Jan. 29, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team allowed a season-high 91 points Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 91-72 decision to the resurgent UNC Greensboro Spartans in a Southern Conference matchup held at the Pete Hanna Center. With the win, UNC Greensboro (4-16, 4-6 SoCon) tallied its fourth triumph in five outings.

Heading into the game, Samford (11-11, 3-7 SoCon) was leading the conference with an average of only 64.5 points allowed per contest. The Spartans' 91 points scored Saturday surpassed Wofford's previous high of 81 points scored against the Bulldogs on Jan. 22.

"I'm disappointed with how we started the game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I thought we worked hard in the second half to get it to a six-point game with eight minutes play, but why we didn't play better to start the game is a mystery. I do want to say that UNC Greensboro played a great game and they shot the ball very well. We need to do something to start playing better for longer periods of time."

UNC Greensboro shot 58.3 percent from 3-point range in the first half and jumped out to a quick 17-9 lead at the 12:43 mark in the opening period. The Spartans connected on 14 field goals in the first half and took a 42-23 advantage into the intermission.

Early in the second half, UNC Greensboro tallied the first six points of the period to earn a 48-23 lead, its largest of the game.

Despite sleepwalking through the early portion of Saturday's contest, Samford battled back in the second half to trim the Spartans' lead to 60-54 with 7:51 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' 27-11 run, junior forward John Peterson and sophomore guard Gregg Wooten came off the bench to combine for 15 of Samford's points.

Wooten tallied eight points during the Bulldogs' rally, while Peterson scored seven. Samford's Drew Windler and Andy King both added key 3-point baskets for the Bulldogs as they put together their best run of the game.

Once Samford trimmed UNC Greensboro's lead to six points, the Spartans bounced right back and used a pair of free throws from Trevis Simpson and a momentum-shifting 3-pointer from Kyle Randall to extend their advantage back to 65-54.

The Bulldogs tried to fight back later in the game as Windler drained another 3-point shot and Wooten made a free throw to cut UNC Greensboro's lead to 69-60, but the Spartans' Simpson dunked home an offensive rebound and Randall hit a deep 3-pointer to bring their lead to 76-61.

Samford wouldn't get any closer than 11 points down for the remainder of the game.

"You can't get down by 25 points early in the second half and expect to come back and win the game, especially against a team like UNC Greensboro that is playing well and shooting the ball well," Tillette said. "We worked hard and cut the lead to six, but then our energy seemed to sag and I don't know why. I think we had a lack of aggressiveness on defense and then we were overaggressive on the offensive end."

In a losing effort, Samford's Peterson equaled his career-high total of 16 points in back-to-back games. The Bulldogs' junior from Boca Raton, Fla., shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Peterson leads Samford with a 50-percent shooting total from beyond the arc this season. Against UNC Greensboro, he also went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and pulled down four rebounds.

The Bulldogs' Wooten scored 12 points for a second straight game. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Wooten shot 5-of-8 from the floor, while Windler finished with 12 points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range and picked up a pair of blocks and a steal.

UNC Greensboro was led in scoring by Brandon Evans' 26 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He was also 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Spartans knocked down 31-of-35 attempts from the free-throw line.

Simpson, UNC Greensboro's freshman guard from Douglas, Ga., came off the bench to pour in 22 points, while Randall added 17 and Korey Van Dussen finished with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Samford shot a tepid 2-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half and finished the game with a 29.2 mark from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs, who were ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 9.5 3-pointers per game this season, closed out Saturday's contest with seven.

Samford's bench players combined to score 43 points in the game and outscored UNC Greensboro's reserves 43-27.

Despite Saturday's loss, the Bulldogs still hold a 6-2 all-time record against the Spartans. Both of Samford's losses have occurred in lopsided fashion at the Pete Hanna Center.

"Every game is important," said Tillette. "We have eight games left, we're still in January and we're trying to get ourselves improved. In conference play, every game in this league is difficult and we have Davidson coming in here Thursday for what will be another tough game. They just beat College of Charleston and UNC Greensboro has won four of their last five games, and their only lost during the stretch was in double overtime. We just need to get this ship right and the only way to do that is to go back to work Monday."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their three-game homestand with a key SoCon matchup against the Davidson Wildcats to be held in the Pete Hanna Center.