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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Despite trailing by 18 points, 24-6, at the 11:51 mark in the first half, the Samford University basketball team charged back to defeat the Furman Paladins, 68-58, on Saturday to extend its Southern Conference winning streak to three-consecutive games in front of 1,948 exuberant fans at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"We were off for a week heading into tonight's game, and I don't know if that had something to do with our sluggish start, but we called a timeout and the score was 24-6," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "I told the guys not to try to get it all back at once and all it really took was one bucket, because once we got into the press, we had a great chance of turning them over and getting right back into the game."
 
Samford (10-14, 3-8 SoCon) overcame its slow start Saturday by using a 23-4 run late in the first half to garner its first lead of the game, 29-28, with 1:17 remaining in the opening period.
 
During the Bulldogs' scoring barrage, true freshman Evan Taylor scored 10 huge points, while Tyler Hood dropped in seven of his own and junior guard Darius Jones-Gibson tallied four. Samford only shot 34.5 percent from the field in the first half, but forced Furman (7-14, 4-6 SoCon) into 10 turnovers and scored 13 points off turnovers.
 
"We were able to score a couple of quick buckets and then we got on a roll," Padgett said. "I thought that Evan Taylor was huge during that run, because he hit two big 3s and did a good job of getting some steals that also led to baskets. That run was huge for us to get right back into it and to get the crowd into the game."
 
Jones-Gibson led the Bulldogs in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Samford's speedy native of Lexington, Kentucky, also tallied six assists, four rebounds and three steals, while knocking down seven free throws. Jones-Gibson entered Saturday's game as the reigning SoCon Player of the Week as handed out by College Sports Madness.
 
"Darius has really been playing phenomenal for us," said Padgett. "He's been good all throughout conference play, but he's been really good here in the last three games. He made a lot of big-time plays in the second half, especially offensively that helped us to seal the deal."
 
The Bulldogs' Hood notched 17 points Saturday and moved into sole possession of 20^th place on Samford's all-time scoring list. He closed out the game with 1,067 career points and surpassed Raijon Kelly's total of 1,064.
 
Hood now trails former Bulldog-great Josh Davis by just one point to be tied for the No. 19 position at 1,068.
 
Along with his 17 points against the Paladins, Hood grabbed five rebounds and two steals, all while handing out an assist and finishing 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
 
"I really loved the emotion that Hoody (Tyler Hood) played with out there today," Padgett said. "He was really willing to mix it up defensively, and I thought that he did a good job rebounding the ball as well. He's going to make his shots and he's always good at making his layups, but today he also back-cut a couple guys and really showed his leadership qualities."
 
Early in the second half, Samford used a 3-point play from true freshman point guard Christen Cunningham to take a 39-32 advantage in the contest.
 
Cunningham, the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Week, closed out Saturday's game with 12 points, two steals and a rebound. He also went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Down the stretch, the Bulldogs maintained a hefty advantage over Furman and ultimately picked up the 68-58 victory. Samford trails the Paladins in the all-time series, 11-7, but has won the last three meetings held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"We know that every game is going to be a marathon," said Taylor. "Even if we come out slow, we know that our pressure will help keep us in every game and give us a great chance to win every game. We got down early tonight, but we were able to stick with the game plan and that really helped us to get a good win."
 
Samford's defense did the trick against Furman as the Bulldogs forced their counterparts into 17 turnovers. Outscoring the Paladins, 25-8, in points off turnovers, Samford did an outstanding job of capitalizing on the miscues.
 
"I love that we had 25 points off turnovers," Padgett said. "Anytime that we can be right at 20 points or above in that category, then we're going to have a very good chance to win the game."
 
Furman's Stephen Croone scored his team's first 13 points of the night and finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field. He also knocked down a game-high four 3-point baskets.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a two-game road trip against the Western Carolina Catamounts to be held at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

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