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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team extended its winning streak against the Western Carolina Catamounts to four-consecutive games Saturday as the Bulldogs rallied in the second half to post a key 84-68 Southern Conference victory at home in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I thought early on we didn't really come out with great energy in the first half," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "Then, when Matt Rose and Marcus Johnson came off the bench, they really gave us a huge spark and we were able to get back in it. They both hit some big shots for us and gave us some confidence, and then on the other end, they really helped us get some stops as well."
 
With the win, Samford (11-8, 2-4 SoCon) snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 10-6 all-time against Western Carolina (7-11, 2-3 SoCon). The Bulldogs also moved to 5-2 when playing at home this season.
 
"Any time you can stop a losing streak it's huge," Padgett said. "Especially when you know you have to go out and play your next two games on the road. This win will really go a long way in building our confidence and should take some pressure off of us as we continue our SoCon season."
 
Samford's Wyatt Walker turned in the best game of his young, up-and-coming career Saturday. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 true freshman center from Jacksonville, Florida, tallied his second double-double of the season and finished with career-highs in both points (26) and rebounds (12). Walker also finished 11-of-15 from the field and went 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in 27 minutes of play.
 
"I thought Wyatt Walker was tremendous tonight," Padgett said. "He has such a great future ahead of him and tonight he showed what he's capable of."
 
On Saturday, 44 of Samford's 84 points were scored by true freshman.
 
Along with Walker's game-high 26, the Bulldogs' Matt Rose came off the bench to tally 16 points, while Dakota Quinn added two. Rose, Samford's talented 6-foot-7 sharpshooter from Lexington, Kentucky, drained a team-high four 3-point baskets Saturday and added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
"We have a great group of freshmen and sophomores on this team that have a ton of potential," said Padgett. "I'm really looking forward to these guys becoming juniors and seniors, but right now they're really good players anyway. In the last few games, we've really been sharing the ball well and I think that's great, because it's helped the guys build trust in each other and grow in the offense."
 
Western Carolina came out blazing in the first half and built a nine-point lead, 14-5, with 14:52 remaining in the period. The Catamounts turned in a sizzling 48.3-percent shooting mark in the opening 20 minutes of action and knocked down six first-half 3-pointers.
 
Despite Western Carolina's hot start, Samford used a 13-5 run midway through the half and eventually took a 40-38 advantage into the locker room.
 
Samford opened the second period with a 15-0 run and garnered a 55-38 advantage with 15:25 remaining in the game. During the Bulldogs' scoring outburst, Walker scored four straight points, Rose connected on a pair of 3-point baskets and Jamal Shabazz recorded a 3-point play.
 
"We really had a great start to the second half," said Padgett. "That helped us to build a pretty good lead and then we played there for a while and never really allowed them to get back into the game."
 
As a team, Western Carolina collectively lost its cool in the second half and technical fouls were called on both Justin Browning and Rhett Harrelson. Samford capitalized on the Catamounts' emotional mistakes when sophomore point guard Christen Cunningham finished 4-for-4 on the subsequent free throws.
 
Cunningham accumulated eight points, five rebounds and three steals.
 
Samford never trailed by less than 11 points down the stretch and turned in a blistering 64-percent shooting total in the final 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs finished the contest at 52.5-percent from the floor and 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Senior Marcus Johnson came off the bench for the Bulldogs and scored 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. He played a pivotal role in Samford's first-half surge as he drained a pair of key 3-pointers to stem the Catamounts' early run.
 
Fellow senior guard Darius Jones-Gibson turned in one of his best games of the season Saturday by handing out a career-high 10 assists. Jones-Gibson, Samford's crafty native of Lexington, Kentucky, also scored nine points and grabbed a pair of steals.
 
Rounding out the Bulldogs' scoring were Iman Johnson (5), Shabazz (3) and Eric Adams (2).
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a long two-game, five-day SoCon road trip against the VMI Keydets to be held at Cameron Hall in Lexington, Virginia. Samford will conclude the road trip Saturday at 4 p.m., at UNCG.
 
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