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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its final non-conference tune-up of the 2015-16 regular season, the Samford University basketball team turned in its highest scoring output in nearly 17 years Tuesday as the Bulldogs exploded for a 104-76 home triumph over the Miles College Golden Bears in a cross-town rivalry game held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought we played great defense in the first half," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "That was a good performance for us early in the game, but I also thought we had four of five fouls that I didn't really like us getting there in the first half. Other than that, I thought we were really good early on.
 
"In the second half, we seemed to rest on the defensive end and tried to use all of our energy scoring the ball offensively. That's when Miles made a little run, but then our last group at the end of the game really did a great job of energizing the defense and putting things away."
 
With Tuesday's win, Samford (9-4) maintained its positive momentum from a 69-58 road victory over Nebraska on Dec. 20. The triumph proved to be the Bulldogs' first all-time win against an opponent from the Big Ten Conference. Samford now owns a 3-1 record at home this season.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs' 104-point scoring output proved to be the program's highest total since Jan. 2, 1999, when Samford posted a 105-75 victory at Troy.
 
The Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures Tuesday. True freshman Matt Rose led the way with 16 points, eight rebounds and a trio of assists, while Darius Jones-Gibson followed with 15 points, six assists and a pair of steals. Rose drained three 3-pointers in the victory as Jones-Gibson turned in a stellar 9-of-10 shooting performance from the free-throw line.
 
Senior guard Marcus Johnson registered 13 points, seven assists and two steals. Iman Johnson, Samford's senior guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, nearly turned in a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
Miles College (5-6) was led in scoring by Maiscei Grier's 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. He also knocked down three 3-pointers and added three rebounds. The Bulldogs and Golden Bears both finished with 53 points apiece from their benches.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 15-1 lead and garnered a 54-27 advantage at the intermission.
 
In the second half, Miles College used some hot shooting from long range to battle to within 17 points at 76-59. It was then that the Bulldogs received free throws from Jones-Gibson, Rose, Marcus Johnson, as well as dunks from Dakota Quinn and Eric Adams to increase their lead back to 26 down the stretch at 94-68.
 
"I thought it was really great to get Dakota and Eric some good minutes in this game and they played well," said Padgett. "Our younger guys did some really good things and I think that tonight's experience will really help them as the season goes on."
 
In the final minutes, crowd favorite Tanner Tapp came off the bench and added a career-high five points on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs' true freshman guard from Brentwood, Tennessee, swished a deep 3-point basket from the left corner and later scored on a fast-break layup.
 
Tapp's late heroics helped Samford reach the 100-point plateau for the first time since 1999 as the Bulldogs closed out their decisive 104-76 victory Tuesday over Miles College.
 
"What I really loved about tonight's game was our 28 assists," Padgett said. "We really shared the ball well and I was very proud of Marcus (Johnson) coming in and getting seven big assists for us. He only had one turnover and all-around I thought he had a very efficient performance. I also really liked that Tanner Tapp was able to get some minutes and to score some points. I love his energy and I think he has been a huge factor in our success this season."
 
Samford shot 49.4 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. The Bulldogs outscored Miles College, 52-30, in the paint and led in points-off-turnovers, 28-16.
 
Sophomore point guard Christen Cunningham turned in a solid all-around game with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals, while Wyatt Walker added nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
Samford's Jamal Shabazz and Quinn both tallied eight points Tuesday, as Alex Peters scored six and Adams and Tapp both finished with five. All 11 of the Bulldogs' active players notched at least five points versus Miles College.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin play in their highly-anticipated 2016 SoCon schedule on the road in Macon, Georgia, against the Mercer Bears. The game will be held at Hawkins Arena and was recently chosen to be broadcast live on FOX Sports Southeast.
 
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