March 2, 2012

Box Score

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Samford University basketball team's 2011-12 campaign came to an end Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a 75-66 decision to the Furman Paladins in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament held at the U.S. Cellular Center.

"We're not going to win many games when we go 2-of-20 from the arc," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We missed some good looks and then I thought that Furman really played hard and rebounded the basketball very well. We played hard. We just missed too many shots and gave them too many second-chance opportunities. I think Furman played better tonight and they deserved the game."

Samford (11-19) finished Friday's contest with three players scoring in double figures, but only connected on 2-of-20 attempts from 3-point range. The Bulldogs' 10-percent shooting mark from beyond the arc was its worst total of the season. Samford's previous low percentage was a 4-of-25 (16 percent) performance at Appalachian State on Feb. 2.

Third-Team All-SoCon performer Drew Windler paced Samford with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' up-and-coming sophomore center also grabbed three rebounds and finished 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. Windler notched 12 of his 21 points in the first half of play and concluded the 2011-12 campaign with a total of 432.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Hood scored 13 points Friday and turned in a 6-of-10 shooting performance from the field. He also added three rebounds and a pair of assists. Fellow freshman Raijon Kelly chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds and an assist. The Bulldogs' native of St. Paul, Minn., finished 4-of-10 from the field, but 0-for-5 from 3-point range.

Earlier this week, Samford's Hood and Kelly were both honored by the coaches and the media by being named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.

Furman (15-15) led by as many as 14 points in the second half and held a 64-50 advantage with 8:21 remaining. The Paladins finished Friday's game with three players scoring in double figures and led by Charlie Reddick and Bobby Austin, who both registered 15 points. Senior forward Brandon Sebirumbi added 12 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in 32 minutes of playing time.

Following a basket from Sebirumbi with 8:21 left to play, Furman led by a score of 64-50. Samford then used a jumper from Will Cook, a post-move bucket from Windler and a pair of free throws from Kelly to trim the Paladins' lead to 64-58 with 4:28 remaining in the game.

After trading baskets for a few possessions, the Bulldogs' Jeffrey Merritt drove down the lane and connected on a left-hand layup to help Samford pull within four points, 68-64, with 1:16 left to play.

"Our team never quit and we haven't quit all year," Tillette said. "We've always been able to come back and make a game of it, so that's almost standard, but this time of year it's not about playing hard, it's about playing well."

On Furman's ensuing possession after Samford cut its lead to 68-64, the Paladins' Reddick knocked down a pair of free throws. Down by six with less than a minute to play, the Bulldogs missed a deep 3-point attempt from Windler and were then forced to foul for the remainder of the game.

Furman closed out the contest with seven straight free throws and led by as many as 11 points before Kelly tallied the final points of the game with an uncontested layup at the three-second mark.

"We had long stretches of empty play, we missed wide-open shots from the arc and we didn't make our free throws, so again I thought the physicality of Furman was the difference tonight," said Tillette. "They had a little bit of an edge about them after they lost to us at our place a few weeks ago."

The first meeting between the teams on Feb. 18, was eerily similar to Friday's game, except for the fact that it was Samford then that was able to fend off the charging Paladins. The Bulldogs' victory earlier this season snapped a four-game losing streak in their series against Furman.

With Friday's victory, the Paladins improved to 9-3 against Samford. Furman also advanced to the quarterfinal round of the SoCon Tournament and will square off against top-seeded Davidson on Saturday at 5 p.m. (CST).

"In the locker room, I talked about the seniors and the great contributions that they have made for our program," said Tillette. "I told them how much I will regret not being around those guys, because they are such wonderful people and all have great character."

Samford seniors Matthew Friday, Kaylin Johnson and Merritt all played in their final collegiate games Friday. John Peterson is also a senior on this year's team, but will possibly declare for a fifth year of eligibility after suffering a season-ending injury in early December.

The Bulldogs were out-rebounded by Furman, 42-24, including 17-7 on the offensive end of the court. The Paladins finished with 17 second-chance points and their bench outscored Samford's reserves, 26-11.

Furman held a 39-33 advantage at the half. The Paladins knocked down six 3-point field goals in the first 20 minutes of play and were led in scoring by Reddick's 11 points. Reddick, a sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga., connected on a trio of 3-point baskets in the first half and grabbed a pair of rebounds.

The lead changed five times in the opening period and Furman's six-point halftime lead was its largest of the stanza. Samford used 12 first-half points from Windler to lead by as many as four, but Furman scored the final five points of the period. In the final two minutes of action, the Bulldogs missed four straight free throws to head into the intermission.

Windler's 12 points paced Samford in the first half, while Hood added seven and Connor Miller came off the bench to notch five. Miller, the Bulldogs' true freshman from Stanley, Wis., finished the game with seven points and handed out a team-high three assists.

A total of 58 of Samford's 66 points were scored by underclassmen. Next season, the Bulldogs will return four starters, nine letterwinners and junior Gregg Wooten, who was projected to be the starting point guard this season before suffering a season-ending injury in the summer.

"I told our younger guys that it's all about work-ethic and that we have a great opportunity to be an even better basketball team next season," said Tillette.

The Samford University basketball team concluded its 2011-12 campaign with an 11-19 overall record and an 8-10 mark in SoCon play.