Feb. 3, 2007

Box Score

CHARLESTON, Ill. - In a nationally-televised game on ESPN2, the Samford University basketball team fought for a critical 53-48 Ohio Valley Conference victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Lantz Arena.

With the win, Samford (14-10, 11-4 OVC) earned its third-straight victory over Eastern Illinois (6-18, 3-12 OVC) and improved its conference road record to 5-3 this season.

The Bulldogs will have the work week off from game action before hosting first-place Austin Peay at 2 p.m., on Saturday.

"We played very well in the first half and the offense was running smoothly," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Even in the second half, we only committed three turnovers, but we just couldn't hit our shots. I thought that we played pretty well on the defensive side of the ball and this was a good win on the road for us."

The Bulldogs shot 60 percent from 3-point range in the opening half of play and took a 29-17 lead into the intermission.

Samford was led in scoring by senior Randall Gulina's game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. The OVC's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, Gulina tallied his 23rd double-digit scoring output of the season. He has scored at least 10 points in 23 of the team's 24 games this year.

The Bulldogs' junior point guard Jerry Smith finished with 13 points Saturday and knocked down some key free throws late in the game. He played 38 minutes, pulled down five rebounds and was 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.

After falling behind early in the game, Eastern Illinois' rallied midway through the second half and trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 42-37 with 3:55 remaining.

The Panthers finished with three players scoring in double figures and were led by Mike Robinson's 15 points. Eastern Illinois' Bobby Catchings recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but only shot 5-of-13 from the floor. Center Jake Byrne also added with 12 points.

After ripping the nets in the first half, Samford only shot 8.3 percent from 3-point range in the second period.

The Bulldogs were only 1-of-12 from beyond the arc in the final half, but weren't much worse than Eastern Illinois' 1-for-7 second-half outing from 3-point range. Samford only committed 10 fouls in the game and benefited from the Panthers' 14 fouls in the second half.

"We didn't look particularly artistic in the second half," Tillette said. "We were missing some wide open shots, but then I thought that we gutted it out and beat a scrappy team tonight. It was a great environment to play in and I told our guys at a timeout that this is what they came to college for - to play on TV and to get a big win on the road."

In front of a raucous crowd of 3,194 Eastern Illinois fans, Samford's Travis Peterson knocked down the biggest shot of the game with 2:16 left in the contest.

With the shot clock running down, Peterson took advantage of the Panthers' over-shifting zone and buried a crucial 3-point shot from the top of the key.The basket gave Samford a 45-37 advantage and ended the Bulldogs' nearly 10-minute field-goal drought.

Prior to Peterson's 3-pointer, Samford's previous field goal occurred on a running right-hand layup by Joe Ross Merritt at the 11:47 mark. The Bulldogs scored on six free throws before Peterson's 3-point basket.

Samford's first five baskets of the game were 3-point field goals and the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 19-11 lead.

Gulina, Samford's 6-foot-1 guard from Baton Rouge, La., led all scorers with 14 points in the opening period and knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs were 6-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, while Eastern Illinois was 1-for-4.

Samford extended its early lead in the game to 27-15 with 3:09 remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs' 12-4 run included jumper and a 3-point shot from Gulina and was capped off by a slashing back-door cut from Smith. On the play, Peterson sent a perfectly-timed bounce pass through the lane to a cutting Smith for the lay-in.

"I thought that Randall really played well tonight," said Tillette. "He really showed some of his shooting skills in the first half and I thought that we played well defensively. I have to give Eastern Illinois some credit. They really came out and did a great job in the second half and the crowd was great here."

Peterson, Samford's 6-foot-10 junior from Glendale, Ariz., tallied seven rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and a steal in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Panthers had a pair of players finish with six points in the first half. Catchings was 3-for-5 for his six points, while Byrne put together a 3-for-4 first-half performance.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday as the Bulldogs square off against the first-place Austin Peay Governors. The OVC showdown is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., in Siebert Hall.