Nov. 24, 2004

Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. - Despite a career-high 30-point performance from junior J. Robert Merritt on Wednesday, the Samford University basketball team dropped a close contest on the road against the South Alabama Jaguars, 52-50, at the Mitchell Center.

Merritt, Samford's 6-6 forward from Oklahoma City, Okla., scored 20 of the Bulldogs' final 21 points of the game and accounted for 60 percent of the team's total offense. He shot 10-of-19 from the floor and connected on four of his nine three-point attempts.

"We didn't do what we needed to do down the stretch," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I thought that they defended us well and we sped up and took some bad shots. We only gave up 52 points on the road and typically when that happens, you win the game. Aside from J. Robert, we didn't really get any offensive production out there."

Samford (2-1) trailed by four with 23 seconds remaining in the game when Merritt drained a three-pointer from four feet beyond the arc to bring the score to 51-50. The Bulldogs' Randall Gulina then sent Shane Spencer to the line where he hit one of two free throws to give South Alabama (1-1) its decisive 52-50 lead.

The Bulldogs had one final possession with less than 10 seconds remaining to either tie or take the lead in the game, but the Jaguars put two defenders on Merritt and played stifling defense to keep Samford from getting a shot off. The Bulldogs shot a season-low 37.5 percent from the floor, while South Alabama ended with a 51.4 shooting percentage.

"We only had 10 turnovers today, but I think that we shot the ball quickly at times," Tillette said. "We just didn't have the same edge that we did the other night. We're a young team, so I'm not completely disappointed in how we played."

South Alabama was led by junior Mario Jointer's 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor. He scored 15 points in the second half and was 3-of-8 from three-point land.

In the second half, 23 of Samford's 25 points were scored by a member of the Merritt family.

Jon Mills, the Bulldogs' senior from Winfield, Ala., scored the first two points of the half, but then the final 23 Samford points were tallied by either Joe Ross or J. Robert Merritt. Joe Ross, the younger of the Merritt siblings, scored his lone bucket with 9:54 remaining in the game. J. Robert accounted for the remaining 21 points.

Samford connected on four three-point shots in the opening half and four of the Bulldogs' first five baskets came from beyond the arc.

Bryan Boerjan, Samford's senior forward from Rock Falls, Ill., scored six of the Bulldogs' first 11 points of the game and finished the first half with six points, two assists and a steal.

Samford's Randall Gulina also tallied six points in the opening period and converted on a critical three-point play at the 3:36 mark. On the play, the Bulldogs' speedy freshman Curtis West corralled an errant South Alabama pass and led a 2-on-1 fastbreak that Gulina finished with a layup. The Jaguars' Jointer fouled Gulina on the play and he drained the free throw.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Saturday as the Bulldogs make their 2004-05 Seibert Hall debut at 2 p.m., against the Louisiana-Monroe Indians.

The matchup will be Samford's first of two games against the Indians in a week's time. The Bulldogs play on the road at Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 3.