Nov. 19, 2010

Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team defeated the Auburn Tigers for the first time since Jan. 27, 1940 on Friday as the Bulldogs shot 54.5 percent from beyond the arc in a 79-68 victory held at Auburn Arena. The victory snapped Auburn's 21-game winning streak in the series between the teams.

"I'm extremely proud of our players and this was a good win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We improved from where we were last week and it was important for us to come out and compete. As a result, we were able to play longer possessions and we also have more numbers on this team than we've ever had. I was pleased that we only had 10 turnovers and that was a big key for us."

Samford (2-1) defeated Auburn (0-2) for the first time since a 37-33 victory held in Auburn, Ala., on Jan. 27, 1940. Friday's game was the first time that the in-state rivals squared off since Dec. 3, 1963.

The Bulldogs have won two straight games and will continue play in this weekend's Global Sports Hoops Classic on Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) against Middle Tennessee (1-2). In Friday's opening game of the tournament, Campbell (1-2) defeated Middle Tennessee 97-90.

Samford was paced in scoring against Auburn by seniors Josh Davis and Josh Bedwell. Davis matched a career-high with 30 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, while Bedwell tallied a season-high 21 points on a 5-of-7 shooting performance. Down the stretch, Bedwell knocked down all six of his free-throw attempts to help hold off the Tigers.

The Bulldogs' pair of Davis and Bedwell combined to score 51 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the field and a stellar 13-of-17 barrage from 3-point range. Davis opened the game by going 7-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, while Bedwell closed out the victory in the second half by scoring 18 of his 21 points down the stretch.

"It felt great to hit that many 3-pointers in a row," said Davis. "That felt great to go out there and be able to shoot the ball like that. When I made that deep shot right before the half, it was kind of a sign and we just hoped that we could keep things going just like that."

"We finished with 26 baskets tonight and we had 22 assists," Tillette said. "That's what we do. If we can do that and get some effort then we're going to have a chance to win some games this season. We also have to give some respect to Auburn. They played hard and I know they're disappointed."

Auburn dropped its second straight game to open the 2010-11 season. Last week, the Tigers fell short in a 70-69 overtime loss to UNC Asheville in the first regular-season contest to be held in the brand-new Auburn Arena.

On Friday, Auburn shot 42.4 percent from the floor and finished with a 42.1 shooting percentage from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Andre Malone paced the Tigers with 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field as he finished as the only Auburn players in double-figure scoring.

Samford held a 38-32 advantage at halftime and pushed its lead to 47-38 with 16:39 left to play. The Tigers then used a jumper from Kenny Gabriel to trim the Bulldogs' advantage to 54-52 with 9:32 remaining on the clock.

Bedwell, Samford's senior sharpshooter from Hartselle, Ala., then took over the game and drained back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 60-52. Redshirt freshman Drew Windler added a bucket, Davis connected on a runner and then Bedwell knocked down yet another 3-point basket to give Samford its biggest lead of the night, 67-52, with 6:27 to play.

"When they went to zone, they shaded JD's (Josh Davis) side a lot more and that left me open," said Bedwell. "When I came in it balanced the floor and that's when we started clicking, because they couldn't really shade either side. They had to respect both sides of the court and I think that really helped us a lot."

Down the stretch, Auburn would get no closer than seven points, 71-63, as Bedwell knocked down six straight free throws to ice the game.

"There was nothing fun about the game," said Tillette. "It was stressful especially in the second half. Trust me. The end of the game was fun, but tonight we just had a good combination of old guys stepping up and younger guys making plays as well. This was a great game for Josh Davis and for Josh Bedwell. Both of those guys know how big this win was."

Junior Jeffrey Merritt tallied eight points, seven rebounds and six assists for Samford on Friday. He entered the game boasting back-to-back double-doubles and nearly put up triple-double numbers against Auburn.

Windler added eight key points for the Bulldogs and knocked down a pair of crucial 3-point baskets in the second half. He also registered three assists and two rebounds.

Gaby Bermudez finished with five points, four assists and two rebounds in 20 minutes of play, while junior John Peterson and Will Cook both finished with three points apiece.

"We did some very good things tonight, but we still have a ways to go," said Tillette. "It all looks good when the ball goes through the basket, but there's a process that comes with that. We just need to build on this win and come out Saturday and Sunday against two very good teams in Middle Tennessee and Campbell."

Samford took a 38-32 lead into halftime behind the stellar shooting performance from Davis. Davis, the Bulldogs' senior from Lubbock, Texas, drained all seven of his 3-point attempts from beyond the arc and led all scorers with 21 points at the half.

Auburn's Malone nearly kept up with Davis in the first half and tallied 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Malone was on fired from beyond the arc and knocked down 5-of-7 attempts from downtown in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 19-12 lead with 13:12 to play in the first half after Davis knocked down his second consecutive 3-point basket. Josh Bedwell opened the scoring with a 3-pointer of his own, while Bermudez also knocked down a deep 3-point field goal and Merritt dropped in a pair of jumpers in the paint.

The Tigers' Allen Payne added six points in the first half of play as Auburn shot 54.5 percent from 3-point range. Samford was a touch better from beyond the arc in the opening period as the Bulldogs tallied a 55.6 percentage from downtown.

Auburn fought back to tie the score at 32-32 with 1:07 to play in the first half, but Samford closed out the period with a pair dramatic 3-point baskets from Davis, including a last-second heave from the right flank as the buzzer sounded.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue play in the 2010 Global Sports Hoops Showcase against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Auburn Arena. Earlier on Friday, Middle Tennessee was defeated by Campbell 97-90 in the opening game of this weekend's competition.

GameTracker - Samford vs. Middle Tennessee