Published on February 28, 2006 at 6 p.m. by Philip Poole  

 The Â鶹¹û¶³ men's and women's basketball teams took care of business Tuesday night, making history along the way by winning first round games in the O'Reilly Auto Parts/Ohio Valley Conference tournament.  (www.samfordsports.com)

The Â鶹¹û¶³ women beat archrival Jacksonville State University 58-56, and the Â鶹¹û¶³ men defeated Tennessee State University 78-67 before a raucous crowd at Seibert Hall on the Â鶹¹û¶³ campus.  It was the first time for both teams to win first round tournament games since Â鶹¹û¶³ joined the OVC in 2003, and it was the first conference tournament win for the Â鶹¹û¶³ women's team since 2001.

Both teams now advance to the OVC semifinals Friday at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.  The Â鶹¹û¶³ women will play Southeast Missouri State University at 2 p.m., and the Â鶹¹û¶³ men will play Tennessee Tech University at 8 p.m. The men's game will be televised by national cable network ESPN-U.

The women's championship game will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday, and the men's championship game will be played at 3 p.m.  The men's game will be televised on EPSN2.  Winners of both tournament championship games receive automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.

Tickets are available through noon Thursday at the Â鶹¹û¶³ ticket office in Seibert Hall.  Athletics Director Robert Roller encouraged Â鶹¹û¶³ fans to buy the tournament booklet for $40, which allows fans to attend all semifinal games and both championship games on Saturday. Single session tickets are available for $22 each.

Tickets also can be purchased through the Ohio Valley Conference, and fans should request seats in the Â鶹¹û¶³ sections.  (www.ovcsports.com)

 Â鶹¹û¶³ students can get tickets for games in Nashville for $5 with a valid Â鶹¹û¶³ student identification card.

The Â鶹¹û¶³ Alumni Association and the Â鶹¹û¶³ athletics department will host a hospitality room in suites D-H at the Gaylord Entertainment Center beginning at noon Friday.  The Â鶹¹û¶³ pep band and cheerleaders, along with Spike the mascot, will be in Nashville.

http://www.gaylordentertainmentcenter.com/index.shtml 

 

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Â鶹¹û¶³ is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Â鶹¹û¶³ enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Â鶹¹û¶³ fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.