Jan. 2, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team remained undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play Tuesday as the Bulldogs improved to 4-0 with a 68-65 victory over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Seibert Hall.

Samford (7-6, 4-0 OVC) withstood a late Golden Eagle rally to open its conference schedule with a perfect 4-0 record for the second time in three seasons. During the 2004-05 campaign, the Bulldogs began OVC play with a 6-0 mark.

"I'm happy with our win tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Tennessee Tech is a very talented team and I have to give them a lot of credit for coming back in the second half. Despite being a little tentative at times, I think that we showed some poise late in the game and we were able to hit some key free throws down the stretch."

Tennessee Tech (5-8, 1-3 OVC) trailed by as many as 18 points, 35-17, with 1:10 remaining in the first half. Heading into intermission, Samford held a 35-19 advantage in the game.

The Golden Eagles used 17 second-half points from senior Belton Rivers to trim the Bulldogs' lead to 56-51 with 3:42 remaining in the game. Samford then used 10 free throws down the stretch to hold off Tennessee Tech, including four from senior guard Jerry Smith.

Junior Amadi McKenzie led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 23 points Tuesday. He was 8-for-11 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds. Rivers followed with 20 points and six rebounds, while Anthony Fisher added 16 points and five assists.

Samford was led in scoring Randall Gulina's 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs' senior guard was named the OVC's Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday, earning his second weekly honor of the 2006-07 campaign.

Junior Travis Peterson tallied 16 points and seven rebounds and was also 5-of-12 from the field.

The Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 native of Glendale, Ariz., connected on three 3-point baskets, while Gulina led the team with four. Tennessee Tech's Rivers knocked down a game-high five 3-point baskets, four of which occurred in the second half.

"Travis played strong on the defensive end of the court," Tillette said. "I thought that he did a solid job on their big guys and he was able to get some big rebounds. Offensively, we were still missing some layups and wide open shots, but I think that some of that has to do with fatigue. We've been on the road for a long time and I think that we're still a little weary."

Tuesday's game was Samford's first home contest in over a year. In their last outing in Seibert Hall, the Bulldogs registered an 80-66 victory over Ohio on Nov. 28. Samford spent the entire month of December on the road and played seven-straight games away from home.

The Bulldogs used an 11-point first-half performance from Peterson to take a 35-19 advantage into halftime.

Samford shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the opening period and finished Tuesday's contest with a 41.4 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Tennessee Tech only shot 27.3 percent from the floor in the first half, but caught fire late in the game and ended with a 44.2 field-goal percentage.

Junior Joe Ross Merritt tallied 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting against Tennessee Tech. He also tied his season-high with five rebounds. Smith added nine points, four rebounds and four assists for the Bulldogs, while Curtis West finished with eight points and four assists.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs continue play in their current three-game OVC homestand against the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks at 7 p.m.