Feb. 4, 2006

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With 5.8 seconds remaining in regulation, Samford's junior guard Randall Gulina knocked down a 22-foot, 3-point basket from the top of the key to give the Bulldogs a thrilling 58-55 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Saturday.

On the game-winning possession, Samford's Travis Peterson and Joe Ross Merritt each pulled down key offensive rebounds which eventually led to Gulina's shot.

"I think that the two offensive rebounds were huge for us on that last possession and then Randall just drained the three," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I'm relieved that we were able to get the win, but to be honest with you, we were lucky. We didn't play very well today and we looked uninspired out there."

Samford (16-6, 12-3 OVC) trailed by four, 53-49, with 3:30 left in the game when senior J. Robert Merritt scored six of the team's final 12 points and connected on two-straight 3-point field goals.

With his 3-point basket at 3:11 remaining, Merritt moved into 10th place on Samford's all-time scoring list. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 forward from Oklahoma City, Okla., surpassed former Samford-great Will Daniel and has now scored 1,423 points in his career.

"I was kind of surprised," said Merritt. "I don't really pay attention to a lot of stats and things like that and I didn't even know about it until they made the announcement over the PA. I just wish that we would have been winning big at the time, that way I could have enjoyed it more."

Merritt finished Saturday's contest with a game-high 22 points.

He was 7-of-15 from the field and 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Heading into the game, Merritt was the third-ranked 3-point shooter in the nation at 49.7 percent.

Gulina scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. He shot 3-of-9 from the floor, with all three of his baskets coming from 3-point range. Peterson finished with nine points and made a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 55-55.

With Samford trailing by three and only 1:16 left in the game, Peterson stepped up and connected on a game-tying 3-point shot from the top of the key. The deep range basket was his third of the game.

Neither team scored for the next minute and change until Gulina knocked down the game-winning shot.

"We were lucky to get a win today," said Gulina. "We didn't play with a lot of energy, especially early in the game, and they out-hustled us to a lot of loose balls and rebounds. Eventually, we were able to turn it on and hit some shots. We're going to have to play a lot better than this for the rest of the season."

Eastern Illinois (5-16, 4-11 OVC) suffered its second-straight defeat and fell prey to a weekend sweep. The Panthers dropped an 80-65 decision to Jacksonville State on Thursday.

Three Eastern Illinois' players scored in double figures against Samford. Freshman Mike Robinson finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Jake Byrne also scored 13 and senior all-conference performer Josh Gomes added 11.

The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field, but were limited to 33.3 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Samford only shot 40 percent from the floor, but connected on 41.9 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc.

"I think that we were a step slow today on defense and Eastern Illinois was able to get some easy shots early on," Tillette said. "That allowed them to build some confidence and then they started hitting some deep threes and turnaround jumpers. We did do a good job of getting some key stops there at the end."

Samford's Jerry Smith grabbed six rebounds and handed out four assists on Saturday, while sophomore Joe Ross Merritt six points and shot 3-of-6 from the floor.

Smith, a native of Picayune, Miss., played all 40 minutes of the game, as did J. Robert Merritt. Merritt has accomplished the feat nine times this season.

Despite playing a sluggish first half, Samford only trailed the Panthers by one point heading into the intermission, 25-24.

J. Robert Merritt scored 16 of the Bulldogs' 24 first-half points and connected on four 3-point baskets in the opening period. He was 5-of-9 from the floor in the first half of play and grabbed a pair of rebounds.

Eastern Illinois' Byrne scored nine points and pulled down five boards in the first half. The Panthers' sophomore center was 4-of-6 from the field.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday, Feb. 11, as the Bulldogs travel to Clarksville, Tenn., for an OVC matchup against the Austin Peay Governors beginning at 7:30 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.