The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
4-3
Samford
6-3
Men's Basketball defeats Samford, 59-49
12.04.2015 | Men's Basketball
Ridley posts team-high 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the victory.
AUSTIN, Texas – Senior center Cameron Ridley recorded a team-high 14 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocked shots to lead Texas to a 59-49 victory against Samford at the Frank Erwin Center on Friday night. Ridley hit 7-of-10 field goals in 26 minutes, while senior guard Javan Felix added 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc.
Christen Cunningham led Samford (6-3) with a team-high 16 points and three assists in 35 minutes. Wyatt Walker drained 6-of-7 shots from the field, finishing with 14 points and five rebounds.
Felix put Texas (4-3) ahead early by sinking back-to-back 3-pointers in the first minute of the game. Texas went on a 10-0 run while holding the Bulldogs scoreless over a 7:35 stretch to extend its lead to 24-13. The Texas defense held Samford to 30.7-percent shooting (8-of-26) to head into the half with a 30-20 advantage.
After conceding the first two points of the second half, the Longhorns scored the next 10 points, including a monster dunk from Ridley off a beautiful inbounds pass from Kerwin Roach, Jr., to extend their lead to 40-22 with 14:40 left in the game. Texas held Samford scoreless while forcing five turnovers over a span of 6:22.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to as little as eight (47-39) following a pair of free throws from Cunningham with 7:13 left. Texas extended the lead back into double-digits (52-39) following a Ridley jumper and a three-pointer from Felix.
The Texas defense excelled yet again by holding its opponent to a season-low 49 points. The Bulldogs shot just 34-percent overall on 17-of-50 from the field, including an 18.8-percent from behind the three-point line (3-of-16). The Longhorns outrebounded the Bulldogs by a 32-27 margin.
Texas will play the third game of a five-game homestand against UTSA on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Central at the Frank Erwin Center, and the game will be televised nationally on Longhorn Network.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 59, Samford 49
December 4, 2015
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 10,762
Team Notes
UT improved to 194-26 at the Erwin Center in the last 14 seasons (dating back to the start of the 2002-03 season). Texas is 3-0 at home this year.
Texas held Samford to just 49 points on 34.0% FG shooting (17-of-50), including a 3-of-16 (.188) mark from three-point range.
Samford set UT opponent team season lows in points (49), field goals made (17) and assists (nine) and tied a season low in three-pointers made (three)
Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the fifth time this season and 48th time in his career (106 games)
He is now just 35 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point milestone (954 career points).
Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the fifth time this season and 37th time in his career (109 games)
Texas vs. Samford Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Shaka Smart
On success of press this season: We are so far away from where we want to be with that. We did some good things with it, got our hands on the basketball. We are trying to get these guys an understanding of the way we want to do things. When we do decide to press, we aren't going to press for the whole game. But we use the press to extend the floor and want to get something out of it.
On progress of Cameron Ridley: Cam has made a lot of progress. The vast majority of that goes to Cam. Our strength coach (Daniel Roose) has done a nice job setting up a plan and our nutritionist (Amy Culp) has worked with him on what to eat and what not to eat. Cam has gotten in better and better shape and he is a really good player. I am probably the one who thinks that he can be much, much better than he is right now. But right now, he's playing better than anybody for us, and we need to continue to find ways to give him the basketball.
On getting back-to-back wins for first time at Texas: It took too long, but we can't focus on the past. We have to keep moving forward and getting better. The positive I take out of tonight is that we emphasized getting stops, and there were stretches in tonight's game where we carried that over. We were able to get three stops in a row seven times during the game, and that is usually a recipe for success. Clearly, in addition to that there are areas for us to grow and get better. I really make sure we're measuring our team against what we can be and what we need to be rather than the opponent we are playing that day.
On Kerwin Roach: He is such a good athlete. He is a guy that once a play opens up, he is going to do something special. The thing I am excited about with him is you can see his progression as a player. Our first game in China, he was walking around on eggshells it seemed. He was a little nervous and then he settled down. He has a lot of areas to make progress in, but the exciting thing is he has one of the highest ceilings of anyone on our team.
Texas Senior G Demarcus Holland
On the back-to-back wins: We still are adapting but we're rebounding better and getting more stops on defense. It is a process, so it's going to take us more than two games to start to click.
On the full court pressure: Yes, I think that's how Shaka wants us to play. We just need to pressure the other team and make them make mistakes. We need to capitalize on those mistakes.
On the overall improvement of the team: I don't think it's just tonight. I think game-by-game we've been improving. We are learning where to be and timing and following the right instincts.
On your role on the team: Be a glue guy, be a defender. Do all of the small things and be a leader. I don't think that has ever changed. It's just adjusting with pressuring more. We're getting better at that every game, and I'm getting better at that every game.
Texas Senior C Cameron Ridley
On your energy all night: Yes, I feel like I'm in much better shape. That's something I worked on all off-season and during the summer. I just come out and try to play my hardest.
On your offensive rebounds: As a big man, it's my job to crash the glass and chase every rebound. So I always start the game by going for the offensive rebound.
Samford Head Coach Scott Padgett
Opening Statement: I was really proud of our guys, their heart, their fight. Obviously when we play a team like this, the size and athleticism is a huge difference. I thought a big fact in the game was the 6 foot-11, 290-pound monster [Cameron Ridley] in the middle that requires so much attention and opened so many things up for him. He went to work and he battled. What was interesting, that a guy that big at some point he has to fight. I put three or four centers on him that he would wear down. But he kept wanting the ball and he kept fighting for the ball. It put a lot of stress on our zone. Even when they drove our five-man, not wanting to get off his body, a couple times down the lane. Every time the ball goes up on a missed shot, he is a horse to try to box out with one or two guys. I really like our fight and our effort. Offensively, we obviously struggle. I think that we were 3-for-16 from the three and probably about eight or nine of those were good looks that we weren't even really close on that we have been making lately. I think we have been shooting 39-percent on our last five games. Maybe a couple of those go down and it's a closer game. I thought the run they had in the second half was probably the difference in the game. We scored right away on the first play. We cut it down to eight. Then they went down and scored and got into our press. We struggled in the press for two or three minutes and it was enough to get them a run to get them ahead by 18, and that was probably enough to hold us the rest of the game. You got to give them credit when they needed to make a big shot, it seems like they made it. [Javan] Felix from Texas hit it in the corner and I think [Connor] Lammert off a pick-and-roll that we didn't talk well on it. When he did get the open one, he knocked it down. I think we did a pretty good job of challenging most of his shots, but when he needed to get a big shot he hit it. But like I said, I am overall happy with the effort. Obviously, we need to shoot the ball better than we did tonight.
On shot performance in middle stretch of the game: I think there is something to it that they played good defense and did a good job staying between us. Our two guards can basically beat anyone off the dribble and get in the lane. Their guards did a good job of fighting over screens and through screens and staying in contact with our guy. Texas didn't have to help as much. They helped a little, but not as much off the shooter so when we kick (it out), the (defender) is there in time to challenge the shot. I also thought part of the deal was our best player is Darius Jones-Gibson, and he got in a little foul trouble. I had him sitting there and then he got another foul earlier in the second half to get his fourth and I had to sit him. Whether he is scoring or not, he is a guy that you have to account for defensively and him not being on the floor hurts us. That was because they did a good job of attacking him on the other end. In a perfect world instead of being 3-for16, maybe 7-for16, but that had to do with the Texas defense.
