Dec 22, 2003

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -Sean Banks converted a lay-up with 19.3 seconds remaining and Jerry Smith missed the front end of a one and one with 4.6 seconds as Memphis escaped with a 63-62 victory over Samford on Monday night at the Pyramid.

Samford (4-5) had a six-point lead, 59-53, with 2:57 left to play. Tyson Dorsey missed the front end of a one and one and Antonio Burks nailed a three-pointer with 2:23 to play to cut the Bulldog lead in half. Burks then made a steal and a lay-up at the 1:46 mark to make it a one-point game.

After a five-second call on the Bulldogs, Banks drained a three-pointer with a 1:33 left to cap an 8-0 run and give Memphis (6-2) a 61-59 lead.

Smith answered with a clutch three-pointer from the right wing to put the Bulldogs up one with 1:04 remaining. After a missed three-pointer by the Tigers and a turnover by the Bulldogs, Samford called a time out with 24.8 second remaining.

Out of the timeout, Banks found himself open on the baseline and Burks found him with a pass for the game-winner at the 19 second mark.

Burks committed a foul on a steal attempt to send the freshman Smith to the line. Samford was 8-14 (57 percent) from the line in the game. Smith missed the front end and Banks grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 3.5 left. Banks missed both of his free throw attempts as Memphis finished 9-19 (47 percent) from the stripe. Dorsey grabbed the rebound but lost control of the ball as the buzzer sounded.

"Tonight was a situation where we came to Memphis, played in front of a hostile crowd and Memphis did not beat us, we lost the game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Think of the implications of that. To be in a position to win the game is a step forward for us. We were not in this position at Purdue or Ohio State."

Phillip Ramelli had a career-high 23 points, pulled down five rebounds, and handed out five assists for the Bulldogs.

"Phillip was a man tonight," said Tillette. "Particularly coming off an injury, he was not 100 percent, but he played really well."

It was Ramelli and J. Robert Merritt that kept the game from getting away in the first half. Memphis began the game on a 7-0 run before Ramelli and Merritt would score 17 of the Bulldogs first 20 points.

Merritt was the only other Bulldog to finish in double figures with 13 points. With the Bulldogs trailing 12-3, Samford went on a 15-2 run to take an 18-14 lead with 9:32 remaining in the half. Rodney Carney ended a six and a half minute Memphis scoreless streak with a basket at the 9:07 mark.

The Bulldogs would lead by as many as five points 25-20 with 2:51 left in the half before the Tigers ended the half on a 6-2 run to close the Bulldog advantage to 27-26 at halftime.

Memphis would lead by as many as six points 39-33 with 14:39 left to play. Burks led the Tigers with 20 points while Jeremy Hunt added 11 points for the home team.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the second half 44-42 on a Dorsey three-pointer with 9:44 to play. Samford would hold the lead for the next 8:11 and would lead by as many as seven at 54-47 with 5:29 to play.

Samford shot 55 percent from the floor and 46 percent from three-point range in defeat and out-rebounded the Tigers 30-22. Memphis shot 58 percent in the second half to finish the game at 50 percent and finished the game 6-17 (35 percent) from long range. The Tigers forced 17 Samford turnovers.

Smith led the Bulldogs with a career-high seven rebounds from his point-guard position.

Samford will take eight days off for Christmas before returning to action on Dec. 30, at Oklahoma State in a 7 p.m. game.