Jan. 23, 2010
Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. -
Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette is in stable condition at Moses Cone Hospital Saturday night after he suffered a seizure on the sideline during the Bulldogs' 70-67 road win at UNC Greensboro. The seizure occurred approximately 10 minutes into the second half of play at UNCG's Fleming Gym.
"Coach Tillette is awake and responsive," said Samford Assistant Sports Information Director Zac Schrieber. "He was obviously a bit groggy, but was talking and sitting up in the ambulance on his way to Moses Cone Hospital located in Greensboro, N.C., where he will undergo further tests. He will be kept there for observation until Monday.
"Approximately, 10 minutes into the second half of Samford's game at UNC Greensboro, Tillette suffered a seizure on the sideline next to the Bulldogs' bench. Both athletic trainers immediately responded and began treatment. He was then preliminary taken to the UNCG Training Room where they worked on him until the ambulance arrived."
Samford (9-10, 3-4 SoCon) responded through the adversity and fought to its second straight road victory. Senior Trey Montgomery led the team with 18 points, while Bryan Friday and Josh Davis added 11 and 10, respectively.
After a sluggish first half of play, Samford opened the second period with a 9-1 run and took a slight 37-36 lead with 17:47 remaining. The teams then exchanged leads a few times when UNC Greensboro (4-16, 3-6 SoCon) head coach Mike Dement was quickly ejected after being issued back-to-back technical fouls at the 11:49 mark in the game.
The Bulldogs' Josh Davis subsequently knocked down three of the four foul shots following the technical as Samford jumped out to a 47-45 advantage. Then, following a 3-point basket from Kaylin Johnson and a picture-perfect back-door layup from Jeffrey Merritt, the Bulldogs led 52-45 as the Spartans brought the ball down the court.
As UNC Greensboro attempted to throw a pass inside to senior Ben Stywall, there was a loud commotion on Samford's bench as the Bulldogs' coaching staff was aggressively trying to get the officials to stop play. The officials looked over to the bench and immediately whistled to stop the game as Tillette was being helped to the floor.
Both athletic trainers as well as UNC Greensoboro's team doctor quickly moved over to Tillette and began providing medical attention. The Emergency Medical Service (EMS) was immediately called by members of the UNCG staff.
"What happened to Coach Tillette was unbelievable," said Samford associate head coach Paul Kelly, who filled in for Tillette after the incident. "The Greensboro people were great and we'll always be thankful for that. The people who were at the scorer's table, the doctors who came out of the stands, the referees who managed a very strange game, they were all extremely professional and we would like to thank them for their care and concern."
The athletic trainers and team doctors worked on Tillette for a few minutes on the sideline before the doctors determined it was appropriate to move him to UNC Greensboro's athletic training room, which is also located in Fleming Gym.
The Samford players huddled on the court in prayer for several minutes, while UNC Greensboro waited solemnly on its bench. The arena was silent.
"We came together as a team and had a lengthy prayer," said Montgomery. "Coach Tillette is like a father figure to us and we were worried for him. After he was taken off the court, I think we played with a little more purpose and a little more motivation. When tragedy strikes and accidents happen, there are people that come together and push each other to succeed, and that's what we were able to do."
After Tillette was secured in the athletic training room, both teams returned to the floor and the game resumed with 10:14 to play in the second half. UNC Greensboro scored the next eight points to take a 52-51 advantage with 7:46 remaining.
Samford played with heart down the stretch and used key baskets from John Peterson, Jeffrey Merritt, Montgomery and Bryan Friday to initiate a 14-2 run en route to a 65-55 lead with 3:04 left in regulation. UNC Greensboro bounced back with a layup from Ben Stywall, a pair of free throws from Mikko Koivisto and a deep 3-point basket from Kendall Toney.
Following the Spartans' late flurry, Samford only held a 68-65 lead with 18 seconds to play. UNC Greensboro then fouled Montgomery and the Bulldogs' senior knocked down one of the two free throws to make the score 69-65 with 15 seconds to play.
On the Spartans' ensuing possession, Stywall converted on a right-handed layup to trim Samford's lead to 69-67. Montgomery then added another free throw to make it a 3-point game with five seconds remaining. UNC Greensboro closed out the game with a possible tying 3-point attempt from Brandon Evans, but the ball caromed off the front of the rim.
"I'm just so super proud of this team," Kelly said. "We obviously had a tragedy to start our year and it's just amazing that these young people were able to get this win. It was great how they were able to fight back from adversity and this was the finest example of a time when players fought back to get a huge win."
Montgomery finished with 18 points on a 6-for-10 performance from the field. The Bulldogs' senior leader from Destrehan, La., added four steals, three assists, three rebounds and was 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. Friday tallied 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Davis broke out of his recent slump with a 10-point, four-rebound and three-assist performance.
UNC Greensboro's Stywall finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds. The double-double was his SoCon-leading 10th of the season. The Spartans' 6-foot-5 forward from Charlotte, N.C., was 6-for-9 from the field and added a 14-of-15 performance from the charity stripe. Stywall played 39 of the game's 40 minutes.
Also scoring in double figures for UNC Greensboro were Evans (15 points) and Koivisto (11 points). The Spartans were limited to an 18.5-percent outing from 3-point range and were only 1-for-17 in the second half.
"Greensboro played very hard, they were energized and they fought through their own adversity," said Kelly. "After all the craziness, it turned out to be an unbelievable college basketball game. It came down to the final shot and we are thankful to be able to get the win."
Samford shot 54.5 percent from the field and turned in a 43.8 mark from 3-point range. Junior center Andy King led the Bulldogs with six rebounds.
"This was a complete team effort and team win," said Kelly. "Everyone contributed. From the athletic trainer to everyone on staff and I am very proud. Our thoughts and prayers are with Coach Tillette. We've heard that he is in stable condition at the hospital and he seems to be in good spirit.
Samford got off to a slow start Saturday and didn't score its first points in the game until Peterson rattled home a 3-point basket at the 14:18 mark. UNC Greensboro took advantage of the Bulldogs' shooting woes and jumped out to an early 18-5 lead with 10:48 to play in the first half.
During their scoring stretch, the Spartans used an 11-2 run in which Evans scored seven points and Stywall added four. Seniors Koivisto and Stywall both finished the first half of play with nine points scored.
Samford was paced in scoring by Davis and King in the opening period of play. Each of the players tallied seven points in the first half. Davis knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, while King also connected on a 3-point field goal and notched a couple of back-door layups.
Late in the first half, Samford trimmed UNC Greensboro's lead to 24-21 with 4:53 left to play until intermission. After King's put-back layup cut the Spartans' advantage to three points, UNC Greensboro spurted for a quick 9-0 run to take a 33-21 lead with 3:05 left in the half.
The latest news on Tillette is that he is in stable condition, but will be kept at Moses Crane Hospital for observation until Monday.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude play in their extensive three-game, six-day road trip against the Furman Paladin at Timmons Arena (5,000) in Greenville, S.C.
