Nov. 14, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team will play its first regular-season home game of the 2010-11 campaign Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs to the Pete Hanna Center for an early-season non-conference matchup.

Samford (0-1) heads into the game looking to rebound from a hard-fought 64-61 loss at Youngstown State on Friday. In the last-second defeat, the Bulldogs' Josh Davis attempted a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer that just came up short. Despite only shooting 18.8 percent from beyond the arc, Samford overcame a 10-point deficit and nearly pulled off the come-from-behind victory.

In the loss, the Bulldogs' Jeffrey Merritt notched the first double-double of his collegiate career with personal bests of 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Samford trailed 56-46 with 5:03 remaining in the game, but used five-straight points from Davis, a key 3-point basket from Merritt and a pair of layups from both Gregg Wooten and Merritt to trim Youngstown State's lead to 61-60 with 13 seconds to play. During the late stretch, the Bulldogs' defense only allowed a layup and 3-pointer from DuShawn Brooks.

Brooks, the Penguins' junior, led all scorers in the game with 20 points. He tallied 16 of his 20 points in the second half of play and knocked down four 3-point baskets down the stretch.

The Bulldogs were led in both scoring and rebounding by Merritt's career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Merritt's biggest basket occurred with 13 seconds remaining as he drained a long 3-pointer from the right flank to cut Youngstown State's lead to 61-60.

On the ensuing possession, the Penguins' Vytas Sulskis connected on a pair of free-throw attempts to give his team a 63-60 advantage with 10 seconds remaining.

Samford's Wooten and Youngstown State's Kendrick Perry then traded free throws to make the score 64-61 with three seconds to play. On the Bulldogs' final trip down the floor, Wooten was fouled and went to the line to attempt a pair of free throws. He was errant on the first attempt and then purposely missed the second free throw to set up a possible game-tying 3-pointer.

After Wooten's final miss clanked off the rim, Samford's Merritt tapped the rebound out to John Peterson who quickly sent a pass to the deep left to Davis. Davis fired a quick shot just before the buzzer, but the game-tying attempt came up short and bounced off the front of the rim.

Tennessee Wesleyan (3-2) enters Monday's contest with a full head of steam after earning back-to-back wins against Tennessee Temple 70-68 and Asbury University 84-82 (OT). Earlier this season, in its only other game against a Division I opponent, Tennessee Wesleyan lost on the road at Southern Conference opponent Chattanooga, 82-52.

Tennessee Wesleyan is currently being led in scoring by Matt Towry. Towry, the Bulldogs' senior center from Elora, Tenn., is averaging 20.4 points per game and is pulling down 8.8 rebounds per contest. Tennessee Wesleyan's Jessie Booher and Matt Harper are also averaging double figures in scoring this season. Booher and Harper are scoring 11.0 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.

Samford owns a 7-3 all-time record against Tennessee Wesleyan, including a five-game winning streak. Since losing to Tennessee Wesleyan on Jan. 8, 1960, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories in the series in 1960, 1967, 1983 and twice in 2004. In the previous meeting between the teams, Samford earned a 68-30 win on Dec. 9, 2004, in Seibert Hall.

Samford closed out last season as the fourth-ranked team in the nation in fewest personal fouls per game. The Bulldogs only committed an average of 14.3 fouls per contest and only allowed their opponents to shoot a total of 427 free throws.

Samford was also ranked among the top-30 teams in the nation in scoring defense. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 23 in the nation in the category by only allowing the opposition to score an average of 60.7 points per game.

The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 565-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against Texas-San Antonio. The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008 against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc.

UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 753-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (748) and Kentucky (744) are the only other two schools that have made at least one 3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.

Following Monday's home-opening contest against Tennessee Wesleyan, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action this weekend as the Bulldogs begin play in the three-day, four-team Global Sports Hoops Showcase being hosted by Auburn University. Samford will open the tournament against Auburn on Friday at 7 p.m. (CST) at the brand-new Auburn Arena.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
GameTracker - Samford vs. Tennessee Wesleyan