Jan. 27, 2007

Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - After cutting Austin Peay's lead to 51-47 with five minutes remaining in Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference showdown, Samford fell prey to a 15-1 game-ending run by the Governors and dropped a 66-48 decision at Dave Aaron Arena.

The Bulldogs' Randall Gulina finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and was 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. Junior Joe Ross Merritt added nine points, while Travis Peterson, Jerry Smith and Bryan Friday all finished with five.

"We didn't play very well to start the game and we looked flat most of the first half," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I thought that our team did a good job of fighting back in the second half, but we were still letting them score too easily around the goal. Austin Peay is a very good team and they are tough to beat at home."

With the loss, Samford (12-9, 9-3 OVC) had its three-game winning streak snapped and suffered its third road defeat of the conference season. The Bulldogs own a 5-0 record against OVC opponents at home this year, but are 4-3 on the road.

On Monday, Samford returns to Seibert Hall to face OVC-rival Murray State at 7 p.m., in the Bulldogs' "Sell Out Seibert" promotion.

Austin Peay (13-6, 10-1 OVC) extended its winning streak to 10-straight games Saturday and increased its lead in the OVC standings to a game and a half.

The Governors currently have the nation's third longest winning streak and trail only second-ranked Wisconsin and top-ranked Florida. Wisconsin has won 16-straight games, while Florida defeated Auburn on Saturday to win its 11th-consecutive contest.

Austin Peay finished with four players scoring in double figures and was led by Drake Reed's 16 points. Fernandez Lockett, a native of Madison, Ala., recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

The Governors' Todd Babington scored 11 points in the first half and finished with 13 in the game. He led the team with three 3-point baskets, while Austin Peay shot 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Samford only shot 27.6 percent from 3-point range and finished at 40.9 percent from the field. Austin Peay turned in a 47.9 percent outing from the floor, shooting a stifling 55 percent in the second half.

The Bulldogs mounted a rally midway through the second half and trimmed Austin Peay's lead to four points with 5:50 remaining in the game.

After a back-door layup by Jerry Smith and a 12-foot jumper from Gulina, Samford only trailed the Governors, 51-47. From that point on, Austin Peay knocked down seven late free throws and finished the game on a 15-1 run.

"I have to give Austin Peay some credit," Tillette said. "They played a very good game tonight and their defense was problematic for us. I think that they forced us into too many turnovers and we weren't hitting our open shots. We were getting some good looks at the basket, but we just weren't able to knock them down."

Samford committed 11 turnovers Saturday, compared to nine by the Govs. The Bulldogs were also out-rebounded 34-23.

At the half, Samford trailed the Governors 34-23. Austin Peay's Babington led all scorers with 11 points and knocked down three first-half 3-point baskets.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Gulina's 10 points in the opening period. He was 4-of-9 from the floor and connected on a pair of 3-point field goals.

Samford's Friday came off the bench to score five points in only six minutes of play in the opening period. The Bulldogs' native of Grapevine, Texas, was 2-for-2 from the field and drained a deep 3-point bucket from the top of the key.

Merritt scored four points in the opening half of play, while West and Peterson each added a field goal.

Samford only trailed 19-15 with 9:49 remaining until intermission when the Governors went on an 11-1 run. During the stretch, Austin Peay's Kyle Duncan scored four straight points and Landon Shipley added three.

The Governors shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the first half and were 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. Samford turned in a 40.9 shooting performance from the field, but was only 4-of-14 from downtown.

During Austin Peay's 11-1 run, the Bulldogs were held scoreless for over six minutes.

The Governors later extended their first-half lead to 30-11 with 2:17 remaining and then received a layup from Reed and a pair of free throws from Wright to take its 34-23 half-time advantage.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday as the Bulldogs host the Murray State Racers in a 7 p.m., matchup held in Seibert Hall.

The game has been promoted as "Sell Out Seibert" and the Samford athletic department will attempt to set the all-time attendance record in the school's 45th-and-final season in the historic facility.

In 2007-08, the Bulldogs will move next door to the brand-new, 32-million-dollar Pete Hanna Arena.