Feb. 2, 2006

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University basketball team picked up its first victory over Tennessee State on the road at the H.C. Gentry Center since 1987 on Thursday, as the Bulldogs used a stellar second-half shooting performance to rally for a 64-54 win.

"This was a good win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Tennessee State is always a tough place to play and it's always good to get a conference win on the road. This is the first time that we've gotten a win here since we joined the league and I think that we played well tonight."

Samford (15-6, 11-3 Ohio Valley Conference) improved its road record to 6-1 against conference foes this season and was led in scoring by senior J. Robert Merritt.

Merritt, the Bulldogs' 6-6 sharpshooter, finished the game with 18 points, three rebounds and shot 7-of-14 from the field. He also played all 40 minutes of the contest for the eighth time this season.

Junior guard Randall Gulina added 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and scored all of his points in the second half of play. Point guard Jerry Smith shot 4-of-5 from the field and tallied 12 points. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Heading into Thursday's game, Samford held a 7-5 all-time record against Tennessee State, but was only 1-4 against the Tigers while playing in Nashville, Tenn. The Bulldogs' previous road victory in the series was a 90-72 non-conference triumph during the 1987 campaign.

Tennessee State (8-11, 7-6 OVC) had its two-game winning streak snapped and was held well below its season average of 70.3 points per contest.

Samford limited the Tigers to 54 points, their third-lowest total of the 2005-06 season. On Jan. 12, the Bulldogs held Tennessee State to its lowest scoring output of the year, 48 points.

"I thought that we really defended them well tonight," Tillette said. "We really worked hard on getting to their feet on defense and that's what we practiced. We wanted to make them shoot off the dribble and to not give them any open looks. I also thought that we attacked their press very well and we were able to get wide open buckets there at the end."

Samford shot 47.8 percent from the field and connected on 45.5 percent of its attempts from 3-point range.

Curtis West and Ryan Woolsey each turned in solid performances off the bench and combined for 10 points.

West scored six points and dished out two assists, while Woolsey shot a perfect 2-of-2 for four points.

During the first half of play, each team put together a significant run, but in the end Tennessee State took a slight 25-24 advantage into the intermission.

The Tigers opened the game with a 7-0 lead and Kareem Grant, the reigning OVC Player of the Week, scored TSU's first five points. A senior from Middletown, Conn., Grant was clamped down by the Bulldogs' defense from that point on and failed to score for the remainder of the half.

With Tennessee State leading 11-8 with 13:03 remaining in the first period, Samford went on a 14-5 run and earned a 22-16 lead.

The Bulldogs' Merritt led all scorers in the first half with 12 points and shot 5-of-9 from the field. He connected on 2-of-5 of his 3-point attempts and grabbed a pair of rebounds.

Tennessee State's Wayne Arnold, Clarence Matthews and Grant all scored five points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Samford shot 42.9 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. The Tigers were limited to 39.3 percent shooting and 22.2 percent from 3-point range.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome the Eastern Illinois Panthers to Seibert Hall for a 2 p.m. contest.

The matchup will be the first of two games between the teams this season and can be heard live on WVSU 91.1-FM or via the Internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/WVSU.