March 6, 2003

Box Score

ATLANTA, Ga.- Tyson Dorsey scored 18 points and Phillip Ramelli scored 16 points but No. 6 seed Samford shot just 37 percent from the floor and No. 3 seed Troy State shot 54 percent as the Trojans defeated the Bulldogs 70-54 in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament at the GSU Sports Arena.

Troy State (24-5) was led by Greg Davis who scored 20 points and Rob Lewin who scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Samford (13-15) jumped out to an early 8-2 lead but TSU responded with a 10-2 run to take a 12-10 lead. Josh Hare basket tied the game at 12 before the Trojans took control of the game with a 17-4 run. Samford scored just two baskets during a 10-minute stretch of the first half as Troy State took a 34-20 lead into halftime.

"We got as good of looks as you could ask for." Said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette, "I don't know if we were tentative but you have to knock down shots against their zone and we could not get them to fall."

Samford opened the second half with a pair of Dorsey three-pointers. Jon Mills connected on a three-pointer to bring the Bulldogs to within 41-35 with 14:50 to play but TSU then began a 12-3 run to push the score back to 53-38 with seven minutes remaining. Troy State went 9-11 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to extend its lead.

J. Robert Merritt, Cornell Felton, and Eddie Harper were 0-13 from behind the three-point arc until Harper made a three as time expired. Dorsey led the way for Samford hitting on 6-13 from beyond the arc and Mills was 2-6. As a team, Samford was 9-35 (25.7%) from long range. Troy State, entered the game averaging 10.2 made three's per game was just 3-14 (21.4%) from the arc. Points in the paint are where TSU held a 46-20 advantage.

Davis was 7-9 from the floor scoring 11 points in the first half. Nine Trojans scored in the game. Troy State held Samford to just 20 points in the first half that matched the Bulldogs lowest first half output of the season.

Troy State forced nine Samford turnovers in the first half that resulted in 10 points of turnovers. The Bulldogs only committed two turnovers in the second half while TSU turned the ball over just five times in the game.

"Our game plan was right." Said Tillette, "We turned the ball over more against their zone than we did against the full-court press. Troy State is the class of this league, Don Maestri does a great job. We just missed open shots tonight."

Troy State advances to face Georgia State in the semi-finals on Friday while Samford suffers its first losing season in eight years.