Feb. 5, 2004

Box Score

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - In a double overtime contest full of heart stopping action Tennessee Tech escaped with a 90-83 Ohio Valley Conference victory despite a career-high 22 point effort from Samford senior Eddie Harper Thursday night.

"This was a great college basketball game. Two teams as good as any with it coming down to the wire. Samford was as good a team as we have played and this is a good win. Cameron (Crisp) played well tonight. Our fans continue to be the sixth man in the game and we need them. They have been great." Coach Mike Sutton commented after the game.

The Bulldogs (10-10, 5-4 OVC) started the second overtime missing a pair of free throws and putting Willie Jenkins on the line for two. Jenkins made one giving the Golden Eagles (11-9, 5-4 OVC) their first lead since the two-minute mark of the second half. Samford went ahead one on a pair of free throws with 3:30 remaining in the overtime period. Jenkins went to the line for three shots, making two of the three and putting the Golden Eagles within one. Crisp came through again giving Tech an 80-78 lead with two minutes to go. Will Moore sank a pair of free throws putting Tech up four with 1:30 to play. Tech didn't look back using lay-ups and free throws to gain the final margin of victory.

Samford opened the first overtime with a three pointers and got out to a five-point lead. A three pointer by Jenkins and tenacious defense which led to a Will Moore lay-up tied the game again at 70. A free throw put the Bulldogs up one point and a three pointer by Phillip Ramelli gave them the four-point advantage. A pair of free throws by Crisp brought Tech within two. As 12.5 seconds remained on the clock Tech took a thirty second timeout to plan the final shot of the game. Crisp took it tying the game again.

On the road we didn't finish the game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We had two opportunities to win the game and we did not finish the possession. I thought Sebastain Sachse showed great character and did a great job helping us comeback in the second half.

In the second half both teams got off to slow start but the defense of the Golden Eagles prevailed creating offense and extending the lead to eight points with 12 minutes remaining in the game. Tech extended the lead to as many as 12 before a Bulldog comeback led by J. Merritt and Tyson Dorsey brought Samford to within three points with just over five minutes remaining.

A three pointer by Harper put the Bulldogs up one point with three minutes to go and Samford extended the lead to as many as four. Crisp's putback brought the game back to within one with 29.5 seconds on the clock. Tech's press forced a Samford timeout, as they were unable to get the ball in. Samford held a two point lead with 12.4 seconds remaining as Tech had the ball for the final possession. Jenkins tipped the ball in after three attempts with .2 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime with the score tied at 62.

Phillip Ramelli finished with 18 points while J. Robert Merritt and Tyson Dorsey each had 14 points for the Bulldogs.

Joining Crisp and Jenkins in double figures were Clark with 15, Boyd with 13, and 10 from Moore. The golden Eagles out rebounded the Bulldogs by nine and 45 percent for the game. The Bulldogs put four players in double figures led by Harper with 22, Ramelli with 18, and Merritt and Dorsey with 14 each. Samford hit 15 three-pointers in the game.

After a blistering 13-0 run by the Bulldogs to begin the game, the Golden Eagles responded with 9-0 run of their own highlighted by a pair of Keyon Boyd lay-ups. A pair of Cameron Crisp three-pointers from the left side in almost identical spots gave the Golden Eagles their first lead at 17-15. Tech's defense produced three steals and four defensive rebounds during the run. Milone Clarks dunk energized the crowd as the Golden Eagles held Samford scoreless for just over four minutes.

The Bulldogs grabbed a two-point lead until the Golden Eagles returned to beyond the arc taking a six-point lead with back-to-back three pointers. Samford tied the score at 29 with 2:30 remaining in the half. Tech's defense came through again as the Golden Eagles went the locker room with a 34-32 lead. Tech was lead by Crisp who finished with a game high 12 points in the half.

Samford will return to action on Saturday as it travels to conference leading Austiin Peay on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.