Feb. 10, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team dropped its first home game of the 2005 Ohio Valley Conference season on Thursday as the Bulldogs let a late seven-point lead slip away against the streaky Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 56-53, at home in Seibert Hall.

With 6:48 remaining in the game, Samford's Bryan Boerjan hit a 3-point basket off of an assist from Randall Gulina to give the Bulldogs a 52-45 advantage. The lead was Samford's fifth seven-point margin of the second half, but eventually dissipated as the Bulldogs ended the game shooting 0-of-9 from the floor.

"The problem for us tonight is that we only scored 53 points," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "It wasn't really like we had tough shots. We had J. Robert (Merritt) finish 2-of-10 from 3-point range and he's one of the best shooters in the nation. It's just disturbing for me right now because I feel as if we had the game won."

Eastern Kentucky (15-7, 7-4 OVC) ended the contest with an 11-1 run and took its first lead of the second half following a deep 3-point field goal from junior point guard Matt Witt. The Colonels' 6-0 leading scorer on the season gave EKU a 55-53 advantage with 1:43 remaining and finished with seven points, seven assists and three steals.

Samford (13-9, 8-3 OVC) had one last chance to tie the game at the buzzer on Thursday as Boerjan had a shot rim out at the end of regulation.

With 10.0 seconds remaining in the contest, Eastern Kentucky's Ben Rushing missed the final of two free throws and Jerry Smith hurried the ball up the court. Once Smith passed the time line, he drove down the lane and drew a pair of defenders. The Bulldogs' 6-2 point guard then jumped in the air and found Boerjan in the far left corner.

Boerjan caught the ball with a little over a second remaining on the clock and got off a buzzer-beating shot over the outstretched arm of the Colonels' Alonzo Hird. The potential game-tying offering grazed the front of the rim and rolled off to give Eastern Kentucky a 56-53 win.

"Heading into this game, we were ranked fourth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage and tonight we only shot 39.5 percent," Tillette said. "We were also ranked eighth in field goal shooting percentage and couldn't hit wide open shots. I think that our system worked, or else we wouldn't have been able to get wide open shots, but the same shots that we've been making all year just didn't fall tonight."

Samford's 39.5 percent shooting performance on Thursday was its lowest in Seibert Hall this season and the Bulldogs' second-lowest of the 2004-05 campaign. On Nov. 24, the team shot 37.5 percent from the field in a narrow 52-50 loss on the road against South Alabama.

Prior to Thursday's game, Samford's lowest shooting performance in Seibert Hall this season was 46.7 percent. Despite the outing, the Bulldogs nearly defeated IUPUI on Nov. 30, 60-58.

Samford jumped out to a 27-18 first-half lead and took a 29-25 advantage into halftime.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Smith and J. Robert Merritt on Thursday. Both players finished with 12 points and Smith paced the team with 10 points and three rebounds in the first half.

"I think that towards the end of the game we got a little tentative on offense," said Smith. "We were playing as if we were trying to protect the lead instead of trying to increase our lead, and late in the game we just couldn't guard them either inside or outside. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and in the end we just weren't tough enough."

The loss was Samford's first conference defeat at home this season. The Bulldogs own a 14-4 record against OVC opponents in Seibert Hall and Samford holds a 72-20 mark at home under Tillette.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs close out its four-game homestand at 6 p.m., against the Morehead State Eagles. Earlier this season, Samford came from behind to defeat the Eagles, 56-51, on the road.