Dec. 29, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team used a career-high 33 points from senior J. Robert Merritt to defeat the Campbellsville Tigers, 91-56, in Seibert Hall on Thursday as the Bulldogs shot a season-high 67.3 percent from the field.

Merritt was a near-perfect 12-of-13 from the floor and connected on 7-of-8 of his 3-point attempts. Samford's 6-6 senior forward from Oklahoma City, Okla., led all scorers with 33 points and surpassed his previous career-high of 30, which he recorded last season at South Alabama on Nov. 24.

Junior Randall Gulina added 13 points for the Bulldogs and finished with a 4-of-6 performance from the field.

"I thought that we were extremely efficient on the offensive side of the ball tonight and we have some very good players that had good games," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I thought that J. Robert had one of the best halves of basketball that I have ever seen and he really broke out of his slump in a big way."

Samford (6-4) took control of the game early and jumped out to a 55-29 halftime advantage.

Merritt scored 29 of his 33 points in the first half and played sparingly in the final period. He missed his opening 3-point attempt of the game, but then knocked down 12-straight of his last field goal attempts.

"I missed my first shot, but then I hit two in a row and I guess that got me going," said Merritt. "I haven't really been in the groove yet this season, so it really felt good to get it back. The shots just seemed like they were falling and it was one of those things where I think I was in the zone."

The Bulldogs shot 42.9 percent from beyond the arc and finished with a 92.9 shooting percentage from the free throw line. Sophomore Ryan Woolsey pulled down a game-and-career-high six rebounds, while junior point guard Jerry Smith registered a game-high seven assists.

With the victory, Samford extended its winning streak to three-consecutive games and will resume conference play against Tennessee Tech on Jan. 2, in Cookeville, Tenn.

"This was a good win for us in that we had a lot of guys that were able to come in and get some extra playing time," Tillette said. "Some of our younger players were able to get some experience and nobody on our team had to play minutes in the 30's. We had nine players that played at least 10 minutes and that's good because next week we play three road games."

Campbellsville (10-1), which entered Thursday's game as the 10th-ranked team in NAIA's Division I, was led in scoring by senior guard Zach Ingles. Ingles, who was a starter at Eastern Kentucky last season, tallied 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting and played 38 minutes.

The Tigers' loss to Samford was their second loss against an Ohio Valley Conference opponent this season. Earlier this year, they fell on the road at Murray State, 76-51.

Campbellsville's current record is listed at 10-1 because NAIA schools do not count their games against Division I opponents.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Jan. 2, as the Bulldogs continue their OVC schedule on the road against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m., in Cookeville, Tenn.