Saturday, December 7, 2002

Samford downs FIU, 64-54

amford downs FIU, 64-54, to win the consolation game of the Pizza Hut Classic in Springfield, MO. The Golden Panthers (4-3) were led by Junior Matias' 17 points and nine rebounds by Al Harris.

Poor shooting again doomed FIU with 32-percent (17-for-53) from the floor, including 17-percent (4-for-24) in the first half.

The first half was not a memorable one for either team, as Samford (4-2) held FIU to 14 points. The previous Golden Panther record for lowest amount of points in a first half was 13 set against Western Kentucky in 2001.

The good news was that FIU's defense stopped the Bulldogs from making a field goal for over nine and a half minutes. That helped the Golden Panthers to hold Samford to 20 points in the half.

Samford went on a 5-0 run to start the second half, when two steals by FIU's Carlos Morban led to four points, a three-point play by Harris and a dunk by Eulis Baez brought FIU to within 27-24 with 15-minutes left.

Samford's J. Robert Merritt responded by hitting his fourth and fifth three-points baskets to put the Bulldogs back up, 33-24.

Matias made four of FIU's next five points, when Samford hit its seventh three-pointer of the night for a 36-29 advantage with 12-minutes to go.

Matias would make two more from the charity stripe, until Morban hit FIU's first field goal in five minutes for a 40-33 deficit at the eight-minute mark.

Morban committed his third foul of the second half, fourth of the game, and had to sit at the 7:45 mark. He wouldn't come back until 2:57.

The Golden Panthers would score only five points in his absence and wouldn't get closer than seven points the rest of the way. Samford making 15 of 16 free throws down the stretch helped that lead.

FIU will continue on its five-game road trip next Saturday, traveling to Amherst, MA, to play the University of Massachusetts.