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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Samford University basketball team turned in its best shooting performance of the 2014-15 season Sunday against the Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos as the Bulldogs earned a 64-55 victory in the third-place game of the Maui on the Mainland Regional Invitational held at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
"After losing yesterday, we put a challenge into our team and they really came out and responded well," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "We kept it to the basics and just told our guys that it's not about our opponents, it's about us. We just need to do us, and that entails being the hardest working team on the court, playing fast and getting up and down the court. It's 15 guys coming together as one team."
 
Samford (2-3) opened Sunday's contest with an 11-0 start and never looked back as the Bulldogs rolled to a wire-to-wire triumph against Missouri Kansas City (2-3). Samford held an average 10.2-point advantage throughout the game and the Bulldogs shot a brilliant 53.7-percent from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) from 3-point range.
 
"We were really good offensively and we shared the ball," Padgett said. "We shot the ball well, but I thought defensively, we were phenomenal. We held them to 32 percent shooting and we put an entire game together, not just a good first half or second half. Our guys came together and did a good job of helping and it was a great team effort."
 
The Bulldogs' Nnamdi Enechionyia received his first start of the season Sunday and turned in the best collegiate performance of his young, up-and-coming career.
 
Just a sophomore, Enechionyia scored Samford's first eight points of the game and finished with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a near-perfect 5-of-6 outing from beyond the arc.
 
Enechionyia, the Bulldogs' lithe 6-foot-7 sharpshooter from Springfield, Virginia, set career-highs in points (22), field goals (7), 3-point field goals (5), blocks (5) and minutes (27).
 
"We thought that UMKC was going to play a lot of zone against us and we really wanted all of our shooters on the floor to get off to a good start," said Padgett. "Brandon Hayman didn't do anything wrong at all, but I had a hunch that we would need Nnamdi's shooting ability today and he definitely proved us correct."
 
Samford shot a phenomenal 63.6 percent from the field in the first half and led by as many as 14 points, 39-25, in the opening period. The Bulldogs' Enechionyia scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the first frame and sparked Samford to a 39-28 half-time lead.
 
In the second half, Missouri-Kansas City came out of the locker room with a newfound drive and trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 41-36 by using a quick 8-2 run.
 
During the Kangaroos' stretch, Noah Knight and Martez Harrison both knocked down 3-point baskets, while center Shayok Shayok scored on a layup. After Harrison's 3-pointer, Samford's Christen Cunningham swished a pair of free throws and Enechionyia drained his fifth basket from long range as the Bulldogs quickly extended their lead back to nine points at 46-37.
 
Missouri-Kansas City would not get any closer than seven points down the stretch as Samford completed its best all-around game of the season.
 
Samford was paced by Enechionyia's career-high 22 points and also received a clutch, career-best performance from Marcus Johnson.
 
Johnson, in his first season as a Bulldog, came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. He also pulled down three rebounds, connected on a pair of 3-point baskets and added a rebound, an assist and a steal.
 
Samford's bench outscored UMKC's reserves by a total of 30-15.
 
"Our bench was phenomenal tonight," Padgett said. "Marcus Johnson, Jamal Shabazz and Emeka Ikezu all came in and gave us huge minutes. We had a lot of foul trouble today, but our reserves stepped up big and really helped lead us to this victory.
 
Missouri-Kansas City opened its 2014-15 campaign with a 69-61 victory at Missouri on Nov. 14. Then, the Kangaroos played at Kansas State and hung tough with the Wildcats, 83-73.
 
Samford cruised to a nine-point victory Sunday despite not receiving a single point from its starting front court consisting of center Michael Bradley and forward Tyler Hood. In fact, neither Bradley nor Hood even attempted a shot in the victory.
 
The aforementioned Bulldogs both succumbed to early foul trouble and combined for seven rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of playing time.
 
"They were in a lot of foul trouble today and were never really able to get into a rhythm," Padgett said. "If you would have told me that Mike Bradley and Tyler Hood wouldn't have even gotten a shot off tonight and that we won pretty impressively, I would have laughed at you."
 
Samford defeated Missouri-Kansas City for the first time in school history and improved to 1-2 in the all-time series between the teams.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue play in their early-season, four-game road stretch against the Kennesaw State Owls in a non-conference matchup to be held at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.

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