Nov. 19, 2004

Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - The Samford University basketball team opened its 2004-05 season with a resounding 69-57 victory over the Cal-State Fullerton Titans on Friday. The Bulldogs used a suffocating defensive effort to advance to Saturday's championship final on the 2004 Mohegan Sun Classic.

Samford (1-0) will play the homestanding Central Connecticut Blue Devils in Saturday's championship game at 7 p.m. (CST). Central Connecticut defeated Colgate, 87-70, in Friday night's finale.

"I'm really proud of our team's effort," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We did a good job defensively and we worked really hard on the boards. It's hard to describe how hard our guys played, because they did a great job. I'm proud of that."

The Bulldogs forced Cal-State Fullerton (0-1) into committing 19 turnovers and held the Titans to 13 assists. Samford picked up nine steals and were led by senior Bryan Boerjan's four takeaways.

On the offensive side of court, Samford's J. Robert Merritt scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down a team-leading six rebounds. The Bulldogs' junior from Oklahoma City, Okla., shot 5-of-10 from the floor and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

At the half, Samford held a 38-29 lead and was led by Merritt's 10 points. The Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the floor during the opening 20 minutes of play and posted a torrid 7-of-13 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

A total of seven Samford players connected on three-point shots on Friday, including senior Jon Mills and sophomore Jerry Smith. Mills, the Bulldogs' senior from Winfield, Ala., was 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with eight points.

Smith also ended the contest with eight points and shot 3-of-5 from the floor. Samford's electric point guard from Picayune, Miss., scored the Bulldogs' first eight points of the second half, including a key three-point shot in which he hung in the air and leaned in from the corner after trying to draw a foul.

"We did a good job and we shot alright tonight, but we can't be satisfied with just coming in and getting one win. Our team really played well together and you can tell that they have a lot of confidence in each other and in their abilities. No matter who we play tomorrow night, it's going to be a challenge and we're going to have to come in and step up to the challenge."

After Smith connected on one of his critical three-point baskets to open the second half, Samford extended its lead to 43-29 before Cal-State Fullerton went on a 17-3 run to cut their deficit to one point. With exactly 8:20 remaining in the contest, the Bulldogs held a slim 47-46 lead.

Samford then used consecutive three-point shots from Randall Gulina and J. Robert Merritt to increase its advantage to 53-46 with 5:28 remaining in the game. From that point on, the Bulldogs' lead would never drop below seven points.

Gulina, Samford's defensive specialist from Baton Rouge, La., finished Friday's matchup with 13 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Boerjan and Joe Ross Merritt each concluded the contest with seven points apiece.

Cal-State Fullerton's Jermaine Harper paced the Titans with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday, Nov. 20, as the Bulldogs face the Central Connecticut Blue Devils in the championship game of the 2004 Mohegan Sun Classic. Central Connecticut is the host school for this weekend's four-team event.