Samford University
Maryland
Bulldogs Come Up Short At Maryland, 75-63
12.31.11 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Samford University basketball team concluded its three-game, year-ending road trip with a hard-fought 75-63 road loss against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday in the Bulldogs' final non-conference game of the regular season held at the Comcast Center.
"I thought we battled hard tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We definitely looked a lot better than we did in Huntsville, Texas, the other night. Today, we had a chance there in the second half when we made it a 10-point game. Then there were four possessions when we squandered some opportunities, but I thought we got some good looks. Overall, I thought we did some things right today."
With the loss, Samford (3-9) dropped to 1-4 on the road this season. The Bulldogs will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as they return home to Birmingham for a key early-season Southern Conference matchup against Appalachian State. The contest will be held at Samford's Pete Hanna Center.
Maryland (9-3) extended its season-long winning streak to six straight games Saturday. The Terrapins concluded the month with a perfect 6-0 record and have not been defeated since a 71-62 setback against Illinois on Nov. 29. Maryland will next be in action Jan. 3 at home versus Cornell.
"Maryland is a great team and obviously he's a friend of mine, but I think that Mark Turgeon is a great coach," Tillette said. "They have some really nice players, including the top scorer in the ACC (Atlantic Coach Conference). Terrell Stoglin gave us some trouble from beyond the arc and that's because he's a really great player."
Maryland held the lead for a majority of Saturday's contest, but Samford rallied to trim the Terrapins' advantage to 48-38 early in the second half as Tyler Hood knocked down a 3-point basket, Drew Windler scored on an up-and-under move and Devin McNeil dropped in a floater from the middle of the lane.
After a few scoreless possessions, Maryland's Nick Faust knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers en route to a 10-0 Terrapin run as they quickly extended their lead to 58-38.
Late in the game, Samford strung together a 3-point basket from Will Cook, a jumper from Hood and a back-door layup from Hood to cut Maryland's final advantage to 75-63.
"The group that made a run for us in the second half was a sophomore and four freshmen," said Tillette. "They did a great job of playing some pressure defense and we were able to get some steals. I thought that we really played well and showed a tremendous upside."
Saturday marked the first meeting between Samford and Maryland, but the fifth on-court battle between Tillette and Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon. Tillette owns a 2-3 record against Turgeon, who also spent coaching stints at Jacksonville State, Wichita State and Texas A&M.
Maryland was led in scoring by sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin, one of the most prolific scorers in the nation this season, finished with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also knocked down a game-high six 3-point baskets and pulled down five rebounds.
The Terrapins' Alex Len and Faust both added 13 points apiece to help lead Maryland to its sixth straight victory.
Samford was paced offensively by Hood and Windler. Hood, the Bulldogs' redshirt freshman from Kingston, Tenn., led the Bulldogs with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, while Windler chipped in with 13 points on a 5-of-13 performance from the field.
Windler, Samford's 6-foot-9 center from South Milwaukee, Wis., drained a pair of 3-point field goals and grabbed a pair of rebounds in 27 minutes of playing time.
"I thought that Drew played well and I thought that Tyler played well," Tillette said. "I thought that when we had Devin (McNeil) and Raijon (Kelly) on the floor at the same time that we seemed to click well. This was a game where it's disappointing because we lost, but it's also encouraging because you can see the talent and see the improvements that we're making."
Also turning in good games for the Bulldogs were true freshmen Brandon Hayman and Raijon Kelly. Both of the aforementioned Samford youngsters scored eight points and provided a spark off the bench.
Samford shot 42.9 percent from the field Saturday, but Maryland scorched the nets with a 50.9 percentage, including a stellar 52.9 mark from 3-point range. The Bulldogs connected on eight 3-point attempts in the contest, while only shooting 29.6 percent from long range.
After committing a season-high 25 turnovers against Sam Houston State on Wednesday, Samford only turned the ball over 11 times versus Maryland. The Bulldogs also forced the Terrapins into a game-high 17 miscues.
"We only had 11 turnovers tonight, as compared to 14 assists, so that aspect of the game was good for us," said Tillette. "I thought that we also got a great effort from Brandon Hayman. He's been playing well lately and really helped us defensively."
One of the main differences in Saturday's game was the battle of the boards. Maryland out-rebounded Samford 40-22, including a 13-8 differential on the offensive end of the court.
At halftime, Maryland held a 44-31 advantage over the Bulldogs. Midway through the first half, the Terrapins only led Samford by four points, 27-23, before they rallied for a 17-8 run to close out the opening period.
During its first-half ending stretch, Maryland received seven straight points from Stoglin, a driving layup from Mosley and a deep 3-point basket from Faust. The Terrapins also used a 3-point play from Mychal Parker and a pair of free throws from Len.
Maryland's Stoglin, the fifth-ranked scorer in the nation at 21.5 points per game, led all players with 15 points at the intermission.
Samford's Windler tallied a team-high 11 points in the first period, while Hood followed with six and Hayman added four. After a resounding drive and dunk from Hood at the 16:44 mark in the game, the Bulldogs held an early 5-4 lead over the Terrapins.
Maryland then used a 3-point basket from Stoglin and a spinning layup from Mosley to take a 9-5 advantage.
Samford continued battle early in the first half of play and trimmed the Terrapins' lead to 19-14 following back-to-back layups from Hood and a 3-point basket at the top of the key from Windler.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs resume Southern Conference play at home against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
