Feb. 16, 2006

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In its first nationally-televised home game in school history, the Samford University basketball team used 23-point performances from both senior J. Robert Merritt and sophomore Travis Peterson to defeat the Morehead State Eagles, 76-52, on Thursday, live on ESPNU.

With the "Senior Night" victory, the Bulldogs earned home court advantage in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and snapped a two-game losing streak. Seniors Merritt and Anthony LoPiano were each honored prior to the game.

"I thought that we had a much better 40-minute effort from the team tonight," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I was happy for J. Robert and Anthony to go out on a high note and I thought that we played well on both ends of the floor."

With the win, Samford (17-8, 13-5 OVC) extended its winning streak against Morehead State (4-20, 3-15 OVC) to four-consecutive games and improved to 9-3 at home this season.

Merritt, the third-ranked 3-point shooter in the nation, scored 14 of his 23 points in the first half and drained seven of his first nine shots from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 senior from Oklahoma City, Okla., also grabbed seven rebounds, handed out five assists and earned a pair of steals. With his seven 3-point field goals, he increased his school-record single-season total to 97.

"I started the game off on fire for a little while, but then I cooled off a bit at the end," said Merritt. "In the first half I was feeling it and I kept getting open looks, so I kept shooting."

Samford strung together a 14-0 run early in the first half and jumped out to a commanding 19-4 lead to start the game.

The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the opening period and took a 38-21 advantage into the intermission. Along with Merritt's 14 first-half points, Randall Gulina and Peterson each contributed 11 heading into halftime.

"I thought that our decision-making was excellent today, especially in the first half," Tillette said. "We really gave them some trouble when they were in their zone and because we have five shooters, we were able to get some open looks from outside of the arc."

Despite shooting a solid 42.9 percent from the field, Morehead State only finished with 21 field goals and 52 points. The Eagles committed 13 turnovers in the game and lost their third-straight contest.

Junior bench player Shaun Williams scored a team-high 18 points in a reserve role, but also led the team with four turnovers. Sophomore Ryan Allen scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while freshman Tyke Cockerham scored 10.

Samford's Peterson, who scored a career-high 25 points against Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, followed up that performance with a 23-point outing on Thursday.

At 6-foot-10, Peterson knocked down 3-of-6 of his field goal attempts from 3-point range and also added a trio of two-handed baseline slams. Samford's center from Glendale, Ariz., was also 8-of-12 from the floor.

The Bulldogs finished with 24 assists on Thursday, including a crowd-pleasing, backdoor alleyoop pass from sophomore Curtis West to freshman Jason Black. Black, Samford's exciting guard from Martin, Tenn., scored seven points in the game and grabbed a career-high five rebounds.

"This was a good win for us today and now we have to take this momentum with us to Ohio," said Tillette. "There are still a lot of key games to be played this season and we have a tough road trip ahead of us."

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs begin a three-game, regular-season ending road trip against the Ohio University Bobcats.

The non-conference contest is a part of the ESPN BracketBusters Challenge and will be aired live on ESPN360. A link will be provided on www.samfordsports.com, so that the fans can check out the action.

Saturday's contest will begin at 7 p.m. (CST), and can also be heard live on WVSU 91.1-FM or via the Internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/WVSU.