BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- In its lone exhibition game of the 2010-11 preseason Monday, the Samford University basketball team exploded offensively in the second half of play en route to a 72-47 victory against the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford outscored Lindsey Wilson 48-26 in the second period and knocked down 76.9 percent of its attempts from 3-point range. The Bulldogs led 24-21 at the intermission despite only shooting 16.7 percent from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of play.
"I thought we started the game a little too nervous and we tried the score the ball too quickly early on," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Even though we are running more this year, which we like, we still need to follow the mantra of slow down, shoot less and score more, so I thought we were much more comfortable with our pace in the second half."
The Bulldogs' Josh Bedwell led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. Samford's senior guard from Hartselle, Ala., knocked down a pair of key 3-point baskets early in the second half and added two rebounds.
Junior forward John Peterson followed with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor for the Bulldogs. A native of Boca Raton, Fla., Peterson added four rebounds and an assist in only 18 minutes of playing time.
Senior forward Josh Davis, junior guard Kaylin Johnson and sophomore guard Gregg Wooten all added nine points apiece for Samford on Monday. Johnson, the Bulldogs' speedy native of Baton Rouge, La., also pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
"I thought that Kaylin played very well for us tonight," Tillette said. "I also thought that John Peterson came off the bench to give us a lift, and in the second half Josh Bedwell and Josh Davis both played very well. So, we actually had a bunch of different guys step up for us tonight."
Lindsey Wilson was led in scoring by a trio of players that finished with eight points each. Senior guard Jeremiah Diebler tallied his eight points by shooting 3-of-7 from the field, while Brandon Clemons was 2-of-6 from the floor and Charles Baker registered a 3-of-7 shooting performance from the field. Baker did add four rebounds, an assist and a steal for the Blue Raiders.
On Saturday, in its first exhibition game of the 2010-11 campaign, Lindsey Wilson dropped a hard-fought 75-66 loss at Mississippi State. After going toe-to-toe with the Southeastern Conference foe for 37 minutes, the Blue Raiders were unable to score during the final three minutes of play en route to a nine-point defeat.
Against Mississippi State, Lindsey Wilson led by as many as seven points in the opening half before a Bulldog rally cut the lead to 36-34 at the break. The Blue Raiders held a 66-64 lead over Mississippi State with 3:25 left, but they would go the final three minutes and change without scoring in the game.
"Lindsey Wilson is a good team and it's a good game for us, because they play very physical," Tillette said. "People are going to play us really physical this year so that was a good preparation for Friday's season opener and for the rest of the season."
In the first half of Monday's exhibition game, Samford shot 40.9 percent from the field, but was only 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. Lindsey Wilson jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the contest before the Bulldogs rallied to take an 18-11 advantage following a 3-point shot from Will Cook with 6:11 to play until halftime.
The Blue Raiders would later bounce back to trim Samford's lead to 24-21 at the half.
Early in the second half, the Bulldogs used a quick 18-6 run to take a 48-30 advantage with 13:31 to play. During Samford's scoring outburst, Bedwell knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets, while Davis, Johnson and Drew Windler all added deep 3s of their own.
The Bulldogs used the momentum to lead by as many as 66-37 in the final period.
A total of 11 players scored for Samford on Monday, while all 14 members of the roster earned minutes in the game.
"Our depth will be a big factor for us this season," said Tillette. "In all of my years, I've never had a team where the difference between our A and our B guys is nil, so in fact we can put 11 or 12 guys on the floor every night, and whoever is playing the best will get those minutes."
The Samford University men's basketball team will next be in action Friday at 6:05 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Youngstown, Ohio, for a season-opening road matchup versus the Youngstown State Penguins. The game will be held at Youngstown State's Beeghly Center (6,300).