Click here for box score!
RICHMOND, Ky. – The visiting Samford Bulldogs shot a season-best 58.5 percent from the floor and came away with a 64-57 victory over the Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team Saturday night in McBrayer Arena. Samford (8-10, 5-5 OVC) ended a three-game losing streak and moved into a tie with the Colonels (8-10, 5-5) in the league standings.
The Bulldogs' Bryan Friday finished with a career-high 18 points while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Three other Samford players recorded double-figure points, including Trey Montgomery who posted 12 points and a personal-best eight assists.
Junior
Mike Rose scored almost half of the Colonel points as the forward netted a career-high 28 points. Sophomore
Adam Leonard was the only other EKU player in double figures with 10 tallies.
Eastern Kentucky controlled the action throughout most of the first half as the Colonels went 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from behind the arc. The host team ended the half with eight straight points, capped by a Rose steal and breakaway bucket, to take a 34-25 lead into intermission.
Rose's 20th point of the evening with 18:36 remaining gave Eastern its largest advantage of the contest, 39-29. From there, Samford's three-point shooting helped the Bulldogs quickly erase the deficit. Long-range jumpers from Gaby Bermudez, Montgomery and Friday were part of an 11-0 run for Samford to give the Bulldogs a 40-39 lead.
After exchanging the lead a few more times, Samford took the lead for good when a Joe Ross Merritt three-pointer put the Bulldogs ahead, 50-49, with 7:22 left. Samford connected on three-pointers on its next two trips down the court as well to push the lead to five points, 56-51, with five minutes remaining. Eastern Kentucky would not get closer than three points the rest of the way.
As a team, Samford shot 63.6 percent (14-of-22) in the final 20 minutes and hit 7-of-14 (50 percent) three-point attempts.
The Colonels hit the road for their next three games starting with Tennessee State on Thursday, Jan. 24. The Tigers are the only OVC team EKU has yet to play. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m.
