Feb. 10, 2011

Box Score

BOONE, N.C. - The Samford basketball team battled back from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to trim Appalachian State's lead to 55-53 with 7:19 remaining in Thursday's Southern Conference showdown held at the Holmes Center. The Bulldogs continued to hold on late and were only down 63-59 before the Mountaineers rallied behind four late points from Donald Sims to hang on for the 65-59 victory.

"I felt we had an opportunity to win that basketball game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We didn't take advantage of the opportunity. I know that there were spurts where Appalachian State really played well, and Sims and (Omar) Carter are really good players, but we turned the ball over too many times. We gave them second shots down the stretch when it was meaningful and the game was on the line.

"We were also a little shorthanded because our backup point guard Gregg Wooten, who had scored 12 points for us in the last game, got hit early and they were worried about him because he was having a tough time breathing. He only played three minutes, so our bench was a little short. I thought if had we done more things in our control, it could have been a different outcome."

The Bulldogs were paced offensively by senior Andy King's career-high 21 points. Samford's 6-foot-8 center from Omaha, Neb., shot 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range. King's six 3-point field goals matched a career-high performance versus Eastern Michigan on Dec. 22, 2009.

Following King's sixth 3-pointer of the night, Samford (12-13, 4-9 SoCon) cut Appalachian State's lead to 63-59 with 1:11 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs stopped the Mountaineers on the next possession and had a couple of good looks from beyond the arc, but both King's and Josh Bedwell's 3-point shots came up short.

Appalachian State (11-13, 7-7 SoCon) then received a pair of free throws from Sims to close out the game, 65-59.

Sims, the Mountaineers' all-time leading scorer with 2,035 career points, led Appalachian State with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor. The reigning SoCon Player of the Year was only 2-of-7 from 3-point land, but drained 4-of-4 attempts from the free-throw line. Sims played all 40 minutes Thursday and pulled down six rebounds.

Appalachian State's Omar Carter contributed 19 points and four rebounds for the Mountaineers' as the 6-foot-5 junior guard finished 8-of-15 from the field. He logged 36 minutes of court time for first-year head coach Jason Capel.

"Appalachian State is very well-coached and they have two very good players," Tillette said. "They did what they had to do to win the game."

Samford's Bedwell tallied 16 points and pulled down a season-high eight rebounds. All of his points came in the first half of play as he knocked down four of the Bulldogs' seven opening-period 3-pointers.

"I thought that Josh Bedwell and Andy King both stepped up tonight and played very well for us," said Tillette. "Jeffrey Merritt didn't have a good game and he needs to be better. It's just that simple. A lot of that is on him and that's why I thought our play tonight was irregular. I don't think we were really locked in and focused. From my mind, this game tonight was a lost opportunity for us."

Samford shot 44 percent as a team, but Appalachian State turned in a 49.1 percent mark from the floor. The Mountaineers allowed a season-high 14 3-pointers to the Bulldogs as Samford finished 14-of-33 from beyond the arc for a 42.4 percentage.

Appalachian State only shot 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from 3-point range.

Samford's bench outscored Appalachian State's reserves 31-9 on Thursday, but the Bulldogs were outscored in the paint 36-10. Samford committed 12 turnovers, while the Mountaineers only suffered five miscues. Appalachian State outscored the Bulldogs 16-3 in points off turnovers.

"I thought a lot of what we did tonight was shooting ourselves in the foot," Tillette said. "Appalachian State is really good at what they do. We know who their best players are and we know what they are going to do. They didn't surprise us tonight, but they got the ball into their best players' hands and they made plays. They also rebounded the ball well and are physical. When they do those things, their coach will be happy."

With Thursday's loss, Samford fell to 5-7 on the road this season and dropped its third straight game against Appalachian State. The Mountaineers swept the home-and-home series this season and extended their current winning streak to three-consecutive games. Appalachian State will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Mountaineers host Chattanooga.

At the half, Appalachian State held a 34-30 advantage. Samford led for a predominant portion of the first half, but the Mountaineers closed out the period with a 14-4 run, including a deep 3-point basket from Sims at the buzzers.

The Bulldogs led by as many as eight points, 24-16, in the first half and were paced offensively by Bedwell's 16 opening-period points. Samford's 6-foot sharpshooter from Hartselle, Ala., was 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Bedwell also pulled down six rebounds in the first half to lead both teams.

King scored 10 points for the Bulldogs in the opening 20 minutes of play and was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their three-game road trip against the Western Carolina Catamounts in another key SoCon showdown to be held at the Ramsay Center in Cullowhee, N.C.

Saturday's contest was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., but was moved back an hour to 2 p.m. The time change was due to Western Carolina's home game versus Chattanooga being shifted from Thursday to Monday and then ultimately to Friday. Following the most recent change announced by the SoCon office, the Catamounts will host Chattanooga on Friday at 7 p.m., and will play SoCon games in back-to-back days.