Box Score
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its highest scoring output of the 2014-15 season, the Samford University basketball team extended its winning streak to four-consecutive games Tuesday with a 94-60 home triumph against the Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks in a key in-state victory held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Despite falling behind 6-0 out of the gate, Samford (7-8) quickly rebounded and tied the score at 6-6 with 16:32 left in the first half. Midway through the opening period, the Bulldogs exploded for a 16-0 run and extended their decisive advantage to 37-18 with 3:30 remaining until the intermission.
 
"I think that any time you go up against a non-Division I program, the tendency is that the guys think it's automatically going to be an easy game," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "Well, early on, we found out that's never going to be the case. No team is going to come in here and just roll over and let us win. We finally used some discipline defensively to do what we're supposed to do, we then executed the offense and things started to fall into place."
 
During Samford's dominant first-half run, the Bulldogs' catalysts proved to be guards Brandon Roberts and Marcus Johnson.
 
Roberts, Samford's dynamic sophomore sharpshooter from Decatur, scored seven points during the flurry, while Johnson drained a deep 3-point basket and added a fast-break layup for five points.
 
"Our backup guards, Brandon Roberts and Marcus Johnson, were outstanding for us there in the first half," Padgett said. "They were both very good offensively, but it was their great energy defensively that actually got us going. They did a great job of making shots, sharing the ball and causing turnovers."
 
Johnson, the Bulldogs' talented junior transfer from Washington, D.C., finished Tuesday's contest with a career-high 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. He also went a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
 
"It was great to win our fourth straight game and especially to be able to win again at home," said Johnson. "We know that our offense needs to start on the defensive end, so we made sure to come out and play with some good effort defensively. It's also good to gain some key confidence as we head into the main portion of our conference season."
 
Roberts led Samford in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. He also connected on a game-high four 3-point baskets and handed out a career-high five assists.
 
"This was a great team win and I'm just happy that we could come out tonight and get better," said Roberts. "We put a lot of effort into sharing the ball out there and all of the guys did a great job of finishing at the rim. In the locker room, I was happier about having the five assists than I was about the 19 points."
 
Auburn-Montgomery (5-6) was limited to 38.6 percent shooting from the field and became the Bulldogs' third straight opponent to fail to reach the 40-percent mark.
 
Samford outscored the Warhawks, 38-18, in the paint and out-rebounded Auburn-Montgomery, 39-26. Additionally, the Bulldogs bested the Warhawks in bench scoring, 61-20, and fast-break points, 26-13.
 
At the half, Samford held a 40-26 lead and closed out the opening period on a 19-8 run. Early in the second stanza, the Bulldogs quickly increased their advantage to 27 points and Padgett began to clear his bench with a 40-point lead, 80-40, with 9:15 left to play in the game.
 
Samford shot a stellar 13-of-26 from 3-point range and turned in a 51.5-percent mark from the field.
 
The Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures for the third time this season and turned in their highest scoring output of the young and upcoming Padgett Era. Samford's 94 points scored Tuesday topped its previous high mark of 81 against Presbyterian on Dec. 16.
 
Senior Tyler Hood scored the Bulldogs' first nine points of the game and finished with 11 on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Hood only played a total of 15 minutes Tuesday and moved within 13 points of reaching the prestigious 1,000-point plateau for his career.
 
"It's going to be a special honor for Tyler to reach 1,000 points and I think it's a great barometer for a player to reach that mark," Padgett said. "So far, only 23 total players in Samford history have accomplished that feat and it's going to be special when he reaches it. I just hope it comes against Wofford on Saturday, because we're going to need every point that we can get."
 
Darius Jones-Gibson dropped in 10 points for the Bulldogs, while senior center Michael Bradley came off the bench to tally eight points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots, a steal and an assist in 20 minutes of action. Bradley's seven boards led all players in the game.
 
Samford's Nnamdi Enechionyia finished with eight points and Evan Taylor shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the field for seven of his own. Rounding out the Bulldogs' scoring Tuesday were Christen Cunningham (4), Ryan Dickey (3), Brandon Hayman (2) and Emeka Ikezu (2).
 
Cunningham played a key role in guiding Samford's offense as he handed out a game-high eight assists. The Bulldogs tallied 24 assists in the contest and forced Auburn-Montgomery into 21 turnovers.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs jump back into Southern Conference play for the remainder of the 2014-15 regular season versus the Wofford Terriers.
 
The critical league showdown against the defending SoCon Tournament champions will be broadcast to a national television audience on the American Sports Network and will be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"Wofford is definitely going to be the best defensive team that we play for the rest of the year," said Padgett. "Points are going to be hard to come by in that game, so hopefully we have a really good crowd come out and cheer us on Saturday."

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