Feb. 26, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In its regular-season finale Saturday, the Samford University basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 77-72 overtime decision against the Chattanooga Mocs in a Southern Conference contest held at the Pete Hanna Center on Senior Night.

Prior to the game, Samford's four seniors: Josh Bedwell, Gaby Bermudez, Josh Davis and Andy King, were all honored with a special Senior Night presentation.

On their special night, the Bulldogs' senior class combined to score 39 of the team's 72 points, with Bedwell and King leading the way with 14 points apiece.

"I thought our seniors did a great job," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "They all came out and played with energy and they made some shots. I thought Andy (King) and (Josh) Bedwell both really scored the ball well for us and Gaby (Bermudez) turned in one of his best games of the season. I think Josh Davis only scored one basket tonight, but it was the one that ended up sending us into overtime."

With 27 seconds remaining in regulation, Samford's Josh Davis scored on an acrobatic up-and-under reverse layup to tie the game at 65-65. On the play, the Bulldogs' senior from Lubbock, Texas, cut past a Mocs' defender, gathered a perfectly-timed pass from King, and then hung in the air of the game-tying score.

Following Davis' bucket, Chattanooga's Keegan Bell missed a possible game-winning 3-pointer.

Samford (12-18, 4-14 SoCon) closed out the 2010-11 season as the sixth seed in the SoCon North Division. In next week's SoCon Tournament being held at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., the Bulldogs will open play Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) against the Furman Paladins.

Furman (20-9, 12-6 SoCon) placed third in the South Division this season and swept the home-and-home series against Samford. On Jan. 20, the Paladins topped the Bulldogs 74-55 in Greenville, S.C., before coming from behind to upend Samford in the Pete Hanna Center 70-63 on Feb. 19.

"This will be a tough loss to get over, but we'll take tomorrow off and then get ready to play a really good Furman team on Friday," Tillette said. "We'll be playing them on a neutral floor, but they are a senior-laden team and we'll have to play one of our best games against them in Chattanooga."

Chattanooga (16-15, 12-6 SoCon) outscored Samford 12-7 in the overtime period to claim Saturday's 77-72 victory. During the extra five-minute frame, the Mocs' Bell scored eight points to propel Chattanooga to the win. A native of Hazel Green, Ala., Bell scored a game-high 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and knocked down 6-of-16 attempts from 3-point range.

Late in the overtime period, Bell connected on one of the biggest 3-point baskets of the game to give the Mocs a 74-72 advantage with only 1:17 left to play.

"We knocked the ball away from their big man and it went directly to Keegan Bell, who then makes a 3-point shot," said Tillette. "I mean what are the changes of that. Usually, when you knock the ball away, one of the defenders grabs it, but not this time. Then, down the stretch we just committed too many turnovers and they were able to make their free throws when they needed to."

Samford senior Bedwell and King paced the Bulldogs' offensive attack with 14 points apiece, while fellow senior Bermudez scored a career-high nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

Bermudez, Samford's 6-foot-4 guard from Miami, Fla., also tallied four assists, a rebound and a steal. The Bulldogs' Jeffrey Merritt contributed with eight points and three rebounds, while John Peterson came off the bench to register seven points and three rebounds. Freshmen Drew Windler and Will Cook both chipped in with six points apiece.

Samford outshot Chattanooga from the field, 45.5 percent to 44.3 percent, but only connected on 7-of-13 free-throw attempts for a 53.8-percent mark. The Mocs shot 81.3 percent from the charity stripe making 13-of-16 attempts.

Chattanooga out-rebounded the Bulldogs 42-28, including a 12-4 mark on the offensive end of the court. The Mocs' offensive rebounding advantage led to a 14-0 disparity in second-chance points.

Samford finished with 21 assists on 25 made field goals and drained a total of 15 3-point shots. Bedwell, the Bulldogs' senior sharpshooter went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, while King turned in a 4-of-8 outing from 3-point range. Cook added a 2-for-3 performance from long distance, a career-high outing for the young native of Dallas, Texas.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Friday, March 4, as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2011 SoCon Tournament against the Furman Paladins at 6 p.m. (CST) in the third game of the 12-team postseason competition being held at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn.

2011 SoCon Tournament Bracket