Nov. 20, 2004

Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - The Samford University basketball team opened its 2004-05 season with a perfect 2-0 record for the first time since 1998 on Saturday, as the Bulldogs defeated Central Connecticut, 72-58, to win the championship game of the 2004 Mohegan Sun Classic.

Samford (2-0) used a Most Valuable Player performance from senior Jon Mills on Saturday to win its first non-conference tournament championship since the 1996-97 season. Mills, who was named the MVP of the contest immediately following the game, scored 18 points and corralled seven rebounds on 6-of-6 shooting.

"I'm extremely proud of our guys," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We played hard and I challenged them to win the last 4:35 of the game on toughness. They did that and we were able to come away with the victory."

With 4:35 remaining in the game, Samford led by five points, but Central Connecticut (1-1) was charging back. The Blue Devils cut it to 56-53 with 3:35 left in the contest and then Mills drained a three-pointer to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 59-53. From that point on, Samford led by at least six points and used free throws to extend the final score to 72-58.

The Bulldogs had five players score in double figures on Saturday and shot a sizzling 64.7 percent from beyond the arc. Samford's J. Robert Merritt finished with 13 points and was named to the all-tournament team, while Boerjan and Gulina scored 11 apiece.

"Everybody played well tonight," Tillette said. "It was tough to play on their home floor. They had a live crowd in here, but I think that we were able to take them out of their rhythm a little bit and we shot the ball well. We were patient and Jon (Mills) did an outstanding job. He was tired, but got the job done for us. It's good to have him back."

In the last three years, Central Connecticut posted a 35-3 overall record when they scored at least 70 points. On Saturday, Samford limited the Blue Devils' potent offense to 58 points.

With 1.5 seconds remaining in the first half, Samford's Jerry Smith took the ball out of bounds from midcourt and found Josh Hare eight steps outside of the three-point line. Hare, who finished with eight first-half points, collected Smith's pass, took a dribble to his left and drained a 30-footer at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 39-34 lead at the half.

Mills, Samford's senior from Winfield, Ala., led the Bulldogs with 10 points at halftime, while Hare added eight and Boerjan collected seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Wednesday, Nov. 24, as the Bulldogs travel to Mobile, Ala., for an in-state matchup against the South Alabama Jaguars at 7:05 p.m.