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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In the biggest margin of victory of the young, ever-improving Padgett Era, the Samford University basketball team battled to a momentous 64-50 triumph over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Sunday in a late calendar-year contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought we played an extremely good game defensively, especially in the second half," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "(Assistant coach) Charles Newton put together a great scout and a great game plan and our guys did a good job of following it and executing it out there on the court."
 
Samford (5-8) fell behind, 7-0, to start Sunday's contest, but eventually worked its way out front and took a 32-28 advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs only shot 34.4 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play, but knocked down six 3-point baskets on 18 attempts from long range.
 
"It took us four and a half minutes to figure out how to put the thing in the ocean, but at about the six-minute mark into the game, our guys' intensity level went up and it stayed there for the rest of the game," Padgett said. "ULM could never really match that intensity for the rest of the game and I'm very proud of these guys and how well they played."
 
In the second half, Samford shot the ball much better from the field and turned in a sizzling 59.1-percent mark from the floor. Conversely, the Bulldogs' stout defense limited Louisiana-Monroe (6-5) to a 32.1-percent outing in the second half and a 32.2 mark for the game.
 
"ULM came into the game shooting 46 percent from the field and we held them to 32 percent, which was by far our best defensive performance of the season," said Padgett. "I think we are definitely starting to mature as a team, because this is the second straight time that our guys did a great job of following the scout and shut down what the opponent wants to do."
 
The teams were knotted at 43-43 with 12:33 to play Sunday before Samford used a lightning-quick 14-0 run to take control of the game and build its advantage to 57-43.
 
During the Bulldogs' key scoring stretch, Samford received four points apiece from senior Michael Bradley and junior Darius Jones-Gibson. The Bulldogs' Alex Peters, Christen Cunningham and Brandon Roberts also chipped in with buckets to sustain the team's critical rally.
 
Samford boasted a 14-point lead with 4:34 remaining in Sunday's game and held ULM at bay for the remainder of the contest. The Bulldogs took their biggest lead of the evening, 64-48, with just over a minute left in the matchup.
 
With its win, Samford improved to 6-8 all-time against the Warhawks. The Bulldogs also extended their winning streak at home in the series to three-consecutive games.
 
Samford finished with three players scoring in double figures Sunday. Roberts, the Bulldogs' high-scoring sophomore from Decatur, Alabama, led the squad with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, while Bradley came off the bench to score 11 points and grab seven rebounds.
 
Bradley, Samford's 6-foot-10 center from Chattanooga, Tennessee, finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
 
"Big Mike really played big today and that was huge for us," Padgett said. "Every basket that he had for us was in the second half and he really came through in the clutch and when we needed him to. He definitely helped us with his scoring down low and that was a key factor for us down the stretch."
 
The Bulldogs' Cunningham registered 10 points, five rebounds and three steals Sunday, but failed to hand out an assist for the first time all season. Cunningham, Samford's highly-touted point guard from Georgetown, Kentucky, entered the game as the Southern Conference's leading assist player with 58.
 
Louisiana-Monroe's Nick Coppola paced his team with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Jamaal Samuel came off the bench to drop in 13.
 
The Samford University basketball team will take a week off from competitive action for the Christmas Holidays and then return to action at home on Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. (CST) against the Campbell University Camels in a non-conference contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

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