Box Score
Samford Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Trailing by a point with mere seconds remaining in regulation Wednesday, Samford's Evan Taylor gathered a pass from Christen Cunningham, took three quick dribbles to his right and pulled up for a 15-foot jumper. Taylor fired off the shot with two seconds left and drained the game-winning basket with exactly :0.9 remaining on the clock as the Bulldogs registered a thrilling 68-67 victory over the Austin Peay Governors in their home opener held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
The win proved to be the first of The Padgett Era after Samford (1-2) opened its 2014-15 campaign with road losses at Purdue and Pittsburgh last week.
 
"It's always good to get a win," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy and played really well in the first half, but then it seemed as if we were a little tight there in the second half. On that last play, we always tell our guys to be ready, because you never know when your chance will come and Evan was definitely ready tonight."
 
Taylor, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-4 true freshman guard from Cincinnati, Ohio, finished Wednesday's contest with five points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, but knocked down the biggest shot of the evening when it counted.
 
Coming off the bench against Austin Peay (1-2), Taylor led all reserves with 26 minutes of playing time and added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
 
As a team, Samford shot 45.5 percent from the floor and drained seven 3-point baskets, but the key numbers proved to be in the intangibles. The Bulldogs registered a 32-3 disparity in bench points and added a 27-16 advantage in fast-break points. Additionally, Samford forced the Governors into 14 turnovers, which led to 21 points.
 
"Our bench was extremely good for us today and led to a lot of good things," Padgett said. "We were in a position to really put the game away, but Austin Peay kept battling and was able to find a way back into contention. I tell you what, if we win every game this season exactly like we did tonight, then I'd be totally fine with it, because a win is a win."
 
Samford used a 17-0 run midway through the first half to expand its lead from 17-16 to 34-16 in just a matter of minutes.
 
During the Bulldogs' key stretch, Samford applied its full-court defensive pressure and came up with a number of steals and easy fast-break layups. Sophomore guard Brandon Roberts provided a crucial spark off the bench and scored nine quick points to ignite the Bulldogs' first-half rally.
 
Roberts, Samford's nimble 6-foot-1 sophomore from Decatur, finished Wednesday's matchup with 11 points, two assists and a pair of steals. He went 4-of-7 from the field and knocked down a pair of key 3-point baskets.
 
Despite falling behind by 17 points in the first half, Austin Peay never showed any quit against their former Ohio Valley Conference rivals and trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 41-30 at the intermission.
 
"I couldn't have been happier with how active we were defensively in the first half," said Padgett. "We forced them into quite a few turnovers in the first half and we weren't letting them get many easy looks. Then, in the second half, we seemed to get a little sluggish, so I went back to the bench and our reserves were able to hold strong and we were able to get the win."
 
Austin Peay opened the second half with a quick 13-6 run and cut the Bulldogs' lead to 47-43 at the 14:50 mark in the final period.
 
The Governors' Chris Freeman scored six points during the stretch and finished Wednesday's game with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Austin Peay's Chris Horton led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
At 13:02 to play in the second half, Samford extended its lead back to 55-45 with a deep 3-point basket from Nnamdi Enechionyia, but then the Govs rallied to take their first advantage of the second half with 2:01 remaining, 65-63.
 
The lead changed three times in the final 56 seconds of the game as Samford's Taylor culminated the Bulldogs' last-second victory with his final buzzer-beater.
 
Cunningham led Samford in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor Wednesday, while also handing out a team-high five assists. Cunningham, the reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Week, logged 27 minutes of playing time and tallied two rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
The Bulldogs' Darius Jones-Gibson recorded 10 points and seven rebounds, while Michael Bradley added eight points, Jamal Shabazz scored seven and Marcus Johnson added six on two critical 3-point baskets.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs resume play in the 2014 Maui on the Mainland Competition in Little Rock, Arkansas, against the Cal State-Northridge Matadors.

Box Score
Samford Stats