Feb. 17, 2005

Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University basketball team was outscored 41-29 in the second half of play on Thursday as the Bulldogs dropped a 76-60 decision on the road against the streaky Austin Peay Governors here in Dave Aaron Arena.

"That was probably one of the least representative performances from our team this season," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We didn't seem to be emotionally invested in the game and I have to wonder if what happened with Jon (Mills) and Randall (Gulina) last week had something to do with how we played."

Mills, the Bulldogs forward from Winfield, Ala., suffered an eye injury against Morehead State on Saturday and missed a couple of practices this week. The 6-6 senior missed his first start of the season against Austin Peay (11-15, 9-5 OVC) on Thursday and only played four minutes.

Gulina also missed a couple of practices heading into the game due to the unfortunate passing of his grandmother. The Bulldogs' 6-1 guard from Baton Rouge, La., scored eight points in 23 minutes of play on Thursday.

Samford (14-10, 9-4 OVC) dropped its third-consecutive contest on the road and fell to a 3-3 record when playing away from Seibert Hall this season.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by junior J. Robert Merritt's 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. Senior Bryan Boerjan finished the game with 14 points and connected on a career-high six free throws in the second half. Samford's 6-7 forward from Rock Falls, Ill., also shot 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs will conclude its two-game road trip on Saturday as they travel to Cookeville, Tenn., for a matchup against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., at the Eblen Center.

Austin Peay won its fifth-consecutive game at home on Thursday and earned its sixth victory in their previous eight contests. The Governors were led by a career-high 27 points from senior Anthony Davis and a 4-of-8 3-point shooting performance from Maurice Hampton.

Davis also finished with a game-high six rebounds, while Hampton drained three-consecutive 3-point shots early in the second half to extend Austin Peay's lead to 11 points with 11:42 remaining in the contest. The Governors' 6-2 junior finished with 17 points and five rebounds.

At the half, Austin Peay held a slight 35-31 advantage in the contest behind 14 first-half points from Davis.

Davis, the Governors' senior leader from Inglewood, Calif., finished 6-of-9 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play and connected on two of his three 3-point attempts of the half. He ended the game 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Samford scored the final five points of the first half to cut its deficit to four points.

The Bulldogs' Boerjan drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 30.6 seconds remaining to make the score, 35-28, and then Jerry Smith hit 2-of-3 free throws with all zeros left on the clock to bring the score to 35-31. With only five seconds remaining in the half, Smith corralled an errant Governor pass, hurried the ball up the court and was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Tomas Janusauskas.

Austin Peay's head coach Dave Loos was assessed a technical foul for arguing the call. The Bulldogs' Merritt hit both free throws to start the second half of play and cut the deficit to 35-33.

With the score at its closest point since the 14:51 mark in the first half, the Governors went on a 13-2 run over 4:31 seconds to bring their lead to 48-35. Austin Peay continued to gather the home-court momentum and outscored the Bulldogs, 41-29, in the second half.

Samford committed 20 turnovers and shot 26.3 percent from 3-point range. The Governors turned the ball over a comparable 17 times, but shot a stellar 53.3 percent from beyond the arc.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs complete their critical two-game OVC road trip against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m., in Cookeville, Tenn. Samford defeated the Golden Eagles, 64-57, in the teams' first matchup of the 2005 season on Feb. 3.