Dec. 28, 2011

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Samford University basketball team suffered its first loss in the state of Texas since Nov. 28, 2009 on Wednesday as the Bulldogs dropped a 74-58 decision against the Sam Houston State Bearkats in a nonconference matchup held at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

In the setback, Samford (3-8) committed a season-high 25 turnovers and only shot 29.4 percent from 3-point range. The defeat proved to be the Bulldogs' first loss in Texas since a 74-53 decision at Texas Tech in 2009.

Sam Houston State (5-8) scored 28 of its 74 points from the free-throw line Wednesday as Samford was whistled for a season-high 29 personal fouls. In the second half alone, the Bearkats notched 20 of their 35 points from the charity stripe.

Despite trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, Samford rallied early in the second period to trim Sam Houston State's advantage to 47-43 with 11:47 left to play. During the Bulldogs' run, Jeffrey Merritt scored on a runner in the lane, Tyler Hood and Devin McNeil both knocked down deep 3-point baskets and Drew Windler buried a pair of free throws.

Samford's Kaylin Johnson and Merritt also went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to cut the Bearkats' advantage to 47-43.

Immediately following the Bulldogs' 12-3 scoring stretch, Sam Houston State's Steven Werner connected on a pair of free throws and Demarcus Gatlin scored five straight points to lift his squad to a 54-43 lead. A majority of the Bearkats' scoring in the second half came from the free-throw line, including 14 straight from the 5:01 mark in the game until Samford's final foul at 1:47.

Sam Houston State finished Wednesday's game with three players scoring in double figures. Gatlin led all scorers with 20 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. The Bearkats' sophomore guard also turned in a 10-of-13 outing from the free-throw line and played 34 minutes.

Darius Gatson and Marcus James followed with 17 and 10 points for Sam Houston State, respectively. James nearly finished with a double-double by adding eight points, while Gatson handed out five assists and registered three steals.

Samford was led in scoring Wednesday by true freshman Brandon Hayman. Hayman, the Bulldogs' athletic guard from Braselton, Ga., went 4-of-7 from the field and knocked down a key 3-point field goals in only 18 minutes of game action. Fellow true freshman McNeil followed with nine points, while Merritt and Hood each tallied eight points apiece.

Rounding out Samford's top scorers were Matthew Friday and Windler with seven points.

The Bulldogs outscored the Bearkats 36-35 in the second half of play, but couldn't overcome their 17-point, first-half deficit.

At the half, Sam Houston State held a 39-22 lead over the Bulldogs. Samford only shot 37.5 percent from the field in the opening period and turned in a 25-percent outing (2-of-8) from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs' leading scorer in the first half was Friday with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor. Samford's 6-foot-8 senior from Grapevine, Texas, also knocked down a 3-point basket and tallied a rebound, assist and blocked shot. True freshmen Hayman and McNeil both followed with four points apiece.

Sam Houston State opened the game with an 8-2 lead and increased its advantage to 26-14 at the seven-minute mark in the first half.

Samford trimmed the Bearkats' early lead to 27-17 with a 3-point play from Hood, but Sam Houston State closed out the opening 20 minutes of play with a four-point possession to head into the locker room with its 39-22 advantage. The Bearkats' were led in scoring in the first half by Gatlin's nine points. He finished the period 2-of-6 from the field, but took advantage of four free throws.

The Bulldogs committed a season-high 25 turnovers Wednesday, surpassing their previous total of 20 turnovers in a 71-69 victory at UT Arlington on Nov. 27. Heading into its game with Sam Houston State, Samford was averaging 14.6 miscues per outing.

The Bearkats were able to capitalize on Samford's turnovers and outscored the Bulldogs 30-8 in points off turnovers. Samford outshot Sam Houston State, 48.8 percent to 40.8 percent, and out-rebounded the Bearkats 33-27, but the Bulldogs' miscues proved to be too much to overcome.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their three-game, year-ending road trip in College Park, Md., against the Maryland Terrapins. The contest will be held at Maryland's Comcast Center (17,950) and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports South.