Dec. 18, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite a sluggish 12-minute span to open Saturday's game, the Samford University basketball team rallied back from an early 14-point deficit to defeat the Asbury University Eagles 80-67 in a non-conference contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Bulldogs' 80-point outburst was their highest scoring performance of the 2010-11 campaign, surpassing a 79-point outing they achieved in a historic 79-68 victory at Auburn earlier this season.

"We started off the game playing very lackadaisical," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We weren't focused, we weren't energized and the crowd wasn't really into the game. We had to provide our own energy, but the area I thought we were really deficient in was our defensive rebounding. Asbury got 14 offensive rebounds against us and they also shot the ball well early."

Samford (7-4) only connected on 3-of-13 3-point field-goal attempts in the first half and trailed Asbury University (6-5), 23-9, at the 9:34 mark in the opening period. The Eagles knocked down five 3-point baskets in the first 11 minutes of the game and were paced by Phillip Morrison's 15 first-half points. Asbury's senior guard was 5-of-6 from the field in the opening half.

Despite the Bulldogs' slow start, senior Josh Davis knocked down a 3-point basket with 3:50 left in the first period to give Samford its first lead of the contest at 28-27.

Davis, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 sharpshooter from Lubbock, Texas, finished the game with a team-high 22 points on a 7-of-9 shooting performance from the field. He also knocked down 5-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc and grabbed a trio of rebounds.

"I thought that Josh Davis really got off the snide today," Tillette said. "He hadn't really been shooting the ball well, but he shot it a lot better in this game. We need to be better on the defensive end of the court and we will. It has to be a team effort."

Following Davis' 22 points, redshirt freshman Drew Windler also boosted the Bulldogs' offense with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Samford's agile 6-foot-9 center from South Milwaukee, Wis., entered the game ranked third in the Southern Conference in 3-point shooting and knocked down 3-of-5 of his attempts from long range Saturday. He also pulled down four rebounds and handed out four assists.

Samford's Jeffrey Merritt and Gregg Wooten also scored in double figures against Asbury University. Merritt played a team-high 33 minutes and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Wooten came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.

As a team, Samford shot 55.8 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from 3-point range. The Bulldogs came into the game as the No. 6-ranked team in the nation averaging 9.8 3-point field goals per contest and added 10 against Asbury, seven of which were scored in the second half of play.

"We spent the whole week working on offense and I think it showed," said Tillette. "We had more of a flow and we have all of our people back healthy. Gregg Wooten has been sick lately and didn't play last week, but he's back now and I thought he gave us a lift."

The Bulldogs fought back from their early 23-9 deficit to take a 36-33 lead into the intermission. Wooten led the way with nine points for Samford in the first half.

To open the second period, the Bulldogs' lead continued to fluctuate between four and six points until Wooten stole a pass and scored on an easy layup, Josh Bedwell knocked down a post-up jumper and Windler drained a 3-point shot from the top of the key. With the offensive flurry, Samford garnered a 62-49 lead with 7:22 remaining in the game.

Down the stretch, Asbury used a 3-pointer from Morrison to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 68-60 with 4:46 to play. Samford's Davis then answered with three 3-pointers and Windler added another shot from long range to give the Bulldogs their final 80-67 triumph.

Asbury, which was averaging 99 points per game in its previous five outings, was held to 67 points Saturday, but shot 40 percent from 3-point range. Sophomore Adam Delph led all scorers in the game with 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Morrison followed with 20 points and three rebounds. Delph knocked down a trio of 3-point baskets, as did his senior teammate Jamal Morris.

Samford's Bedwell turned in a good game off the bench as he finished with seven points, four assists, three steals and a rebound. The Bulldogs' native of Hartselle, Ala., shot 2-of-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

"Offensively, we're making progress," Tillette said. "We're getting better, but we need to be able to put two halves together and combine the two. Upcoming, this is a big road trip for us. Texas-San Antonio and Creighton are both really good teams and I think it will be a good litmus test for us."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 8 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a two-game, pre-Christmas road trip against the USTA Roadrunners at the UTSA Convocation Center (4,080) in San Antonio, Texas.