Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team broke out of its shooting slump Saturday with a 48.9 percent performance from the field, but the Evansville Purple Aces tallied a season-high 69.7 percent in a 69-65 victory in Seibert Hall.

"Obviously, we're never satisfied with a loss, but I thought that we played better today," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Evansville is a really good team from a very good conference and they played like it today. I thought that their big guys were very talented and they also have some really good shooters from outside."

With the defeat, Samford (14-14) suffered its fourth-straight loss and dropped to 8-3 at home this season. Saturday's loss was the Bulldogs' second-consecutive defeat in Seibert Hall, their first two-game home losing streak since the 2003-04 season.

Samford finished with three players scoring in double figures and were led by the Ohio Valley Conference's co-leader in scoring Randall Gulina.

Gulina tallied a game-high 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 45.8 percent from 3-point range, their best total since shooting 50 percent against Tennessee-Martin on Jan. 25.

Samford's Joe Ross Merritt and Jerry Smith both added 12 points apiece for the Bulldogs, while junior center Travis Peterson scored six points and handed out five assists before fouling out late in the second half.

Smith, Samford's senior point guard, tallied a game-high six assists Saturday. With his performance, he improved his career total to 418, only six shy of the school's all-time record currently held by Al Walter.

"It was good for us to play at home," Tillette said. "We looked a little more fluid in our offensive sets and we were passing the ball better. We finished with 19 assists on 23 baskets and we didn't really turn the ball over. I think we finished with 10 turnovers and I thought that a couple of those were on questionable calls."

Evansville (14-14) shot a season-high 69.7 percent from the floor Saturday and finished with three players scoring in double figures.

Sophomore sharpshooter Jason Holsinger led the Purple Aces with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. He finished with four 3-points baskets and was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Senior big men Matt Webster and Bradley Strickland added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

After shooting a solid 66.7 percent from the field in the first half, Evansville shot a stifling 72.2 percent from the floor in the second period. The Purple Aces scored 28 of their points from the paint and 24 from beyond the arc.

Samford jumped out to an early 19-12 advantage in the game, but Evansville rallied back to take a 32-29 lead into the intermission.

The Bulldogs' reserves saw a good amount of playing time Saturday, and redshirt freshman Savoy Fraine looked sharp in the first half. Samford's 6-foot-8 forward from Granada Hills, Calif., scored a career-high five points in the opening period and drained both of his shots from the field.

Redshirt freshman Bryan Friday tallied five points on 2-for-3 shooting, while sophomore Jason Black scored three and Trey Montgomery tied his career-high with two points.

Early in the second half, Samford fought back to take a 40-38 advantage. The Bulldogs then built their lead to 56-52 with 7:02 remaining in the game.

It was at that point that Evansville used a 10-0 run to take a decisive 62-56 advantage.

Late in the game, Samford's Merritt hit a deep 3-point basket to help the Bulldogs within two points, 67-65, with 13 seconds remaining, but the Purple Aces' Kyle Anslinger hit a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs begin a critical two-game OVC homestand against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks at 7 p.m.