.28.09 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team extended its winning streak to three games Monday as the Bulldogs cruised to a 63-46 win against the Chicago State Cougars at the Pete Hanna Center. Samford (6-7) shot 52.3 percent from the field and was led in scoring by junior Josh Davis' 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
"I was pleased with our guys' play tonight and I felt like we were well prepared," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We did a lot of good things, including taking care of the ball against a team that is very difficult to play against. I think we're getting better on both ends of the floor and I feel like we are slowly improving as a team."
With Monday's victory, Samford earned its first three-game winning streak of the 2009-10 campaign and avenged last season's 66-49 loss to Chicago State (5-8). The Bulldogs also improved to 5-1 when playing at the Pete Hanna Center.
Davis led a trio of Samford players in double-figure scoring. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 sharpshooter from Lubbock, Texas, drained five 3-point baskets en route to his game-high 19 points. Davis scored 16 in the first half alone and also added three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
"Josh can really shoot the ball and he's also gotten a lot better as a defender," Tillette said. "I'm definitely proud of him as a shooter, but I'm actually more proud of him for how he's improved defensively and how he takes care of the ball."
Senior forward Bryan Friday turned in one of his best games of the season Monday and finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Samford's native of Grapevine, Texas, was 6-of-11 from the field and knocked down a pair of free-throw attempts. Fellow senior Trey Montgomery added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bulldogs as they sailed to their 17-point victory.
"I thought this was Bryan Friday's best overall game of the season," said Tillette. "He played very well on both ends of the floor and he was a big factor in how we played defensively. We're a much better team when he's finishing his shots around the goal and tonight he was able to do that."
Chicago State was limited to 29.6 percent shooting from the floor and only finished with one player scoring in double figures. Antonio Lofton came off the bench to tally a team-high 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while the Cougars' starters only combined to score 27 points.
Following Lofton's 12 points, Chicago State's Christian Wall added nine and Carl Montgomery finished with eight. Montgomery also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
Samford recorded 19 assists on 23 field goals Monday. The Cougars only registered five assists on 16 made baskets.
"We've taken some big strides offensively and 19 assists is a very good number for us," said Tillette. "I thought we did a good job of taking care of the ball and we really attacked their zone defense well. We also did a solid job against their man defense and we were very well prepared tonight. We did a lot of good things and I'm cautiously excited and optimistic about how we looked."
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 17-5 lead with 12:41 to play in the first half and held a 27-12 advantage with 5:30 to play until intermission. Samford's Davis scored 16 points in the opening 20 minutes of action and drained four first-half 3-pointers.
Chicago State made a late run in the opening period and trimmed Samford's lead to 36-25 at halftime. The Cougars knocked down five 3s in the first half, but were only 1-for-10 in the final 20 minutes of playing time.
"It was a little frustrating how they were able to knock down a few 3s in the first half," Tillette said. "They made some tough shots and they banked in a deep shot, so we knew that they would probably come back to earth a little bit in the second half. They are shooting about 28 percent from beyond the arc this year and I think that's eventually what they ended up shooting tonight."
Throughout the night, Samford's offense worked with smooth precision and the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 41-25 advantage in the second half. Samford scored the first five points of the final period and led by as many as 23 points in the game (55-32 with 8:07 remaining).
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Cougars 33-25 and finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Jeffrey Merritt tallied seven points, five rebounds and three assists Monday, while Kaylin Johnson came off the bench to score five points on 2-of-3 shooting.
"Kaylin is a very good player and has really done a good job for us off the bench this season," said Tillette. "We really looked to be in sync as a basketball team tonight, but we still have a lot of room for improvement and now that we're heading into teeth of our conference season every game is important."
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs resume Southern Conference play with a critical league matchup against the Davidson Wildcats to be held at Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C.
