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DENTON, Texas -- The Samford University basketball team cruised to a 75-58 victory over the Idaho Vandals on Wednesday as the Bulldogs tallied their fifth-consecutive win en route to the championship title of the 2015 North Texas Showdown hosted by the University of North Texas at The Super Pit.
 
"I'm just so proud of these guys and how they were able to prepare and get ready for three tough games in three days," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "I'm also extremely proud of this staff and how they were able to get all of these game plans ready and taught in such a quick turnaround. We wanted to compare this tournament to the Southern Conference Tournament, so winning it is definitely a good feeling."
 
Samford (5-1) finished the four-team, three-day tournament with a perfect 3-0 record by notching consecutive wins against Troy, 83-79, North Texas, 74-72, and Idaho (4-2), 75-58. The Bulldogs are off to their best start since 1996-97, when Samford opened the season with a 7-1 record.
 
The Bulldogs' only loss this year occurred in the team's season opener at Louisville.
 
Samford's Christen Cunningham led the way Wednesday with a career-high 26 points on 8-of-11 from the field. The Bulldogs' sophomore point guard also added three assists and two steals and knocked down 8-of-10 attempts from the free-throw line.
 
Samford's backcourt comprised of Cunningham and Darius Jones-Gibson combined to score 47 of the Bulldogs' 75 points, including an 18-of-22 performance from the charity stripe.
 
"I thought Christen and Darius played outstanding today," Padgett said. "(Assistant) Coach (Jake) Headrick got them ready with an outstanding game plan and a great scout on Idaho, and then they did their part by playing smart basketball. They each took what was available to them in the game and did a great job of getting to the line and making their free throws."
 
Idaho's starting guards combined to score 23 points, with Perrion Callandret accounting for a team-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. The Vandals' only other double-figure scorer proved to be forward Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, who notched 12 points on a 10-of-15 shooting performance from the free-throw line.
 
Jones-Gibson averaged 20 points per game in the Mean Green Showcase and finished with 21 on Wednesday. The Bulldogs' talented senior from Lexington, Kentucky, only missed a total of two free throws and notched a 10-of-12 performance from the line. Jones-Gibson also added three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
 
Once again, true freshman center Wyatt Walker turned in a huge game for the Bulldogs.
 
Walker, Samford's highly-touted native of Jacksonville, Florida, pulled down a game-high eight rebounds against Idaho on Wednesday and scored in double figures for a second straight game with 10 points. Already this season, Walker is averaging 7.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest.
 
As a team, Samford shot 46 percent from the field and 70.6 from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs also outscored the Vandals, 30-16, in the paint and 23-13 in points-off turnovers.
 
Samford's stifling defense only allowed Idaho to score 58 points on a 36.7-percent outing from the field. The Bulldogs also forced the Vandals into 20 turnovers.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their four-game, eight-day road trip against the Austin Peay Governors in a key non-conference contest to be held in Clarksville, Tennessee.
 
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