Nov 14, 2001

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Erwin Dudley scored 15 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 24 Alabama beat Samford 83-51 Wednesday night in the second round of the Guardians Classic.

Kenny Walker scored 12 points, Rod Grizzard and Demetrius Smith each scored 11, and Antoine Pettway added 10 to help Alabama (2-0) advance to the tournament semifinals next Tuesday.

Sebastian Sachse led Samford (1-1) with 11 points and Eddie Harper added 10.

The Crimson Tide finished the game shooting 52 percent to Samford's 39 percent and outrebounded the Bulldogs 40 to 23, including 24 offensive boards. The Bulldogs played better offensively in the second half, shooting 46 percent from the field and from the three-point line, but they could not overcome the deficit created by mistakes such as tallying 19 turnovers to only nine assists.

Samford defeated Alabama 79-67 in Coleman Coliseum on Dec. 2, 1999, but the Tide would have none of a repeat performance on Wednesday. Samford led 8-6 with five minutes gone in the opening half, but Alabama dominated for 11 of the next 15 minutes, putting two runs on the Bulldogs of 17-0 and 10-0 to take a commanding 39-17 halftime lead.

Samford did not score a point for more than seven minutes in the first run beginning at 11:25, and fired blanks again for the last 3:00 as the Tide scored 10 unanswered. Turnovers were the Bulldogs' undoing in the first 20 minutes as Samford scored 17 points on five field goals while committing 13 turnovers. Samford shot 28 percent to Alabama's 50 percent and scored its lowest point total in a half since tallying 18 points in the second half against Jacksonville in the 2001 Trans America Athletic Conference Touranament.

Dudley led Alabama with eight rebounds and Walker had seven as the Crimson Tide outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-23. Pettway had five assists.

Samford got the most production from its younger players, specifically sophomores Sachse and Harper. The Bulldogs' seniors, Corey Green and Chris Weaver, fired a combined 4-for-22 from the field and scored a total of 13 points. Green added a team-high six rebounds for the second time this season. Junior Cornell Felton added nine points.

Samford returns to Seibert Hall for its home opener against Louisiana-Monroe at 2 p.m. on Nov. 17.