Feb. 3, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team regained its position atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings on Thursday as the Bulldogs registered a pivotal 64-57 victory over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in front of a feverish crowd of 3,358 at Seibert Hall.

"This was a big win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I wasn't sure how our team would compete after coming off of two losses, but I think that they showed a lot of heart tonight. Tennessee Tech is a very talented team and we just played well down the stretch. I thought that we made some very good decisions and we took care of the ball."

With the win, Samford (12-8, 7-2 OVC) snapped a two-game slide and regained its position in first place in the conference.

The Bulldogs are currently tied with both Tennessee Tech and Murray State for the league's top spot at 7-2, but have defeated each of the other teams this season. On Jan. 13, Samford knocked off preseason favorite Murray State, 55-47, at home.

Samford's J. Robert Merritt recorded his fourth-consecutive 20-point performance on Thursday and finished the game with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor.

The Bulldogs' junior forward from Oklahoma City, Okla., continued his stellar shooting from long range this season and ended the night with a 5-of-10 performance from beyond the arc. Merritt entered the game as the 12th-ranked player in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (47.1).

Tennessee Tech (12-8, 7-2 OVC) lost its second-straight game against the Bulldogs on Thursday and dropped out of sole possession of first place in the conference. The defeat was the Golden Eagles' second in three games and their second-consecutive road loss. Last season, Samford rallied to defeat TTU, 74-69.

The conference's preseason Player of the Year Willie Jenkins led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting for Tennessee Tech.

The Golden Eagles' senior forward grabbed a team-high five rebounds, but was only 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Jenkins, a 6-6 forward from UMass entered Thursday's game with a 42.2 shooting percentage from 3-point range.

The teams traded baskets to open the pivotal OVC matchup before Tennessee Tech took an 8-7 lead with 14:53 remaining in the half. At that point, the Bulldogs' Joe Ross Merritt tallied two of his eight points and gave Samford the lead for good with a putback in the paint.

On Joe Ross Merritt's basket, Samford began a rally for seven-straight points and added a 3-point basket from J. Robert Merritt and a layup from redshirt freshman Ryan Woolsey.

The Bulldogs continued to lead throughout the first half and took a 32-19 lead into halftime behind a 6-of-12 shooting performance from beyond the arc.

Samford shot 50.0 percent from 3-point range in the first half and was led by three 3-pointers from Merritt. Tennessee Tech missed all five of its 3-point attempts in the first period.

"I thought that we did a good job of defending the arc tonight," said Tillette. "In our last two games we gave up a lot of easy 3-point baskets and that is something that we really worked on this week in practice. I thought that we did a great job tonight to hold them to 4-of-14 from 3-point range."

Samford started off slowly in the second half and suffered a five-minute scoreless drought midway through the period. The Bulldogs held a 41-28 advantage with 14:50 remaining in the game, but Tennessee Tech fought its way back to cut the lead to 41-37 with 9:32 left to play.

With Samford clinging to its four-point advantage, Merritt drained a pair of back-to-back, momentum-changing 3-point baskets to make the score, 47-39.

Tennessee Tech closed to within one point, 47-46, with 5:47 left in the game when senior Bryan Boerjan stopped the rally by connecting on a pair of free throws down the stretch. The Bulldogs' 6-7 native of Rock Falls, Ill., finished the game with 10 points and two assists.

"Starting in the second half, (Tennessee) Tech really picked up its defensive pressure and really kind of caught us off guard a little bit," said J. Robert Merritt. "In the first half, I think that we really executed well in the offense and their pressure seemed a little bit easier to break. We were also able to get good shots and we played better defense."

Samford improved its nationally-ranked shooting percentage against Tennessee Tech on Thursday as the Bulldogs turned in a 51.2 performance from the field. The team entered the contest No. 13 in the nation at 49.8 percent on the season.

Sophomore Jerry Smith played all 40 minutes of the game and led the team with four assists. He only scored three points in the contest, but turned in the most impressive play of the day as he drove past a pair of Golden Eagles and slammed home a dunk over yet another Tennessee Tech defender.

The emphatic one-handed slam sent the Bulldog crowd into a frenzy and helped propel the team to its early first-half lead.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs continue its crucial four-game OVC homestand against the Austin Peay Governors at 2 p.m., in Seibert Hall. Samford owns an impressive 7-1 record at home this season.