March 4, 2011

Box Score

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Samford University basketball team's 2010-11 season came to an end Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a 61-48 decision against the Furman Paladins in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament being held at The McKenzie Arena.

Samford (12-19) rallied in the second half of play to trim the Paladins' lead to 46-37 with 8:09 remaining in the game, but couldn't overcome an early 24-4 Furman (21-9) advantage. The Paladins went on a 19-2 run in the first half to jump out to their quick lead.

"We looked shell-shocked to start the game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "They guarded us very assertively and a lot tougher than they did against us at our place. It took us too long to get into the game and to be assertive as well. I thought in the second half, we played really hard. We cut their lead down to nine, but then we missed some shots around the baskets and gave up too many second-chance points."

With the win, Furman (21-9) advanced to Saturday's second round of the SoCon Tournament where it will square off against the homestanding Chattanooga Mocs at 6 p.m. (CST).

Samford closed out its 2010-11 campaign with a 12-19 overall record. The Bulldogs' talented senior class comprised of Gaby Bermudez, Josh Bedwell, Josh Davis and Andy King, competed in its final game. Samford's seniors combined to score 18 of the team's 48 points Friday.

The Bulldogs' offensive attack was paced by redshirt freshman Drew Windler's 10 points. Samford's ever-improving center from South Milwaukee, Wis., only shot 2-of-6 from the field, but knocked down 6-of-7 attempts from the free-throw line. Windler also added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Windler proved to be the Bulldogs' only double-digit scorer Friday, but Bermudez, Jeffrey Merritt, Bedwell and Will Cook all finished with seven points apiece. Merritt, Samford's junior from Oklahoma City, Okla., also pulled down a team-high five rebounds.

The Bulldogs only shot 35.1 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from 3-point range. The Paladins turned in a stellar 45.8-percent outing from the floor and a 33.3 mark from beyond the arc.

"It doesn't show up in the percentages, but I thought we defended them very well in the second half," Tillette said. "I have to give kudos to Furman, they played extremely well tonight and they definitely shot the ball well enough to win the game."

Furman's Jordan Miller led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. The Paladins' senior from Memphis, Tenn., drained 4-of-6 attempts from 3-point land and added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

Brandon Sebirumbi, Furman's 6-foot-9 junior, finished with 10 points in 21 minutes of game action. He finished 4-of-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

Furman used its 19-2 run early in the first half to build a 24-4 advantage with 7:12 to play in the opening period. Samford then turned in a stellar free-throw shooting performance to outscore the Paladins 14-8 for the remainder of the period, but still trailed 32-18 at the intermission.

Samford only shot 30.8 percent from the field in the first half and was 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. Cook knocked down the Bulldogs' lone 3-pointer of the period and his deep shot from the left wing ended a nearly 11-minute Samford scoring drought without a field goal. During the stretch, the Bulldogs went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

"Furman did a great job of harassing us defensively," said Tillette. "They were right on us on every pass and they didn't make anything easy. They played aggressively and yeah they were called for some fouls, but they still took us out of rhythm a bit. They also forced us into more turnovers than we usually commit and we just couldn't get anything going early in the game."

The Paladins were led in scoring by Miller's 13 first-half points. He went 5-of-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Samford's leading scorer in the opening period was Cook with five points on a 1-of-3 performance from the floor. He went a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe as the Bulldogs finished the first half shooting 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Samford's 18 points in the opening period was its lowing first-half scoring performance since a 16-point output against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 20, 2010.

The Bulldogs finished 0-3 against Furman this season. With Friday's loss, Samford dropped to 2-8 all-time against the Paladins.

"We didn't look like we were ready for a street fight and that's what it was," Tillette said. "We got into the game in the second half and I thought we really competed. We had some shots fall, but by my count we missed five layups around the basket and also missed some free throws. We guarded them almost exclusively man-to-man in the second half and I think that helped us a little bit."

Samford was out-rebounded 34-22 as Furman tallied a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points. The Paladins also outscored the Bulldogs 28-18 in the paint and led 24-12 in points off turnovers. Samford committed 16 turnovers Friday, including a pair on their first two possessions of the game.

Next season, the Samford University basketball team will return three starters, eight letterwinners, redshirt freshman Tyler Hood and three-highly touted incoming freshmen. The Bulldogs' returning starters next season will be Cook, Merritt and Windler, while the incoming freshmen will be Brandon Hayman, Devin McNeil and Connor Miller.