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Updated Samford Stats

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- In the opening game of the 2013 First Bank and Trust Company Roundball Showcase held Thursday at Freedom Hall, the Samford University basketball team dropped an 89-75 decision versus the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.
 
With 13:15 left in the game, Samford (1-4) held a seven-point advantage over East Tennessee State (1-4), 54-47. The Bulldogs led 37-34 at the intermission and then opened the second half of play in a good rhythm by knocking down five of their first eight shots of the period.
 
Raijon Kelly, Samford's junior guard from St. Paul, Minn., drained a 17-footer from the top of the key to give the Bulldogs their seven-point advantage.
 
At that point, the Buccaneers called timeout and subsequently went on a 16-2 run to take a 63-56 advantage in the game with 8:52 remaining to play. During ETSU's second-half rally, A.J. Merriweather and Rashawn Rembert both scored five points, while Lester Wilson and Kinard Gadsden-Gillard tallied three points apiece.
 
"That was a tough stretch for us," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "Our shots weren't falling at that time, but you can't always count on your shots falling. The worst thing for us during that stretch was that we gave up four or five consecutive offensive rebounds. I thought we did an outstanding job of rebounding in the first half, but in that second-half stretch they got a number of offensive rebounds and were able to capitalize on them."
 
Samford true freshman Jordan Capps scored three of his five points on an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 5:35 mark in the game to trim ETSU's lead to 68-63. The Buccaneers then answered with a jumper from Wilson and 3-point basket from Jalen Riley to move their advantage back to 10 at 73-63.
 
From that point in the game, Samford would never come any closer than eight points.
 
ETSU finished Thursday's contest with five players scoring in double figures. Wilson came off the bench to score a team-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Buccaneers, while Gadsden-Gilliard added 18 and Riley chipped in with 16.
 
Riley, ETSU's junior guard, scored all 16 of his points in the second half and knocked down 11-of-13 free throws down the stretch.
 
Merriweather and Rembert rounded out the Buccaneers scoring with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Gadsden-Gilliard finished Thursday's contest with a game-high 12 rebounds to register the night's lone double-double.
 
"Midway through the second half, ETSU switched from man-to-man to a zone defense and it changed the flow of the game a little bit, but that was exactly what we were expecting them to do," Seltzer said. "Nothing happened in this game that we didn't prepare for and that we didn't expect. The thing that tilted the game against us tonight was offensive rebounds and that was something that we stressed, talked about and worked on extensively over the course of these last few days."
 
Samford shot a solid 46.3 percent from the field, but only 43.3 percent in the second half, as compared to a brilliant 50-percent mark in the opening 20 minutes of action.
 
The Bulldogs were led in both scoring and rebounding by sophomore forward Tim Williams, who accumulated 21 points and seven boards. Samford's talented native of Chicago, Ill., is now averaging 14.6 points per game this season.
 
Kelly followed with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor and connected on 6-of-7 of his free-throw attempts. He also pulled down three rebounds and handed out a trio of assists.
 
Samford's Isaiah Williams, who earned the first start of his young, five-game collegiate career Thursday, tallied nine points, a rebound and an assist, while junior guard Connor Miller drained a trio of 3-point baskets for nine points. Miller also grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot.
 
"Isaiah is a freshman and he's still learning," Seltzer said. "With him in a starting role now, this is just going to speed his learning curve up a little bit."
 
ETSU held a 42-11 advantage in bench scoring and out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 41-28. The Buccaneers also led, 17-5, in second-chance points, while Samford gained the advantage in points off turnovers, 13-4.
 
The Bulldogs only committed eight turnovers Thursday.
 
With Thursday's loss, Samford moved to 0-3 all-time against ETSU and fell to 0-1 in the 2013 First Bank and Trust Company Roundball Showcase.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their six-game road stretch in Bowling Green, Ky., with another key contest against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to be held at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Box Score
Updated Samford Stats