Jan. 7, 2006

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team continued its winning ways on Saturday as the Bulldogs recorded a convincing 90-69 victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in Ohio Valley Conference play at the Pete Mathews Coliseum.

With the victory, Samford (9-4, 5-1 OVC) extended its winning streak to six-consecutive games and retained its position atop the league standings. The Bulldogs also avenged their earlier defeat to the Gamecocks on Dec. 8, their lone loss in the conference this season.

"This was a great performance by our team," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I really have to give them credit and Jacksonville State played well. They were hitting a lot of tough shots and came out with a lot of energy. The main thing for us was that we only had eight turnovers in 38 minutes against their pressure and that was big."

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by senior J. Robert Merritt who finished with 32 points and tied a career-high with seven 3-point baskets.

Samford's current OVC Player of the Week finished with a 7-of-10 performance from beyond the arc and was 10-of-18 from the field. Since Nov. 26, Merritt has connected on 41-of-67 of his 3-point attempts for a stellar 61.2 shooting percentage.

He also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and the third of his career.

"I haven't been doing anything different lately, my shots are just falling," said Merritt. "My shot feels really good right now, so I guess it's just one of those things."

Jacksonville State (5-7, 3-3 OVC) actually outshot the Bulldogs from 3-point range, but only shot 42.9 percent from the field. Samford finished the game with a 64.0 performance from the floor and a 52.4 mark from long range.

The Gamecocks were led in scoring by senior guard Walker D. Russell. The native of Pontiac, Mich., finished with 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He almost matched Merritt from 3-point range with six 3s.

Samford's sophomore center Travis Peterson registered a career-high 19 points and handed out four assists. He shot 7-of-9 from the floor and wowed the crowd with a pair of two-handed dunks. His previous career-high was 18 points, which he tallied against Murray State on Dec. 21.

The Bulldogs' Randall Gulina added 17 points, while Jerry Smith scored nine points and dished out five assists.

"Jacksonville State really got our attention when they beat us at our place and we've been playing a lot better since," Tillette said. "We've been working hard at practice to get better and I think that it has really shown. I'm glad that we've shown constant improvement and we need to keep it up."

Since losing to Jacksonville State, Samford has reeled off six-straight victories.

"After our first game against them, we watched the film and saw that we had a lot to work on," Merritt said. "It was the breaking point of this season and we reevaluated ourselves and we really went to work after that game."

Samford used a 16-0 run in the first half and took a 50-34 lead into the intermission.

The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 75 percent from the field and connected on 8-of-11 of their first-half attempts from 3-point range for a remarkable 72.7 percent.

Samford's first-half shooting performance was by far its best period of play this season. The 75 percent shooting from the field topped its previous mark of 67.3 in the first half against Campbellsville and the 72.7 percent from beyond the arc outpaced the Bulldogs' 62.5 percent outing in the first half against Bryan College.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Thursday as the Bulldogs host the Tennessee State Tigers at 7 p.m., in Seibert Hall.

The game can be heard live on WVSU 91.1-FM or via the Internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/WVSU.