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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Samford University basketball team extended its winning streak to five-consecutive games Saturday as the Bulldogs rallied past the ETSU Buccaneers in a thrilling 71-68 triumph held at Freedom Hall.
 
With the victory, Samford (12-14, 5-8 SoCon) earned its first five-game winning streak since the 2005-06 season when the Bulldogs were members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Samford's current winning streak includes triumphs against UNCG, Western Carolina twice, Furman and ETSU (13-10, 6-7 SoCon). Nine years ago, the Bulldogs' six-game streak included victories over Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Murray State, UT Martin, Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.
 
On Saturday, Samford also defeated ETSU for the first time in school history and earned its first two-game road winning streak since January of 2013 when the Bulldogs defeated both College of Charleston and The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.
 
Junior Marcus Johnson proved to be the hero for Samford on Saturday as the Bulldogs' native of Washington, D.C., drained the game-winning 3-pointer with just four seconds remaining in the game. Johnson's key basket from the right flank gave Samford's its momentous 71-68 victory.
 
"Marcus was a little upset that he didn't make the one that he took right before the half," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "But he bounced back from that and turned in an outstanding second half for us. I told him at halftime that you can't make the next shot, if you're still thinking about the last one. He gave us a huge lift in this game, especially with ETSU playing their 2-3 zone."
 
On the Bulldogs' final possession, Christen Cunningham gathered the ball at the top of the key with approximately 10 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Cunningham, Samford's talented 6-foot-2 point guard, took a few dribbles and then darted down the right side of the lane drawing a pair of defenders. Once he started to meet resistance, Cunningham neatly kicked out a pass to the right side where Johnson was waiting with a wide-open shot.
 
Johnson perfectly collected the ball, stepped right into the shot and drained it, nothing but net.
 
"I thought Christen made a great play to get the ball out to Marcus," Padgett said. "They had to respect his ability to score going towards the rim and then he actually kicked the ball backwards to Marcus on the right side and that's a tough play to make. He hit him right in his hands and Marcus was able to knock down the shot."
 
Johnson finished Saturday's contest with 12 points, all of which occurred in the second half and came off 3-point baskets. After going 0-for-2 from long range in the opening period, Johnson closed out the contest 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
 
"Marcus has had a great second half of the season," said Padgett. "At a lot of other schools, he would probably play a little more, but our guards have been playing so good right now that we've tried to play all three of them together more often. Today, it was a really good move and he sure did come through for us in the clutch."
 
Samford used a 14-0 run in the first half and garnered a nine-point lead, 29-20, with 6:35 left to play in the opening period. ETSU would battle back late in the half as the teams were knotted at 34-34 heading into the locker rooms.
 
Early in the second period, the Buccaneers used an 18-2 run and saw the momentum switch back to the homestanding ETSU squad.
 
Despite trailing 55-43 with 13:21 left in the game, Samford started to chip away at the Buccaneers' lead and eventually trimmed the advantage to 60-56 following a pair of free throws from Cunningham at 7:40.
 
In the last few minutes of play, the Bulldogs received three 3-point baskets from Johnson, a key 3 from Tyler Hood, as well as three free throws from Darius Jones-Gibson.
 
"Marcus and Tyler really got hot for us in the second half and that was huge for us," said Padgett. "The press was almost bad for us for about 25 minutes of the game, but then we made a little adjustment and went to a bit of a smaller lineup, and that allowed us to get to some of their passes quicker. "
 
Jones-Gibson led Samford's well-balanced attack with 13 points and six rebounds, while finishing 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. It was his free throw that evened the score at 68-68 with 40 seconds left to play.
 
The Bulldogs finished with five players scoring in double figures for the third time this season.
 
Following Jones-Gibson's 13, Johnson tallied 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Additionally, Hood, Cunningham and Evan Taylor all finished with 11 points apiece. Nnamdi Enechionyia also chipped in with six, while Michael Bradley added four points, five rebounds, a steal and an assist.
 
"This was the kind of game that you live for," said Johnson. "As a player, you love these kind of moments and I was glad that I was able to come through for the team. The coaches did a good job of motivating me and giving me confidence before the game, because I was kind in a slump for a little while, but it helped tonight, especially in the second half."
 
Samford outscored ETSU, 22-8, down the stretch and out-rebounded the Buccaneers, 35-25, including a 9-3 marking on the offensive end of the court.
 
"I thought we did a great job of rebounding the ball against their zone," Padgett said. "That was crucial for us in order to win this game. Our guys did a great job of fighting through their scrappiness and kept playing through the adversity. I'm proud of this team. If you look at the deficits that they've overcome, it shows that they don't have any quit in them."
 
Winners of five straight, the Bulldogs now find themselves in sixth place in the SoCon standings. The top six teams will receive a first-round bye in the upcoming SoCon Tournament.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Alabama for a momentous league game against The Citadel Bulldogs to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

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