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PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Behind a total team effort and a valiant performance from the Samford basketball team, the Bulldogs nearly knocked off the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday in an early-season showdown held at the Petersen Events Center (12,508). Samford battled to within three points, 59-56, with under a minute to play, but Pitt was able to hold on late for a hard-fought 63-56 win.
 
"We knew that if we were going to have a chance to win this game that we were going to need a phenomenal effort," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "It couldn't just be good, it couldn't be great, it had to be phenomenal. That's the hardest that I think I've ever seen our guys play and we need that."
 
With 28 seconds left to play, Samford (0-2) trimmed the Pittsburgh (2-0) lead to 59-56 with a key 3-point basket from senior Tyler Hood. The 3-point basket from the right corner proved to be Hood's sixth deep shot of the game as he finished 7-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
 
After the Bulldogs cut Pitt's lead to three points, 59-56, Samford fouled the Panthers' Artis Jamel and sent him to the line for a pair of free throws.
 
Jamel knocked down both shots and the Bulldogs took possession at the 14-second mark.  Down the stretch, Samford's Christen Cunningham missed a late 3-pointer, while Pitt's James Robinson added a pair of free throws.
 
"In the last couple of possessions, we had to foul and Pitt did what they were supposed to do, and they made their free throws," said Padgett. "I'm very happy with our effort and now we just need to take this effort and use it towards everybody that we face and not just teams like Pitt."
 
Hood led all scorers Sunday with 21 points. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 native of Lenoir City, Tennessee, also added a pair of rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot.
 
Samford's Michael Bradley turned in is best performance of the young 2014-15 season with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Cunningham, the Bulldogs' true freshman floor general, registered an outstanding all-around game Sunday with eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. He also added two steals and a blocked shot, while going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
 
Rounding out Samford's scoring were Jamal Shabazz (7), Darius Jones-Gibson (5) and Nnamdi Enechionyia (5).
 
The Bulldogs outrebounded Pitt on Sunday, 33-31, including a decisive 13-7 margin on the offensive end of the court. Six of Samford's 11 players pulled down at least two rebounds against the Panthers.
 
"If you would have told me beforehand that we were going to outrebound Pitt today, I would have never believed you," Padgett said. "Our guys did a great job of all five players crashing the boards and getting involved for the rebounds."
 
Despite only shooting 22.6 percent in the first half, Samford held a five-point advantage over Pitt, 18-13, with 7:17 remaining in the period. During the Bulldogs' early run, Hood drained a 3-pointer and added a back-door layup, while Jones-Gibson connected on a pair of free throws.
 
The Panthers bounced back late in the opening stanza and closed out the period with an 18-5 run.
 
Samford opened the second half with a quick 5-0 run and eventually trimmed Pitt's advantage to five, 53-48, with just over five minutes remaining to play.
 
"I couldn't be happier with the guys' effort," said Padgett. "Hardly any of our guys have ever played significant minutes in a meaningful game until today, but down the stretch I thought our guys executed to stay in the game and then with 28 seconds or so, we had a chance only down by three points."
 
Just minutes later, the Bulldogs' Hood cut the lead to three with his sixth 3-point basket of the game.
 
After shooting 1-for-10 from long range in the first half, Samford knocked down 7-of-13 down the stretch to cut into the Panthers' second-period lead.
 
"I still feel that we didn't shoot the ball anywhere near to how we're capable," said Padgett. "We shot terribly in the first half, and the only reason that we were in the game in the second half is that we finally shot the ball the way that we're capable of. If we could have shot that way for the entire game, then who knows how it might have ended up."
 
Pitt was led in scoring by Michael Young's 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. A majority of Young's points were tallied on fast-break layups once the Panthers finally broke through the Bulldogs' press.
 
In fast-break points, Pitt outscored Samford, 24-0.
 
"We're going to be a pressing, running team," Padgett said. "Therefore, I was going to play that style no matter what today, but they did kill us in transition. Honestly, it wouldn't have prepared us for Austin Peay and the other teams that are like us in the Southern Conference, because that's not what we're going to do.
 
"We're not going to walk the ball up the court and play a non-aggressive zone, so I was going to play Samford basketball no matter what, and I'm glad I did, because today's effort shows that we can play that way against a really good team."
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin their 2014-15 home slate against the Austin Peay Govs. The game will be held on campus at the Pete Hanna Center.

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