Jan. 12, 2006

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team used a career-high 21 points from Randall Gulina to extend its winning streak to seven-consecutive games on Thursday as the Bulldogs defeated the Tennessee State Tigers, 68-48, in Ohio Valley Conference action at Seibert Hall.

"I thought that Randall and Joe Ross (Merritt) really did a good job of carrying us through the first half tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Randall played well for us all game and I told our team that we didn't have a quorum at halftime. We only had two of the five players show up in the first half."

Samford (10-4, 6-1 OVC) finished the game with four players scoring in double figures.

Gulina led the Bulldogs with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while J. Robert Merritt added 14 and Joe Ross Merritt tallied 13. Jerry Smith, Samford's junior point guard from Picayune, Miss., finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.

The Bulldogs shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 44.4 from beyond the arc. Joe Ross Merritt did not miss a shot from the field and was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range.

"We played a lot better as a team in the second half," Tillette said. "I think that we did a good job of slowing down our offense and scoring the ball. We also defended their offense a lot better. They are a tough team to guard, because they are very physical."

Tennessee State (4-8, 3-3 OVC) was led in scoring by senior Kareem Grant. The Tigers' 6-foot-6 forward from Middletown, Conn., shot 7-of-12 from the floor and finished with 17 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out an assist.

Junior Clarence Matthews scored 15 points, but committed six costly turnovers. As a team, Tennessee State turned the ball over 13 times, while Samford only committed eight.

The Bulldogs limited Wayne Arnold to two points, tying his season-low. Heading into Thursday's game, he was the fifth-ranked player in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage. He finished the game 0-for-3 beyond the arc.

Samford used a 12-point first-half performance from Gulina to take a 28-27 advantage into the intermission. The Bulldogs' junior from Baton Rouge, La., shot 4-of-8 from the floor in the first half and was 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Gulina has scored in double-digits in eight-consecutive games.

As a team, Samford shot 45.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play and connected on all four of its free throws. The Bulldogs finished 4-of-9 from 3-point range in the opening half.

Samford opened the second half of play with a 10-0 run and never looked back.

J. Robert Merritt connected on one of his two 3-point baskets at the 17:44 mark and then Gulina drove the lane for a layup to give the Bulldogs a 38-27 advantage with 16:59 remaining. From that point on, Samford maintained at least an 11-point lead in the game.

"We always challenge our guys to start the second half well," said Tillette. "The most irrelevant score of any game is the halftime score and our players know that and they came out energized in the second half."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs continue their two-game OVC homestand against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 2 p.m., in Seibert Hall.