Box Score
Box Score
Updated Stats

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Samford University basketball team turned in its best performance of the 2013-14 campaign Saturday, but dropped a heartbreaking 67-64 loss on the road against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in a First Bank and Trust Company Roundball Showcase contest held at E.A. Diddle Arena.
 
"I thought our guys competed and played hard tonight," said Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer. "Western Kentucky did what it took to win and they deserved to win. Nobody is feeling sorry for us right now and we're just going to continue to work hard. Everybody in that locker room tonight was hurting. We figured we could win this game. We played well, but we didn't win, so playing well doesn't matter when you don't win."
 
With just 1.3 seconds remaining, Samford (1-5) trailed Western Kentucky (3-1), 67-64, but had possession of the ball at midcourt. Junior Connor Miller took the ball out of bounds for the Bulldogs and fed a cross-court pass to Raijon Kelly where he picked up the ball just across the timeline.
 
Kelly, Samford's junior native of St. Paul, Minn., and the Bulldogs' last-second-shot specialist, gathered the pass on the right side of the court, took a quick dribble and lofted a possible game-tying attempt that nearly found the bottom of the net. Kelly's last-second shot bounced off the side of the rim as the Hilltoppers held on for a three-point victory, 67-64.
 
Samford used a stellar defensive performance midway through the second half to take a 51-43 advantage over the Hilltoppers with 8:08 remaining to play in the game. The Bulldogs forced WKU into eight turnovers during the five-minute stretch and embarked upon a key 12-0 run.
 
From 17:44 to 11:59 in the second half, Samford didn't allow a single Hilltopper point and received baskets of its own from Kelly, Michael Bradley, Tim Williams and Brandon Hayman. Kelly scored six of the first eight points of the rally, while it was Hayman's layup at 12:14 that gave the Bulldogs a 47-39 advantage.
 
WKU's T.J. Price connected on a running layup at 7:54 to break the Hilltoppers' 7:48 stretch without a field goal.
 
The Bulldogs forced WKU into a game-high 19 turnovers and finished Saturday's contest with nine steals. Samford turned in a sizzling 56-percent shooting performance from the field, but only knocked down a trio of 3-point baskets, all of which came off the hand of true freshman Isaiah Williams.
 
At the 7:54 mark in the second half, the Hilltoppers' T.J. Price knocked down a runner and then a deep 3-point basket to trim Samford's lead to 51-48 with 6:18 remaining in the game.
 
On the next two possessions, WKU's George Fant scored four straight points to tie the score at 52-52 before Brandon Price connected on a 3-point basket to give the Hilltoppers a 55-52 advantage.
 
Down the stretch, Samford's Isaiah Williams would tie the score again at 57-57, while Tyler Hood and Kelly would score layups to trim the WKU advantage to one point.
 
With four seconds in the game, T.J. Price made a pair of free throws to give the Hilltoppers their 67-64 lead before Kelly's final game-tying attempt.
 
The Bulldogs outshot WKU on Saturday, 56.0 percent to 48.9 percent, and finished tied in the rebound battle, 24-24. Additionally, Samford outscored the Hilltoppers in points in the paint, 42-26, points off turnovers, 22-18, and second-chance points, 13-5.
 
The only two categories that WKU excelled in were free-throw shooting, 15-of-20, and 3-point shooting, 8-of-21. The Bulldogs finished the contest with a 5-of-9 mark from the charity stripe and a 3-of-9 performance from beyond the arc.
 
"The free throws were definitely the difference in the game," said Seltzer. "They shot 20 free throws tonight and we only shot nine, but we definitely had our opportunities to win."
 
Isaiah Williams led the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Samford's freshman from Buford, Ga., also handed out three assists and grabbed two rebounds in the second start of his young collegiate career.
 
"Isaiah played well tonight and he's looking better as the year goes on," said Seltzer. "I also thought that Brandon Hayman gave us some good minutes off the bench and Michael Bradley also gave us some quality minutes as well. I think we are starting to find a pretty good rotation."
 
The Bulldogs' Tim Williams followed with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Kelly added 10 points and four steals in 31 minutes off the bench. Bradley scored a season-high seven points Saturday as Hood and Hayman also chipped in with six points apiece.
 
"Michael had a good game tonight and we know he's going to have to play that way this season if we're going to be successful," Seltzer said. "We have a very young team, but we're seeing improvement. We're not near where we want to be yet, but we're starting to see some glimpses of what we eventually want to be out there on the court."
 
T.J. Price led all scorers with 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. WKU's junior guard from Slidell, La., also made four 3-point baskets and finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Fant proved to be the Hilltoppers' second-leading scorer with 17 points.
 
Samford had eight players score in the first half and were being paced by Isaiah Williams, Russell Wilson and Bradley with five points apiece. At the intermission, the Bulldogs trailed WKU, 34-31, as T.J. Price knocked down a 3-point basket from the right flank at the buzzer.
 
Price led the Hilltoppers with 15 points and four rebounds in the first half. Fant also added nine points in the opening period for WKU.
 
Both teams shot at least 50 percent from the field in the first half, but the Hilltoppers added a 40-percent outing from beyond the arc. Nigel Snipes and T.J. Price both connected on a pair of 3-point baskets in the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Samford only attempted three 3-point baskets in the first half as true freshman Isaiah Williams knocked down a key 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down.
 
WKU improved to 8-0 all-time against Samford, while the Bulldogs dropped to 0-5 when playing in E.A. Diddle Arena.
 
"As a team, we're going to get back home, get back in the gym and continue to work hard each and every day," said Seltzer. "We have had three great days of practice here on the road and we're asking these guys to do something that a lot of teams are not doing, and that's playing six straight road games, so we're getting that experience. In league play, it's these experiences that will help our guys to overcome any adversity."
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their arduous six-game road stretch against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in a Roundball Showcase matchup to be held at William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Box Score
Updated Stats