Feb. 21, 2004

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - J. Robert Merritt and Tyson Dorsey combined for 11-of-20 from three-point range to help Samford snap a five-game losing streak with a 74-69 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon at Seibert Hall.

Merritt led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range and was 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Dorsey added 16 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting from long range. Phillip Ramelli iced the game for Samford (11-14, 6-8 OVC) making 9-of-10 free throws over the final two minutes. He finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Samford is now 8-0 in games televised by FOX Sports over the last five years.

"I give our guys a lot of credit down the stretch," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Tech made some big shots that we found away to overcome. Tyson (Dorsey) and J. Robert's (Merritt) ability to shot the ball in the second half gave us a lift and we did what we had to do to win and that was make free throws at the end."

Leigh Gayden scored 20 points off the bench for Tennessee Tech (13-12, 7-7 OVC). The Golden Eagles held a 36-0 advantage in points off the bench. Willie Jenkins and Keyon Boyd added 12 points while Cameron Crisp scored 11 points for the visitors.

Tennessee Tech held a 27-23 halftime lead but Samford began the second half with a 15-2 run to take its largest lead at 38-29 with 15:13 left to play. Gayden and Crisp led a Tech run that tied the game at 46 with 10:02 to play but Merritt answered with a three-pointer that put the Bulldogs back on top. Tech would claw to within one point on two occasions but each time Samford found Ramelli for a lay-up to move the lead back to three points.

Phillip Ramelli scored 19 points and iced the game at the free throw line

The teams traded three-point field goals as both teams shot the ball well in the second half. Tech went 8-of-14 from long range while Samford was 11-of-16 from three-point range in the second half. Both teams finished the game shooting 44 percent from the floor and 442 percent from three-point range.

Milone Clark hit a three with 36 seconds to play to make cut the Samford lead to 67-65 but Tech was forced to foul and the only player they could foul was Ramelli who scored the last seven points for the Bulldogs from the foul line.

The victory by Samford moves the Bulldogs into sixth place in the OVC standings just one game behind Tech. The Bulldogs will clinch a spot in the OVC tournament with a victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday or a loss by Eastern Illinois later tonight.

Samford will play its final regular season road game on Tuesday night at Jacksonville State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.