Nov. 29, 2008

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Samford University basketball team shot a season-low 18.8 percent from the field Saturday and turned the ball over 19 times in an excruciating 59-22 road loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Value City Arena.

"We just didn't have any answers for their size and their athleticism out there today," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "It seemed like the game lasted two weeks and that the TV timeouts were 10 minutes each. Ohio State is athletic, they are very good and they are very well-coached."

With the loss, Samford (3-2) dropped to 0-2 in road games this season. The Bulldogs are averaging 21.5 turnovers per game on the road this year and are only shooting 31.7 percent from the field when playing outside of the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford's 22 points scored Saturday was its lowest offensive output since a 35-21 defeat against Auburn on Feb. 19, 1941.

"Offensively, we just didn't have an answer for their match-up zone," Tillette said. "They are extremely big down low and then they were able to spread their other athletic guys outside to the wings. We have some good shooters, but today they weren't hitting their shots and our other guys weren't really able to slash to the goal."

Ohio State (3-0) extended its winning streak to three-consecutive games and was led in scoring by sophomore forward Evan Turner. Turner, the Buckeyes 6-foot-7 native of Chicago, earned a double-double in the contest as he also tallied 13 rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Forward Dallas Lauderdale added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for Ohio State in only 23 minutes of play. The Buckeyes' 6-foot-8 big man shot 4-of-7 from the field and was 2-for-3 from the free-throw line.

"Ohio State's guys are so athletic," said Tillette. "I've known (Ohio State head coach) Thad (Matta) for a long time and he always has good teams. They played well, they played smart and they are only going to get better."

Ohio State scored the first seven points of the game and then earned an early 13-4 advantage with 10:42 remaining in the opening period.

In the first half of play, the Buckeyes' B.J. Mullens led all scorers with eight points as Ohio State cruised to a 30-6 halftime lead. Samford's six points scored in the first half of play was the Bulldogs' lowest halftime score of the Tillette Era.

Samford only shot 13 percent (3-of-23) from the field in the first half and was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.

In the second half of play, the Bulldogs scored 16 points and shot 24 percent from the floor. Samford knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes of play, but finished 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.

"Actually, I thought that our guys competed better in the second half," said Tillette. "They competed all the way through to the end of the game, and it's no fun defending when you're down by 25 points, but I thought that they worked hard. Defensively, we limited them some. We just didn't have an answer for them on the offensive end."

Samford's Bryan Friday paced the team with eight points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. The 6-foot-6 forward scored four of the Bulldogs' six points in the first half.

Sophomore Gaby Bermudez finished second on the team in scoring with four points. He also pulled down a rebound.

The Samford basketball team will next be in action Saturday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m. (CST), as the Bulldogs play on the road against the Georgia Southern Eagles in their first Southern Conference game in school history. The SoCon opener will be held at Georgia Southern's Hanna Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.