Samford University
Creighton
Bulldogs' Winning Streak Comes To An End At Creighton
12.22.10 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. - The Samford basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped Wednesday as the Bulldogs dropped a defensive struggle against the Creighton Bluejays 58-40 in front of 16,550 fans at the Qwest Center Omaha. The total of 16,550 was the largest crowd to watch Samford play in school history. The Bulldogs' previous record was 16,207 against Dayton at the CoSIDA Classic held in Albuquerque, N.M., on Nov. 20, 1999.
"The game just sort of slipped away from us in second half and we didn't execute our game plan defensively," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I really thought that Creighton ratcheted up their energy and we couldn't match them. That's what they do. They are strong around the basket and then we also lost some of their shooters. We couldn't keep the non-starred shooters in front and we didn't get into their shooters' feet."
Samford (8-5) opened the game with a 10-2 lead, but Creighton (8-4) methodically worked its way to a 24-19 lead at the half. The Bluejays pulled away from the Bulldogs in the second half as Samford only shot 27.3 percent from 3-point range in the game.
Creighton shot 41.5 percent from the field and was led in scoring by both Doug McDermott and Antoine Young's 14 points apiece. The Bluejays' duo proved to be the only players in the game to score in double figures.
Samford's leading scorer was Jeffrey Merritt, who finished with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Redshirt freshman Drew Windler added six points on a 2-of-7 performance from the floor. Both of Windler's field goals came from 3-point range in the second half of play.
The Bulldogs' Andy King, a native of Omaha, Neb., played in front of nearly 200 friends and family Wednesday and finished the game with five points, a rebound and an assist. Samford's senior center drained a deep 3-point basket and went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
After a back-door layup from Merritt with 11 minutes to play in the second half, Samford trimmed Creighton's lead to 41-36. The Bluejays then quickly answered with back-to-back scores from McDermott and Young to jumpstart a 17-4 run to end the game.
"We had a rally midway through the second half, cut their lead to five and then we had a back-cut play called for Josh (Davis)," Tillette said. "It just didn't materialize and I thought he was held on the play. If he makes that, then we're only down by three points and it's a whole different ballgame. We didn't score the ball efficiently around the basket and Creighton is a really well-coached team. They did a good job of taking away a lot of our 3-point shots."
At halftime, Samford trailed Creighton 24-19. Neither team shot the ball well in the opening period, but the Bulldogs were only 7-of-23 from the field for a 30.4 percentage. The Bluejays tallied a 40-percent performance from the field and knocked down four first-half 3-pointers. Samford finished the opening half 3-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Samford was out-rebounded in Wednesday's game 45-19 and 16-1 on the offensive boards. Creighton's McDermott pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds as he finished with a double-double for the Bluejays. The Bulldogs' leading rebounder was once again Jeffrey Merritt. In 13 games this season, Samford's 6-foot-6 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., has paced the team in rebounding 12 times.
Merritt entered Wednesday's contest averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, which was the second-highest total in the Southern Conference's statistical rankings.
Samford forced the Bluejays into 15 turnovers and scored 13 points off Creighton's miscues. The Bluejays outscored the Bulldogs in second-chance points, 16-0, fast-break points 6-0 and proved to be only the fourth team all season to top Samford in bench scoring, 18-16.
"I thought that we did a really good job in the first half," said Tillette. "Defensively, in the second half, Creighton forced us into some turnovers and we just didn't score the ball. We missed two front ends of one-and-ones late in the game and we missed a lot of wide open looks throughout the game. It just didn't happen for us and this is dress rehearsal from traveling in conference play this season. We will have to learn how to win the first game and then be able to get up enough to win the second game as well."
The Samford University basketball team will break for the Christmas Holiday before returning home to the Pete Hanna Center for a matchup against the Eastern Michigan Eagles to be played at 2 p.m. (CST) on Dec. 31.
