Feb. 3, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - On Thursday night in the Pete Hanna Center, the Samford University basketball team's shooting from 3-point range matched the weather outside as the Bulldogs turned in an ice cold 2-of-17 performance (11.8 percent) from beyond the arc in a 62-49 Southern Conference loss to the Davidson Wildcats.

"We just missed a lot of shots tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We were 0-of-8 from the arc in the second half and early on, one of our best shooters, Drew Windler, wedges one between the rim and the backboard and then hit the back rim on three others. I also thought that (Josh) Bedwell had two open looks and missed them. Also, they weren't going to give us any open looks. They were going to force us to go inside."

With the defeat, Samford (11-12, 3-8 SoCon) remained winless against Davidson (11-12, 5-7 SoCon) and fell to 0-6 in the all-time series between the teams.

Thursday night's game was played in front of only 602 fans at the Pete Hanna Center after the Samford Athletic Department declared it a "closed-door event" due to the icy roads and wintry weather in the area. No tickets were sold at the game, but fans who previously bought tickets were able to watch the action if willing to battle the elements.

"I personally thought it was a great idea, because we want the safety of our fans to come first," Tillette said. "As long as Davidson was here, our team was here, and obviously the officials were here and safe, then I thought it was good to play the game, but obviously we wanted our fans to take caution and be safe in their attendance. It was weird not having a bigger crowd, but other than that I thought it was a great idea."

The previous game between Samford and Davidson held in Birmingham, Ala., was played in front of a school-record 5,116 fans during Stephen Curry's senior season Jan. 31, 2009. In that contest, the Wildcats held on for a 65-62 victory.

In Thursday's game, Davidson led by as many as 21 points late in the second half, but Samford mounted a last-minute comeback to trim the advantage to 58-49 with 56 seconds remaining. Following a steal and a layup by the Bulldogs' Gaby Bermudez, the Wildcats were able to hold on by knocking down their final four free throws of the game to tally the 62-49 victory.

Samford was led in scoring by Josh Davis and Gregg Wooten. Both Bulldogs finished the contest with 10 points apiece. Davis, a senior forward from Lubbock, Texas, finished 4-of-6 from the field and knocked down Samford's only two 3-pointers of the game, while Wooten went 4-of-9 from the field in 24 minutes of action.

Heading into Thursday's game, Samford was the fifth-ranked team in the nation with an average of 9.4 3-point field goals per contest. The Bulldogs' total of two 3-point baskets against Davidson was their lowest mark of the season. Samford's previous low was three 3-point field goals at Youngstown State in the first game of the 2010-11 campaign.

Davidson was led in scoring by JP Kuhlman's 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Brendan McKillop added 12 points for the Wildcats, while De'Mon Brooks chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Davidson opened Thursday's game with a quick 5-0 advantage and later extended its lead to 14-4 with 13:23 to play in the first half. Following a pair of free throws from Josh Bedwell at the 3:43 mark, Samford fought back to within 28-22, but the Wildcats used five points from Chris Czerapowicz to take a 33-24 lead into the intermission.

Despite going 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the second half, the Bulldogs shot better from the field and finished 9-of-20 from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play.

John Peterson provided an offensive spark for Samford with seven points on 2-of-3 shooting, while Jeffrey Merritt added seven points of his own and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Heading into Thursday's contest, Merritt was ranked third in the SoCon in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game.

Samford only turned the ball over nine times, but was out-rebounded as a team 44-25. Davidson pulled down 18 offensive rebounds and finished with 12 second-chance points.

"After the first five minutes of the game tonight, I thought our energy was great," said Tillette. "We were positive towards one another and we were busting our tails. I thought that Matthew Friday came in and really gave us a big lift in the post and he played really well. Also, Davidson played well tonight and we just have to come back tomorrow and get ready for Georgia Southern on Saturday."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Statesboro, Ga., for a televised SoCon matchup against the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game will be broadcast live by SportSouth and will be held at Georgia Southern's Hanner Fieldhouse.