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LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Samford University basketball team defeated a Big Ten Conference opponent for the first time in school history Sunday as the Bulldogs earned a decisive 69-58 victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a signature win held in front of 10,471 red-clad fans at the pristine Pinnacle Bank Arena.
 
"It's crazy how this game works," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "We recently lost at home against South Alabama in double overtime and free throws were the reason we lost. We also shot only 6-of-24 from 3-point range in that game. Then, we come out here and get very similar shots, but we were able to knock them down.
 
"I think, when a couple of those shots started falling tonight, our confidence level went up, then our defensive intensity went up and it took our game to a different level. Our guys have a lot of fight and a lot of toughness and I'm extremely proud of how they played."
 

Heading into Sunday's inaugural meeting with the Huskers, Samford (8-4) owned an 0-7 all-time record versus current members of the Big Ten. The Bulldogs' victory proved to be their first triumph against a high-major program since winning at Auburn, 79-68, on Nov. 19, 2010.
 
Samford is also off to its best start to a season since compiling a similar 8-4 record to open the 2010-11 campaign.
 
Nebraska (7-5) suffered only its second loss of the year at home in Lincoln. The Huskers were 6-1 in Pinnacle Bank Arena heading into Sunday's contest. Their lone home loss before Sunday occurred Dec. 1 in overtime against No. 21-ranked Miami.
 
Samford's Christen Cunningham led the Bulldogs with 20 points, six assists and four rebounds, while posting a perfect 8-of-8 mark from the free-throw line. He also drained a pair of key 3-pointer and logged a game-high 36 minutes of action.
 
Senior guard Darius Jones-Gibson added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from floor and pulled down three rebounds.
 
As a team, Samford only committed nine turnovers, while forcing Nebraska into 17. The Bulldogs finished the victory with 13 points-off-turnovers, as the Huskers scored eight.
 
Samford true freshmen Wyatt Walker and Matt Rose both played huge roles in Sunday's triumph. Walker, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 center from Jacksonville, Florida, scored 14 points, grabbed three rebounds and added a trio of assists and a blocked shot in 27 minutes of playing time. He also finished a near-perfect 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
 
Rose drained two of the biggest baskets of the game. Samford's freshman sharpshooter from Lexington, Kentucky, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2:31 of the game that secured the Bulldogs' victory.
 

Rose's first momentous shot occurred at exactly 2:31 in the second half to lift Samford's advantage back up to eight points at 58-50. Then, at 1:12, "Matty Ice" did it again by swishing a similar 3-point basket from the left corner. His second huge bucket increased the Bulldogs advantage back up to eight points at 63-55 and pretty much sealed the deal for Samford.
 
Rose finished with nine points, two steals and a rebound, while shooting 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
 
Nebraska's Shavon Shields led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. He also pulled down seven rebounds and added a trio of assists. Andrew White III registered a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards.
 
Samford shot a sizzling 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range, while the Bulldogs' active 2-3 zone limited the Huskers to only 27.3 percent from beyond the arc.
 
From the line, Samford finished 21-of-26 for 80.8 percent. Nebraska turned in a 50-percent tally at 10-of-20.
 
The Samford University basketball team will take the next eight days off from competitive action for the Christmas Holidays before returning home to face the Miles College Golden Bears on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. (CST). The game will mark Samford's final competition of 2015 and will be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
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