Samford expected to be a rebuilding team in 2007-08, and the Bulldogs were in many regards.

The Bulldogs (14-16, 10-10) were an up-and-down team most of the season, but the positive going into next year is they won three straight games down the stretch to make the OVC Tournament.

Samford was bounced from the OVC Tournament in the quarterfinals at Tennessee-Martin, 101-94 in triple overtime, in a game the Bulldogs could have won.

Another negative is Samford loses two quality seniors in center Travis Peterson and guard Joe Ross Merritt, who were the team's top scorers.

The Bulldogs will return a solid nucleus in 2008-09, although replacing Peterson's passing, scoring and defense will be difficult.

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