Feb. 11, 2006

Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - In only its second overtime contest of the 2005-06 season, the Samford University basketball team dropped a hard-fought 74-68 decision against the Austin Peay Governors at the Dave Aaron Arena.

After a Randall Gulina layup tied the score at 54-54 with 59.9 seconds remaining in regulation, Samford (16-7, 12-4 Ohio Valley Conference) picked up a key defensive stop and held the ball with 17.7 to go for the win. After a 30-second timeout, the Bulldogs' Travis Peterson took a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer that went half-way through the cylinder and rolled out.

"I thought that we had our worst start of the year," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I think that J. Robert (Merritt) had a good game, but nobody else really stepped up. We played well there for a while in the second half, but down the stretch, we made some crucial mistakes."

Austin Peay (15-11, 10-7 OVC) used the momentum of a raucous home crowd in overtime and rallied for 20 points in the extra period alone.

The Bulldogs also shot well in overtime, but only scored 14 points in the period, falling 74-68. Samford shot 45.6 percent in the game, while the Governors scored at a 49.1 percent clip from the field.

Samford had three players scoring in double figures with J. Robert Merritt leading the way by scoring a game-high 25 points.

The Bulldogs' senior forward also set the school's single-season 3-point field goal record with five long range baskets in the game. He now has the school record with 87 this season. Merritt broke his own record of 85 in a season, which he set last year.

Junior Jerry Smith scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, while Gulina added 12 and grabbed six rebounds.

Austin Peay had four players score in double figures on Saturday. Maurice Hampton led the way with 20 points, while Zac Schlader was next with 18 points.

Despite committing 10 first-half turnovers and allowing the Governors to jump out to a 12-3 lead, Samford closed out the opening period with an 8-2 run and only trailed 27-26 at the intermission.

With 2:53 left in the first half, Peterson scored back-to-back layups and J. Robert Merritt added another four points to trim Austin Peay's lead to one.

J. Robert Merritt led all scorers with 13 points in the first half and shot 4-of-7 from the floor. The Bulldogs' senior from Oklahoma City, Okla., is also the top-ranked 3-point shooter in the nation and connected on 3-of-6 first half 3-point attempts.

Austin Peay's Hampton tallied 11 points in the opening period on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. On "Senior Night", the Governors' senior from Russellville, Ky., scored eight of Austin Peay's first 10 points.

After Peterson made a field goal to give Samford a 1-0 lead, the Governors used a 12-2 run to take a 12-3 advantage in the game. The Bulldogs then used a 52.6 percent first-half shooting performance to fight to back to within one point at halftime.

Austin Peay shot 41.7 percent from the floor in the opening period.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action on Tuesday as the Bulldogs begin a brief two-game homestand against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 7 p.m., in Seibert Hall.

The game can be heard live on WVSU 91.1-FM or via the Internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/WVSU.