Jan. 20, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team extended its home winning streak to nine-straight games Saturday as the Bulldogs outscored the Eastern Kentucky Colonels by 11 points in the second half for a 55-46 win in Seibert Hall.

In the victory, senior Randall Gulina finished with 14 points and became only the 20th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He concluded Saturday's game with exactly 1,000 points in his career.

"Randall's been great for us as a team, both on and off the court, since he arrived as a freshman," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I was proud of him today as he was able to reach this milestone and we would take as many Randall Gulina's as we could get on this team. He's been a joy to coach and we're happy for his achievement."

With the win, Samford (11-8, 8-2 Ohio Valley Conference) remained undefeated at home this season and improved its record to 7-0 when playing in Seibert Hall. The Bulldogs are the only team in the OVC with an unblemished home record this season.

Samford's Travis Peterson led all players with 21 points and eight rebounds Saturday. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 center from Glendale, Ariz., was 9-of-16 from the floor and played all 40 minutes of the game for the first time in his collegiate career.

For the second time this week, Samford outshot its opponent from both the floor and 3-point range. The Bulldogs recorded a 47.5 shooting percentage from the field and turned in a 35 percent mark from beyond the arc.

"This was another good win for us," Tillette said. "We didn't play too well in the first half, but our guys were able to regroup in the second half and we were able to shoot the ball better. I thought that Bryan Friday really gave us a huge lift off the bench and was able to score five points for us at a critical time in the game."

Eastern Kentucky (10-8, 5-5 OVC) lost for the second time in three days Saturday and only shot 38.8 percent from the floor.

The Colonels were limited to their second-lowest scoring output of the season with 46 points scored. Eastern Kentucky's lowest point total of the 2006-07 campaign occurred in a 74-45 loss at fourth-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 17.

Sophomore guard Mike Rose was the only Colonel to score in double figures Saturday.

Eastern Kentucky's native of Chicago finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Darnell Dialls added eight points and six rebounds while Michael Brock and Julian Mascoll tallied six points apiece.

"We played well defensively today," said Tillette. "We made a couple of mistakes on their perimeter shooters in the first half, but I thought that we rebounded and played better in the second half. We also played with a little more enthusiasm late in the game after a lack-luster first half."

After a low-scoring opening period, Eastern Kentucky took a slight 19-17 advantage into the intermission.

Neither team shot over 32 percent from the floor in the first half and both squads ended the first 20 minutes of play with identical 3-of-12 shooting performances from the beyond the arc. Peterson led all scorers with nine points.

The Colonels used eight first-half points from Rose to lead by as many as five, 19-14, with 2:38 remaining.

Eastern Kentucky extended its lead to six points early in the second half before the Bulldogs went on a 16-0 run to earn a 35-25 advantage. With 11:28 to play in the game, Gulina scored on a streaking drive in the lane to give Samford its 10-point lead.

After only scoring three points in the first half, Gulina tallied 11 points in the final period to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau. He knocked down a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining to reach the milestone.

Samford's Curtis West played a career-high 39 minutes Saturday and turned in a seven-point, seven-assist performance. The Bulldogs' 6-foot junior from Baton Rouge, La., also pulled down four rebounds and grabbed two steals.

West set a career-high with his seven assists and tied his career-high with seven rebounds.

Redshirt freshman Bryan Friday came of the bench to score five critical points for the Bulldogs. He was 2-for-3 from the floor and knocked down his only 3-point field goal attempt of the game.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs begin a two-game road swing at the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks in Martin, Tenn. The OVC matchup will begin at 7:30 p.m., at Skyhawk Arena.