Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite trailing, 56-50, with only 2:16 remaining in regulation, the Samford University basketball team outscored the Austin Peay Governors, 13-7, down the homestretch and then rallied in overtime for a crucial 73-71 Ohio Valley Conference victory in Seibert Hall.

With exactly 30.2 seconds remaining in regulation, Samford (13-8, 8-2 OVC) trailed 63-61, but had the ball on their half of the court after earning a key defensive stop on the Governors' Maurice Hampton.

On the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs' Randall Gulina rubbed off of a pick at the top of the key and drove hard down the right side of the lane to draw a foul from APSU's 6-9 senior Zac Schlader. Gulina, Samford's fiery sophomore guard from Baton Rouge, La., calmly sank both free throws with 14.4 on the clock to send the game into overtime, 63-63.

Samford jumped out to six-point advantage, 69-63, early in the overtime period following a pair of layups from senior Bryan Boerjan and a bucket from sophomore point guard Jerry Smith. Boerjan, who finished the game with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, took over the game in overtime and scored four of the team's 10 overtime points.

Austin Peay (8-14, 6-4 OVC) cut the lead to 69-68 with 2:44 remaining in the game, but the Bulldogs' redshirt freshman Joe Ross Merritt stopped the Governors' 5-0 run with a gritty layup at 2:05.

"The only way that we can win is by playing hard," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We are not the most talented team in the league, but if we play hard and do the little things, then we can continue to win some games. Our guys just came out and found a way to win today and it took a lot for them to do it. Austin Peay is a very good team and I'm extremely proud of the effort that our players showed out there."

Samford went ahead by four points with 1:15 remaining in overtime when J. Robert Merritt connected on the first half of a one-and-one. The Bulldogs' junior sharpshooter from Oklahoma City, Okla., scored a team-high 17 points in 44 minutes of play on Saturday and hit 4-of-10 of his shots from 3-point range.

The Governors' Hampton drilled a long-range 3-pointer with 54.0 seconds remaining to trim Samford's lead to 72-71. The bucket was Hampton's fifth of the game and his fourth from downtown. Austin Peay's junior from Russellville, Ky., scored 14 points and tacked on a pair of rebounds.

After Hampton's bucket, Joe Ross Merritt made the first of two free throws to bring the score to 73-71 when Austin Peay called a timeout.

With 33 seconds remaining, the Governors tried to work the ball to senior Anthony Davis for the final shot. Davis, who finished the game with 12 points and five assists, finally popped open for a second with 13 ticks left on the clock, but passed on the shot and kicked the ball out to a wide-open Ryan Isom.

Isom, a 6-0 freshman shooting 57.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, got off a good shot, but the ball bounded off of the front of the rim giving the Bulldogs the victory.

"Our team just had this look in their eye late in the game and I know that they are tough," Tillette said. "They're not going to surrender. We might be losing in a game, but we're never out of it. We've been down double-digit points numerous times this season and have come back to win."

Samford won its seventh-consecutive game at home on Saturday and earned its fourth come-from-behind victory in its previous six games.

The Bulldogs retained their position atop the OVC standings and will face off against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State at home next week. Samford defeated each of those teams on the road earlier this season.

Smith, Samford's physical 6-2 point guard, finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. He also turned in a key 3-point play near the end of regulation to cut Austin Peay's lead to two.

With under a minute to play and the Bulldogs' trailing 63-57, Smith drove from the left side of the court, weaved his way through the lane and skied for an off-balance one-handed shot across his body with his left hand. Despite being hacked by Hampton, the ball found the backboard and kicked in to give Smith the bucket and a chance to score at the line. The score cut Austin Peay's lead to 63-60.

"We have a lot of heart on this team," said Smith. "We have a lot of tough players and we've been able to fight back from behind a lot this season. Coach (Tillette) has looked to me for a lot of leadership this year and he got us really pumped up in overtime it rubbed off on us. Also, the fans were great. They were loud and energetic and it gave us that extra energy."

Austin Peay was led in scoring by 6-9 junior Zac Schlader. The Governors' lanky center from Columbia, Mo., finished the crucial OVC contest with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and was a near-perfect 4-of-5 from the charity stripe in 45 minutes of play.

Schlader helped APSU put together a 32-20 run to start the second half before brothers, J. Robert and Joe Ross Merritt, each connected on critical 3-point baskets for Samford late in regulation.

"In the second half, Austin Peay kept getting the ball inside to their big center (Schlader) and he was either going to goal or kicking it out to their shooters," said J. Robert Merritt. "Then later in the half, Bryan (Boerjan) was able to get around him for some big steals and we just played harder on the defensive end."

On back-to-back possessions, Samford scored six points in less than a minute as J. Robert hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:57 left in regulation and J. Robert drilled a deep shot from the corner with the clock at 1:06. Joe Ross's basket cut the Governors' late advantage in the game to 60-58.

Samford jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage in the game behind a pair of quick 3-point baskets and a fast-break layup from Smith. Smith, the Bulldogs' native of Picayune, Miss., opened with a pull-up 3-point shot from the top of the key and scored the first five points of the game.

At the half, Samford held a 30-24 advantage over the Governors and was led by 10 points from J. Robert Merritt.

The Bulldogs shot 52.2 percent from the field in the first half and were 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Merritt, the 12th-ranked 3-point shooter in the nation at 47.3 percent, connected on two of his four 3-point baskets in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Samford led by as many as eight points in the first half. After a 6-foot jump shot from Galina, the Bulldogs took a 22-14 lead with 7:42 remaining until intermission.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Thursday, Feb. 10, as the Bulldogs play their third-straight game at home against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 7 p.m., in Seibert Hall.