Jan. 21, 2006

Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. - The Samford University basketball team used a pair of career-high performances from sophomores Travis Peterson and Curtis West on Saturday as the Bulldogs cruised to an 85-66 victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in Ohio Valley Conference action.

Peterson, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 native of Glendale, Ariz., scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor, while West added 17 key points off the bench. A native of Baton Rouge, La., West was 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

"As you know, I was really disappointed with how we played on Thursday and this is a tough trip for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "With that being said, tonight I thought that we played well and we were able to shoot the ball. Hopefully, we'll be able to build on this win."

Samford (12-5, 8-2 OVC) earned its fifth-straight road conference victory on Saturday and will return home to play both Tennessee-Martin and Austin Peay next week.

The Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures, marking the fourth time this season. Samford is 4-0 when having four or more players score in double figures.

Junior Randall Gulina tallied 20 points on Saturday and extended his streak of double-figure scoring to 11-straight games. Senior forward J. Robert Merritt added 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Peterson recorded his first career double-double as he pulled down a career-high 11 boards to go along with his 21 points.

Samford shot 64 percent in the game and 52.6 from beyond the arc.

Eastern Kentucky (9-9, 6-4 OVC) was led in scoring by guard Jason McLeish. The Colonels' sharpshooter finished with 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor.

Samford shot lights out in the opening period of play and used a 26-2 run late in the half to build a 49-25 advantage at the intermission.

The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures in the opening half and were led in scoring by Peterson's 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Gulina followed with 11 first-half points, while J. Robert Merritt added 10 and led the team with a pair of 3-point baskets.

Samford shot a season-high 73.1 percent from the field in the first period and limited the Colonels to a 34.6-percent output. The Bulldogs were a stifling 7-of-10 from 3-point range and out-rebounded Eastern Kentucky, 17-8.

With 15:45 remaining in the first half, Samford led by just one point, 9-8, as Gulina scored seven of the Bulldogs' first nine points. At that point, J. Robert Merritt caught fire and scored eight-straight points to give Samford a 25-17 advantage with 9:58 remaining.

The Bulldogs then used their 26-2 first-half run to extend the lead to 45-19.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Thursday as the Bulldogs open a two-game OVC homestand in Seibert Hall against the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks at 7 p.m.

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.