Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer returned to Indiana University on Friday where he was a key assistant coach under the Hoosiers' Tom Crean for four seasons. In the Bulldogs' first game against a ranked opponent in 2013-14, Samford dropped a 105-59 decision to the No. 23-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in an early-season matchup held at Assembly Hall.
 
"We were just out-matched tonight," said Seltzer, who's beginning his second season at Samford. "Indiana is just so athletic and they are so big. The matchups were tough for us in terms of their size and their athleticism, so they were extremely difficult to deal with tonight."
 
Samford (1-2) finished with four players scoring in double-figures Friday, but couldn't overcome a 54-25 halftime deficit. The Bulldogs' Tyler Hood paced the team with 15 points on a 5-of-11 shooting from the field and knocked down a trio of 3-point baskets.
 
Raijon Kelly, Samford's Preseason All-Southern Conference selection, also connected on three 3-point baskets and finished with 10 points, three assists and a pair of rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs' Tim Williams nearly tallied the eighth double-double of his young career as he posted 10 points and nine rebounds. On Tuesday, Williams finished just one point short of a double-double in a nine-point, 12-rebound performance at UT Arlington.
 
Samford true freshman Isaiah Williams turned in another solid outing Friday as the Bulldogs' native of Buford, Ga., tallied 10 points, two assists and a pair of steals in 24 minutes of playing time.
 
"The thing that I want my guys to understand is that there's a whole different level of intensity that you must play at, no matter where you are," Seltzer said. "Tonight, our guys had a chance to see how hard to have to play and how hard you have to compete. We need to compete a lot harder, no matter who we're playing."
 
Indiana (3-0) registered its third 100-point performance of the 2013-14 season Friday. On Nov. 8, in their season-opener, the Hoosiers downed Chicago State, 100-72. In three games this season, Indiana is averaging 93 points per contest.
 
Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting and knocked down five 3-point baskets. He also handed out a team-high six assists and pulled down three rebounds.
 
"Yogi is a very good player and he plays hard all the time that he's out on the court," Seltzer said. "He's also extremely athletic for a player of that size. He's definitely hard to guard."
 
Indiana also finished with four players scoring in double figures Friday. Ferrell easily led the way for the Hoosiers, while Noah Vonley added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and the duo of Troy Williams and Evan Gordon both finished with 10 points apiece.
 
Indiana shot a sizzling 57.1 percent from the field and outscored the Bulldogs, 56-22, in the paint. Samford only shot 29.9 percent from the floor, but did receive 24 points from its bench players.
 
"The athleticism on Indiana's team is completely off the charts," Seltzer said. "They are probably one of the most athletic teams out there. What's uncanny is that they are that big and that athletic at pretty much every position. That made it very difficult to deal with tonight."
 
The Bulldogs' Russell Wilson started at point guard Friday and handed out a game-high seven assists. Samford's speedy native of Lake Wales, Fla., didn't score against Indiana, but added a rebound and a blocked shot.
 
True freshman Brandon Roberts came off the bench for the Bulldogs and scored six points, while Hamilton Bailey, Jordan Capps, Eric Adams and Michael Bradley all finished with two points apiece.
 
Indiana led wire-to-wire and held a 51-point advantage with 3:33 remaining in the game. The Hoosiers used a key 14-0 run midway through the first half to build a momentum-sealing 26-6 lead.
 
Samford only shot 25.7 percent from the field in the first half and trailed Indiana, 54-25, at the intermission. The Hoosiers led by as many of 31 points in the opening period and had 11 players score at least two points in the first half. Indiana's Ferrell paced his squad with nine points and five assists.
 
The Bulldogs were led in the first 20 minutes of action by sophomore Tim Williams. Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, Ill., scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds in the opening period. He finished 3-of-6 from the field and connected on 3-of-4 free-throw attempts.
 
Samford's Hood scored five points in the first half Friday, while Isaiah Williams came off the bench to add four and Kelly knocked down a deep 3-point basket.
 
The Bulldogs turned in a 2-of-12 performance from 3-point range in the first half. Indiana also knocked down a pair of deep baskets and went 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.
 
Samford only committed eight turnovers in the first half, but was out-rebounded by the Hoosiers, 30-18. Indiana turned in 14 second-half points in the opening period and outscored the Bulldogs, 54-25, in the paint.
 
"There's no doubt that this six-game road trip is a tough stretch for us," Seltzer said. "But what we'll do is take tomorrow off, and then get ready to head to Monroe on Sunday. We're going to work this out and continue to improve each and every day in practice. I'm from the old school in that the only way you can get better is by working hard. That's exactly what we're going to do."
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Monroe, La., for a non-conference contest against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks to be held at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum.