The men's basketball team notched a 65-52 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers at home on Saturday despite several injuries.
The team shot 2-of-11 beyond the three-point line in the first half and 8-of-12 in the second. Samford also shot 17-of-19 from the free throw line, sealing the game late.
"I thought that all-in-all the second half was an outstanding performance for us," Head Coach Jimmy Tillette said.
Senior center Travis Peterson led all scorers with a season-high 24 points. He also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career, making him the 21st player to do so in school history.
"During the game I actually forgot all about it until they announced it (over the PA system)," Peterson said. "Then I looked and saw that I had more than 16 points, so it was a good thing."
The Bulldogs finished with three players scoring in the double figures, including Peterson, senior guard Joe Ross Merritt with 12 and freshman guard Trey Montgomery with 10.
One week ago, the team experienced a low point in their season.
The Bulldogs fell to the Murray State Racers 62-34 on Jan. 29, and they recorded their lowest point total since Nov. 16, 2005.
Following that stinging defeat, the Bulldogs won back-to-back OVC games for the first time this season. Samford last won back-to-back regular-season games on Dec. 15 against Reinhardt, who competes at the NAIA level.
"We've definitely been playing (better) since the Murray (State) game," Tillette said. "We worked really hard, and I think that has helped us get ready for these last couple games.
"We needed to play more physical, so in practice I wasn't going to baby them," he said.
It was during one of those practices last Wednesday, sandwiched between three games in five days, that redshirt freshman guard Gaby Bermudez dislocated his shoulder. Bermudez is out for the season.
Senior guard Curtis West, who has not played since the team's Nov. 26 loss to Lipscomb, will also remain sidelined for the rest of the season with an injured shoulder.
Freshman guard Josh Bedwell, the team's leading three-point shooter at 43 percent, suffered a high-ankle sprain Jan. 31 against Tennessee State. Bedwell missed Saturday's home game against Eastern Illinois and is doubtful for this Saturday's game at Austin Peay.
This most recent win gives the Bulldogs a winning OVC record at 8-7, the first time they have held a winning conference record since being 4-3 on Jan. 10.
As of Tuesday evening, Samford's 8-7 conference mark puts the Bulldogs in fifth place in the eleven-team conference.
Samford is a part of a six-team log jam clogging the belly of the conference standings. The Bulldogs are within one game of hosting a first-round OVC Tournament game or missing the field completely.
Maintaining or improving their position may prove daunting. All three of Samford's next conference opponents, Austin Peay, Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky, are ahead of Samford in the OVC standings.
Four of the five OVC teams left on the regular-season schedule have a .500 conference record or better.
The Bulldogs are taking a week off from competition before traveling to Clarksville, Tenn., to battle the first-place Austin Peay Governors.
2008 Woodie Awards
