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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In its final nonconference contest of the regular-season Wednesday, the Samford University basketball team tallied a 94-74 home victory against the Fort Valley State Wildcats in a high-scoring matchup held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the win, Samford (9-4) extended its home winning streak to four games and improved to 5-1 when playing in Birmingham this season. The Bulldogs' lone setback in the Pete Hanna Center this year occurred Nov. 27 in a heartbreaking loss to Nicholls State in double overtime, 106-103.
 
Samford will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs open Southern Conference play on the road against the UNCG Spartans in a key early-league contest to be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
On Wednesday, Samford finished with five players scoring in double figures as junior point guard Christen Cunningham led the way with 19 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals. The Bulldogs' dynamic floor general shot 7-of-9 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. So far this season, Cunningham is shooting a sizzling 91.8 percent (45-of-49) from the charity stripe.
 
Junior forward Alex Thompson drained a team-high four 3-pointers Wednesday and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Samford's transfer from Auburn did his damage in only 22 minutes of playing time.
 
The Bulldogs' Wyatt Walker registered 13 points and seven rebounds in only 20 minutes against Fort Valley State (3-6), while Demetrius Denzel-Dyson and Josh Sharkey both finished with 11 points apiece.
 
Sharkey, Samford's star freshman from Philadelphia, notched the first double-double of his young, up-and-coming career as he closed out the game with 11 points, 10 assists, four steals and three rebounds. He also turned in a 9-of-12 shooting performance from the free-throw line.
 
The Bulldogs' Triston Chambers added eight points and two assists, while Alex Peters came off the bench to score six quick points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting night from the field.
 
Fort Valley State was led by 19 points from Jaylon McMillon and 13 from Denard Williams.
 
Samford led the game for all but 26 seconds of action and built an early 10-point lead halfway through the first stanza. The Bulldogs went on to garner a 54-33 advantage at the intermission after shooting 54.5 percent from 3-point range in the first half.
 
With 6:39 remaining in the game, Samford held a 34-point lead over the Wildcats, 88-54, and starting subbing out its top 10 rotation.
 
The Bulldogs ended up cruising to the 94-74 triumph in its final nonconference tune-up of the year. At home this season, Samford is averaging 91 points per game and a victory margin of 14.7 points.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action New Year's Eve (Saturday) at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin play in their 2016-17 SoCon schedule on the road against the UNCG Spartans in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
The conference-opening matchup will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum and broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
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