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Bulldogs Tip the Hatters to Open TAAC Play
Dec. 2, 2000
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Derrick Jones led three Samford players in double figures with 18 points and Chris Weaver played 40 minutes for the second consecutive game as Samford defeated Stetson University 64-57 for its first win of the season Saturday at Seibert Hall. Jones finished the game 6-of-9 from the field, but more importantly for Samford (1-3, 1-0) he converted on four of six three-pointers to give the Bulldogs a boost offensively. Salyers also shot the ball well, firing 7-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Junior Guard Chris Weaver led the team in rebounding with seven and played without substitution for the second consecutive game. "It's too early in the year for me to be worried about wins and losses," said Samford Head Coach Jimmy Tillette. "But this win is good for us from the standpoint of confidence, because we beat a quality Stetson basketball team. This is the best Stetson team I've coached against. "As far as our team in concerned, we have good shooters taking good shots in good situations," Tillette sais. "We'll shoot better in February than we are right now, so that is not a concern for us." Samford also benefitted from the return of junior Corey Green from a foot injury, as he scored 12 and added three rebounds and four assists. Sebastian Singletary led Stetson (3-1, 0-1) with 18 points and he and center Santos Hampton tied with the game-high nine rebounds.
"Corey Green is a warrior," said coach Jimmy Tillette about the return of Weaver to the starting lineup. "The things he does in a game makes us a better team, and he has been very courageous in the last week in coming back from the injury."
The game was tight for the first five minutes, with Stetson even holding an early three-point lead 6-3. However, at the 15:10 mark Samford went on a 10-0 run to move from a 10-10 deadlock to a 20-10 lead nearly halfway through the first half. The Hatters cut into the Bulldog lead and narrowed it to six twice, but the trio of Salyers, Jones and Green pushed the Bulldogs back in front by as many as 12, and took a 34-24 lead into the half. Jones led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, followed by Salyers with nine, Green with seven and Weaver with six. Singletary had eight and Santos Hampton contributed seven to lead Stetson. The first five minutes of the second half, however, belonged to Stetson. Led by their top three players - Singletary, Hampton and Will Robertson, the Hatters opened the second half with a 14-5 run and took a 40-39 lead at the 14:30 mark of the second period. "I thought we looked lethargic coming out in the second half, and then when we went to zone we looked even more lethargic," said Tillette. "And we let Singletary take over during that stretch."The game was played to a stalemate until a series of events sparked a run for Samford. Salyers drove the lane for an uncontested dunk to make the score 49-47, then a minute and 30 seconds later Bulldog freshman Tyson Dorsey nailed consecutive three pointers to boost the Bulldog lead to 55-47. "I thought that was one of the key moments in the second half for us, because we have led in every game but have not been able to separate," said Tillette. "Phillip Ramelli sparked us and gave us life because he came in, got a block, rebounded the ball, and limited their effectiveness offensively." The Hatters would cut only cut Samford's lead to five the remainder of the game, and Samford opened the TAAC season with its first win, 64-57. Samford remains in TAAC action on Monday night as the Bulldogs travel to Atlanta to face Georgia State (5-0, 0-0 TAAC). Game time is 7:30 (CDT) and can be heard on WAPI-AM 1070 and WVSU-FM 91.1 in Birmingham and on the internet on the Samford Athletics Web Site, www.samfordsports.com.
Stetson vs Samford (12/02/00 at Seibert Hall, Birmingham, Ala.)
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Stetson vs Samford
12/02/00 2:00 p.m. at Seibert Hall, Birmingham, Ala.
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VISITORS: Stetson 3-0, 0-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 SINGLETARY, Sebastia f 9-13 0-0 0-2 2 7 9 4 18 3 3 0 0 32
32 ROBERTSON, Will..... f 5-10 2-3 0-0 0 5 5 2 12 1 1 0 1 30
35 HAMPTON, Santos..... c 4-11 0-0 2-4 2 7 9 3 10 0 3 0 0 34
12 MORRIS, Van......... g 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 3 1 0 0 22
14 GIVENS, Ravii....... g 3-7 1-2 0-2 0 1 1 4 7 5 2 0 0 36
15 AMBROSE, Eugene..... 1-4 0-0 2-4 1 2 3 1 4 1 0 0 1 24
25 REASER, Josh........ 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 10
45 MCCONNELL, Ricky.... 1-2 0-0 0-1 1 4 5 2 2 0 1 0 1 12
TEAM................ 4 2 6
Totals.............. 25-52 3-7 4-13 10 28 38 20 57 13 12 0 3 200
Play Analysis
Stetson vs Samford (12/02/00 - Prd 2 00:00) |
