Jan. 19, 2012

Box Score

ELON, N.C. - The Samford University basketball team earned its second straight Southern Conference victory Thursday as the Bulldogs knocked down a season-high 16 3-point baskets en route to an 86-80 triumph against the Elon Phoenix held at Alumni Gym.

"This was a big win for us and I thought both teams played extremely well," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "They outshot us in the game, but we shot the ball very well from the arc. Our team stepped up tonight and this was a huge win for us. Last year, we were coming off a great win at UNCG and then Elon was up on us by 20 at the half. That was the turning point for our season, so it is really gratifying to get this victory tonight."

With the win, Samford (5-12, 2-4 SoCon) improved its all-time record versus Elon (8-9, 3-3 SoCon) to 6-1. The Bulldogs are undefeated when playing the Phoenix at home and moved to 3-1 when playing in Alumni Gym.

Samford's 86-point performance proved to be its second best of the 2011-12 campaign. Earlier this year, the Bulldogs scored 90 points in a lopsided home victory against Spring Hill.

Samford shot 49.2 percent from the field Thursday and knocked down 16 baskets from beyond the arc in a 53.3-percent outing from long range. Despite the Bulldogs' stellar shooting, the game still came down to a couple of key possessions.

With 2:57 left to play in Thursday's SoCon shootout, Samford held a 74-69 advantage after Elon's Sebastian Koch knocked down a pair of free throws. The Phoenix was in the midst of a five-point run and the momentum in the gym was quickly shifting to the home squad.

On the Bulldogs' ensuing possession, senior Jeffrey Merritt out-battled four Phoenix players for a rebound in the paint and called timeout. Following the break in action, Samford's Raijon Kelly found Drew Windler on the right flank and he knocked down a key 3-point basket to build the Bulldogs' lead back to 77-69 with 2:12 to play.

Kelly, Samford's true freshman point guard from St. Paul, Minn., tied his career-high in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. He also finished 4-of-5 from 3-point range and handed out a personal-best seven assists.

Windler, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 center from South Milwaukee, Wis., used his clutch 3-point basket late in the game to finish with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Samford's sophomore also knocked down a career-high six 3-point field goals and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Bulldogs' Tyler Hood played the best game of his collegiate career Thursday. Hood, Samford's redshirt freshman from Kingston, Tenn., exploded for a personal-best 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also drained a career-high four 3-point baskets and pulled down seven rebounds. Hood also logged a game-high 38 minutes of playing time.

Samford's Will Cook scored 13 points Thursday and delivered the game's knockout punch with 1:20 left to play.

Following a dunk from Elon's Ryley Beaumont, the Bulldogs' Cook drained a clutch 3-point basket with one second remaining on the shot clock from the left corner. On the play, Samford used a number of quick, crisp passes to beat the Phoenix zone as Kelly artfully found Cook open in the corner.

Cook, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Dallas, Texas, drilled the deep shot, his second 3-pointer of the game.

"You look at our lineup and we had two sophomores and two freshmen who finished with 25 points, 21, 19 and 13 points," Tillette said. "With that, they also had 11 of our 18 assists. As a team, we finished with 18 assists and only had nine turnovers, and that comes against a team that tries to pressure you. I thought this was a great performance from our guys."

Samford's starting lineup consisted of two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior in Merritt. On Thursday, the Bulldogs' underclassmen combined to score 80 of the team's 86 points.

Merritt, Samford's senior guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., didn't have his best shooting performance of the season, but still finished with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal.

"Jeffrey Merritt does a great job of providing whatever we need him to do," said Tillette. "Tonight, he didn't score that many points, but he is our glue and he keeps everybody together. He's our best rebounder and he provides so much for us on the defensive side of the court each and every night. Jeffrey also had four assists and zero turnovers. That was key for us."

Elon finished with four players scoring in double figures and was paced by 19 points from Drew Spradlin. The Phoenix turned in a 50-percent shooting performance from the field and was aided by 15 points from Jack Isenbarger, 12 points from Lucas Troutman and a 10-point outing by Beaumont.

"Elon is a really good team and they are one of the best shooting squads in the conference," said Tillette. "They have three very good shooters on the perimeter, so they stretched our defense a lot, so it was good for our defenders to get in their feet."

Samford turned in a 53.1 shooting percentage from the field in the first half and took a 45-37 advantage into the locker room. The Bulldogs' 45-point performance in the opening period marked their second straight top scoring outing. Against Chattanooga on Saturday, Samford scored a then season-high 44 points in the first half.

Three Bulldogs scored in double figures in the opening half against Elon on Thursday. Windler paced all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, while Hood followed with 12 points and Kelly added 10. Samford registered a 50-percent shooting mark from 3-point range in the first half and was led by four 3-pointers from Windler.

Elon shot 35.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play and was led in scoring by both Isenbarger and Spradlin with nine points. Brett Ervin came off the bench to register seven points and six rebounds in the first half.

Samford held the lead for a majority of the first period and boasted a 10-point advantage, 15-5, at the 14:33 mark in the game. The Bulldogs' early advantage was bolstered by five points each from Windler, Hood and Kelly.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Sunday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their five-day, two-game North Carolina road swing with a matchup against the UNCG Spartans. Sunday's key North Division showdown will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum (23,000).