Dec. 29, 2006

Box Score

BATON ROUGE - The Samford University basketball team trailed by only two points, 38-36, with 12:08 to go in the second half against 17th-ranked LSU on Friday before the homestanding Tigers used a late 19-7 run to post a 60-45 victory in the final game of the 2006 Hispanic College Funds Classic.

The Bulldogs' Randall Gulina led the team with 14 points Friday and earned all-tournament honors after averaging 15.3 points per game throughout the three-day competition.

Gulina currently leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring with 19.1 points per game.

"I thought we played a lot better tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "It was a step in the right direction for us. We definitely competed better than we did yesterday and I was pleased with the way that we started the game. LSU is a tough team and is very hard to play against. Glen Davis is obviously a pro, as is Tasmin Mitchell and possibly Darnell Lazarre."

Samford (6-6) concluded its month-long, seven-game road trip Friday and will return to Birmingham for an OVC matchup against Tennessee Tech on Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs concluded their arduous December road swing with a 4-3 record.

LSU (10-3) was led in scoring by tournament MVP Glen "Big Baby" Davis. The Tigers' junior finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. He also grabbed nine rebounds in a game-high 38 minutes of play.

The Bulldogs shot 44.7 percent from the field and finished the game with a 41.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. LSU was 62.5 percent from 3-point range and shot at a 55.8 clip from the floor.

Samford was out-rebounded 25-17, but held the Tigers without any fast-break points.

"They took us out of our rhythm a little bit, but I thought that we only really took two bad shots in our offense," said Tillette. "I thought that Jerry Smith played well. He had some turnovers tonight, but on the other hand, sometimes guys aren't always open. He's struggling a little bit offensively, but I think that he'll be fine."

After junior Travis Peterson drained a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key, Samford only trailed 38-36 with 12:08 remaining in the game.

Peterson finished with five points and pulled down five rebounds in a hard-fought duel with LSU's Davis. Samford's 6-foot-10 center only committed two fouls and handed out a pair of assists.

"After 30 minutes of the game, it was still close," said Tillete. "This was our seventh-straight road game this month and we were hoping that we wouldn't hit a wall in the second half. Despite that, we continued to play hard and I think that we did a pretty good job on the boards. We were a little fatigued and this was our third game against a top-20 ranked team this season."

Samford's Joe Ross Merritt and Jerry Smith both finished with nine points. Merritt was 4-of-7 from the floor with two rebounds, while Smith was 3-of-6 from the field and pulled down five boards.

At halftime, Samford trailed by four points, 25-21.

The Bulldogs were down by two, 23-21, with only 3.5 seconds remaining in the opening period when LSU's Tasmin Mitchell knocked down an off-balance 10-foot jumper.

The Tigers shot 45.8 percent from the field in the first half, while Samford finished with a 44.4 shooting percentage in the opening 20 minutes of play.

LSU's Davis led all scorers with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the first half. Samford's Merritt paced the Bulldogs with seven points and was 3-for-4 from the field. Smith and Gulina both tallied five points in the opening period.

Samford jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the game, but then trailed by as much as seven points at the 10:44 mark, 16-9.

Following the Tigers' early 15-5 run, Samford only allowed LSU to score a total of nine points in the final 10 minutes of the period. The Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 23-21 with 2:20 remaining in the half before Mitchell's late basket gave the Tigers a 25-21 advantage heading into intermission.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Jan. 2 as the Bulldogs return home for the first time in over a month to resume OVC play against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

Samford's aforementioned first game of the 2007 calendar year is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., in Seibert Hall. The Bulldogs currently own a perfect 2-0 record at home this season.