AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—Curtis West scored six points in the final two minutes to lead Samford to a 52-49 victory over Sacramento State on Tuesday night in the first round of the Guardians Classic.
West scored eight of the Bulldogs’ final 10 points and had a steal and tip-in of a missed layup that gave Samford a 46-45 lead with 1:46 to play. The teams traded one-point leads seven times in the final seven minutes before J. Robert Merritt’s two free throws with 28 seconds left gave Samford a 50-47 cushion.
Merrit led Samford (1-0) with 14 points and eight rebounds and Travis Peterson added 11 points with three 3-pointers.
DaShawn Freeman led Sacramento State (0-1) with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from long range. Samford held Hornets guard Jason Harris, the Big Sky Conference preseason player of the year, to three points on 1-of-9 shooting.
