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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Marking the most points scored in a Samford basketball game in over 40 years, the Nicholls State Colonels rallied back from a 19-point second-half deficit Sunday to upend the Bulldogs, 106-103, in a double-overtime track meet held at the Pete Hanna Center to cap off the 2016 San Diego Classic.
 
The combined 209 points scored proved to be the most in a Samford game since Feb. 21, 1976, when the Bulldogs dropped a 118-97 decision on the road at Denver. It also marked the most points scored in a Samford home game since March 3, 1975, when the Bulldogs held off Georgia Southern, 110-107, in regulation.
 
With the loss, Samford (3-3) concluded play in the San Diego Classic with a 2-2 record. The Bulldogs earned wins against San Diego, 83-65, and Bethune-Cookman, 93-65, but suffered defeats versus New Mexico State, 58-48, and Nicholls State (4-3), 106-103 (2OT).
 
The Colonels closed out their play in the San Diego Classic with a similar 2-2 record. Nicholls State lost to San Diego and New Mexico State, but defeated Bethune-Cookman and Samford this weekend.
 
The Bulldogs' Demetrius Denzel-Dyson led all scorers with a career-high 40 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the field. He also posted a double-double with 11 rebounds and shot a sizzling 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Denzel-Dyson played 44 of the team's 50 minutes and added two assists and a pair of steals.
 
Samford's Triston Chambers also turned in a career performance Sunday. The Bulldogs' true freshman sharpshooter from Cold Springs, Alabama, scored a personal-best 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. All six of his field goals came from 3-point range as he finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Chambers also handed out five assists for Samford.
 
The Bulldogs shot an impressive 57.7 percent from 3-point range (15-of-26) and 53.7 percent from the field. Nicholls State knocked down a game-high 16 baskets from long distance and turned in a 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) outing from beyond the arc.
 
The difference in the game proved to be free-throw shooting. The Colonels finished 20-of-22 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe, while Samford posted a 16-of-25 (64 percent) mark from the line.
 
In overtime, the Bulldogs finished 5-of-9 in free throws. Nicholls State went 10-of-11.
 
Samford's Alex Thompson added 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot Sunday. He proved to be one of four Bulldogs to score in double figures. Sophomore center Wyatt Walker posted his sixth straight double-double to open the season with a 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Nicholls State.
 
Junior point guard Christen Cunningham handed out a career-high 13 assists in the contest. Last season, Cunningham became the first player in Samford history to post back-to-back seasons with at least 125 assists.
 
Early in the second half, the Bulldogs used an 18-5 run to garner a 19-point advantage, 62-43, over Nicholls State. During Samford's run, Denzel-Dyson and Chambers both dropped in a pair of 3-pointers, while Thompson added a deep basket of his own.
 
For the remainder of the second half, Nicholls State continued to chip away at the Bulldogs' lead and eventually trimmed it to 79-77 with 1:22 remaining to play.
 
Samford's Chambers and Thompson then both knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to six, 83-77, with 38 seconds remaining, but the Colonels' Jahvaughn Powell and Lafayette Rutledge closed out the half with back-to-back 3-pointers to even the game at 83-83, and send the contest to overtime.
 
Rutledge scored 27 points for Nicholls State and paced his squad with seven 3-point baskets, all of which occurred after halftime. Following the opening 20 minutes of action, Rutledge had zero points on 0-for-2 shooting from the field.
 
Ja'Dante' Frye led the Colonels with 33 points and nine rebounds on 14-of-22 shooting from the field. He also handed out four assists.
 
In the first overtime period, Samford held a three-point lead, 95-92, with three seconds remaining, but Powell knocked down a game-tying triple to tie the score and send the game to a second overtime frame.
 
Samford again led by three points in the second overtime, but this time it was Rutledge who hit a clutch 3-pointer for Nicholls State to garner a late 102-100 lead. The Colonels then drained four straight free throws to close out the 106-103 decision, as the Bulldogs' Cunningham connected on a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to St. Louis, Missouri, for a pivotal non-conference contest against the Saint Louis Billikens to be held at Chaiffetz Arena.
 
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