Jan. 12, 2008

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With the score of Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference matchup knotted at 47-47 with 1:48 to play, Tennessee Tech's Anthony Fisher hit a pair of jump shots and led his team on a late 10-0 run to defeat the Samford Bulldogs 57-47 at the Pete Hanna Center. Fisher finished with a game-high 19 points.

"This was another tough loss for us and it really came down to a one-possession game," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Late in the game, we were tied and their best player made a couple of really good shots. On the other end, we weren't able to hit ours and the disparity in free-throw shooting was also detrimental. But, it's a long season and we still have 12 conference games to play."

With the loss, Samford (7-9, 4-4 OVC) dropped its second straight game at home. The Bulldogs' shooting woes continued Saturday night as they finished 4-of-18 from beyond the arc.

"We just didn't shoot the ball well and I thought that we had good looks," said Tillette. "We were forced to shoot a couple at the end of the shot clock, but even on those we had specific plays drawn up and some good opportunities."

Samford's Bryan Friday scored a career-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 forward from Grapevine, Texas played 27 minutes, grabbed four rebounds and finished 2-of-3 from 3-point range.

Senior Travis Peterson tallied 11 points and was the only other Samford player to reach double figures. Fellow-senior Joe Ross Merritt followed with seven points, but was only 1-of-5 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Bulldogs were 9-of-18 from the charity stripe.

"What was hard for us is that we went 9-of-18 from the free-throw line," Tillette said. "We can't do that, and I think that it really hurt us tonight. We also missed a lot of front ends of one-and-ones and we can't expect to win games like that. We're typically a good shooting team and that's what hurt us tonight."

With the game tied 47-47, Tennessee Tech (7-11, 4-4 OVC) took a timeout and called an isolation play for Fisher on the right wing. He drove to his right, spun back to the left and banked in a jump shot from 10 feet out to give the Golden Eagles a 49-47 lead with 1:48 left to play.

On the ensuing possession, Samford's Peterson had a wide open 3-pointer rim out from the top of the key. Tennessee Tech's Amadi McKenzie pulled down his eighth rebound of the game and the Golden Eagles called another timeout.

The next time down the court, Tennessee Tech's Fisher was isolated once again on the right side, but this time he pulled up from beyond the arc and knocked down a 20-footer to take a five-point lead. Fisher, the Golden Eagles leading scorer averaging 20 points per game, was 3-for-7 from 3-point range and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.

"I thought that the difference down the stretch was that their best player, Fisher, made plays and we just weren't able to make any ourselves," said Tillette. "Fischer made a lot of clutch plays for them. He's a good player."

As a team, Tennessee Tech shot 14-of-22 from the charity stripe and out-rebounded Samford 38-25.

The Golden Eagles' McKenzie finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Frank Davis added 11 points and two assists in 35 minutes of play. Junior Daniel Northern turned in a solid game in the low-block and finished with six points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as five points in the second half, but used a pair of layups from Merritt and Friday, as well as a pair of free throws from Peterson to tie the game at 47-47.

At the half, Samford held a 28-26 advantage. Friday led all scorers with 10 points at the intermission and was 4-for-7 from the field. With his career-high 17 points, he broke his old mark of 16 against Belmont in the Bulldogs' home-opener Nov. 15, 2007.

"Bryan had a great game tonight," Tillette said. "He's been injured almost all year and is coming back from having his top four front teeth knocked, so he played better and with more confidence. Earlier this season, he had an injured ankle and was then laid up in bed for 10 days with a virus. We were glad to see him play the way that he is capable."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs begin a two-game road trip against the Morehead State Eagles at 6:30 p.m., in Johnson Arena. Samford will then conclude its brief road swing Saturday at 6 p.m., against Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky.