Box Score
Samford Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its most complete game of the 2014-15 Southern Conference season Thursday, the Samford University basketball team forced the UNCG Spartans into 16 turnovers and scored 22 points off their miscues en route to a decisive 89-78 victory held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought this was one of our best team wins this season, because everybody contributed," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "What I loved about tonight was that was Samford basketball how I've envisioned it from the beginning. We got after them with the press, and to be honest, we forced 16 turnovers, but we had at least six or seven more loose balls that we should have had as well. The press caused some problems for them and it led to a lot of easy points for us tonight."
 
With the win, Samford (8-14, 1-8 SoCon) improved to 6-4 at home this season and notched its third-consecutive victory against UNCG (6-14, 2-5 SoCon). The Bulldogs lead the all-time series between the teams, 9-5.
 
Samford finished Thursday's triumph with five players scoring in doubles figures. The feat marked the first time this season that the Bulldogs concluded a game with five players scoring at least 10 points apiece.
 
Junior guard Darius Jones-Gibson paced Samford with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and also finished 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs' explosive two-guard also pulled down five rebounds and handed out a team-high five assists in 31 minutes of playing time.
 
Marcus Johnson, Samford's junior transfer from Wallace State Junior College, continued his stellar play of late as he dropped in 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Johnson, who has progressively earned more minutes this season, drained a trio of 3-pointers against the Spartans and added four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
 
"This was a good win for us and it really feels good to get over the hump," Johnson said. "I thought we did a great job of playing team basketball tonight and it's always easier to make a shot when you're wide open. We made solid passes all night long and were able to get a lot of good looks at the basket."
 
The Bulldogs' Tyler Hood moved into sole possession of 21^st place on the school's all-time scoring list Thursday by scoring 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Hood, Samford's senior team captain and 3-point specialist, also connected on a trio of 3-pointers and now owns 1,039 points in his illustrious career.
 
Turning in the best overall performance for the Bulldogs on Thursday was senior center Michael Bradley.
 
Bradley logged 30 minutes of playing time against UNCG and registered his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He finished 5-of-10 from the field, tallied three blocked shots and handed out an assist.
 
"All this week, the coaching staff was telling me to be aggressive, so I wanted to come out and take their advice offensively, especially in the first half," said Bradley. "I really wanted to establish a post presence early in the game, and I think that really opened things up and allowed our guards to get some open looks and good driving lanes to the goal."
 
Rounding out Samford's double-digit scorers Thursday was true freshman point guard Christen Cunningham who tallied 10 points, four assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals, while also finishing a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
 
Cunningham entered the game ranked second in the SoCon with 87 assists.
 
"We had five guys in double figures tonight and Brandon Roberts finished with eight," Padgett said. "That's Samford basketball and that can be attributed to everybody playing unselfishly and sharing the ball. I think this is the best that we've done in that regard since I've been here. At the half, we were trailing in fast-break points, 14-13, but then we finished 16-0 in the category in the second half. We made an adjustment at the half and the guys did an awesome job of listening and we excelled at keeping the mental mistakes to a minimum."
 
UNCG jumped out to an early 21-12 lead Thursday, but Samford quickly bounced back with a 14-2 run of its own to garner a 33-29 advantage with 4:17 remaining in the first half.
 
During the Bulldogs' run, Nnamdi Enechionyia and Bradley both scored on key layups, sophomore Brandon Roberts notched four points in transition, while Hood and Johnson both knocked down 3-point baskets.
 
Samford finished 6-of-14 from beyond the arc Thursday and extended its historic 3-point basket streak to 712 straight games, dating back to Jan. 19, 1991.
 
The Bulldogs' Johnson drained another 3-point basket at the first-half buzzer and Samford held a 43-35 advantage at the intermission.
 
Early in the second half, UNCG would eek back to within five points at 51-46, but then the Bulldogs took advantage of their suffocating full-court press and quickly extended the lead to 63-52 midway through the half.
 
Down the stretch, Samford would capitalize on its free-throw attempts and closed out the game for an 89-78 victory. The Bulldogs finished 21-of-25 from the charity stripe for an 84-percent performance.
 
Samford outscored UNCG, 46-30, in the paint and 22-3 in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs forced the Spartans into 16 miscues, while only committing nine of their own.
 
"I love how hard our guys fight," said Padgett. "Right when you think they might get down or slack up a little big, they just come out and play that much harder and they always give all that they have. They do that in games and tonight they did it to bounce back from a tough loss at Mercer on Saturday."
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue play in their three-game SoCon homestand against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a key league contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

Box Score
Samford Stats