EIU falls to Samford

Posted February 05, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Travis Peterson scored a season-high 24 points in leading Samford to a 65-52 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

With the win, Samford (11-12, 8-7 Ohio Valley) earned back-to-back victories for the first time since Dec. 15.

Eastern Illinois (4-18, 3-11) had its own two-game winning streak snapped with the loss.

Peterson, the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 points, led all players, while Joe Ross Merritt followed with 12 and Trey Montgomery added 10.

After a slow first half, Samford ended up shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also finished with 89.5 percent in free-throw shooting, after going 17-of-19.

Jon'Tee Willhite led the Panthers with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Julio Anthony followed with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.