TENNESSEE TECH 73, SAMFORD 59
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech played outstanding defense and guards Belton Rivers and Anthony Fisher combined to score 46 points to lift the Golden Eagles to a convincing 73-59 Ohio Valley Conference victory Sunday afternoon over league-leading Samford University in Eblen Center.
Rivers, the leading scorer in the OVC, scored 16 over his 25 points in the second half and hit 5-for-6 from long range. Fisher, who ranks third in the conference, added 21 points for Tech (8-9/4-4 OVC).
Samford (9-8/6-2 OVC), which came into the week unbeaten in league play, suffered its second conference loss in four days. Tech led by as many as 16 points in the second half to the delight of the 2,604 fans on hand. The closest Samford could get afer halftime was eight points, a couple of times.
The Bulldogs pulled to within eight points, 62-54, with 3:07 to play, but Rivers, Amadi McKenzie and Fisher drained six consecutive free throws to build the lead back to double figures. The largest lead of the night was 73-57 with 11 seconds to go after two more free throws from Rivers.
Fisher was 5-for-6 from the arc and 6-for-6 at the free throw line for his 25 points. Fisher went 5-for-5 at the free throw line and scored 21 points along with six assists. Junior Amadi McKenzie added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior center Jonathan Jones had five points, eight rebounds and a career-high five assists.
Randall Gulina, who ranks second in the OVC in scoring between Rivers and Fisher, led Samford with 15 points and seven rebounds. Curtis West and Peterson scored 14 apiece, while guard Jerry Smith added 11 points and six rebounds.