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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team used career-high scoring performances from both junior point guard Christen Cunningham and junior forward Alex Thompson on Sunday to snap the Jacksonville State Gamecocks' four-game winning streak in an in-state duel held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the win, Samford (5-3) notched its seventh straight victory over Jacksonville State (5-4) and remained undefeated in the series dating back to Dec. 8, 2005.
 
The Bulldogs' next game will take place Saturday at 6 p.m., as they remain at home to face cross-town foe Miles College.
 
Cunningham scored a career-high 29 points Sunday on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Even more impressively, Samford's talented floor general knocked down all 13 of his attempts from the free-throw line. Cunningham is shooting 90 percent (27-of-30) from the charity stripe this season. He also added five steals, four assists and two rebounds.
 
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 53.8 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from long range and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the free-throw line.
 
Thompson, Samford's 6-foot-8 stretch forward transfer from Auburn, tallied a career-high 26 points Sunday. He opened the game by draining three straight 3-pointers and ended up 5-of-8 from long range. Thompson finished 9-of-14 from the field and added a rebounds and an assist.
 
Jacksonville State closed out the game with five players scoring in double figures Sunday. The Gamecocks jumped out to an early 10-point lead, 21-11, in the first half, but Samford maintained its composure and finished the period with a 25-10 run to garner a 45-38 lead at halftime.
 
In the second half, the Gamecocks actually held a 61-60 advantage with 8:48 left to play before the Bulldogs used a layup from Cunningham and then five straight points from Thompson to start to put the contest out of reach.
 
Down the stretch, Samford's Cunningham connected on four clutch free throws to keep Jacksonville State at bay and to earn the 81-77 non-conference victory.
 
The Bulldogs' feisty true freshman Josh Sharkey energized the team as he came off the bench to post nine points, eight assists and two rebounds. He did all of the above in only 27 minutes of playing time.
 
Wyatt Walker's double-double streak came to an end at seven straight games to open the season as Samford's 6-foot-9 center battled Jacksonville State's 7-footer, Norbertas Giga, all afternoon. Walker posted six points, five assists and four rebounds, while limiting Giga to only three points.
 
The Bulldogs' Justin Hopkins also came off the bench to drop in six points as well.
 
The Gamecocks' leading scorer was Greg Tucker with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 5-of-8 tally from beyond the arc.
 
Samford forced Jacksonville State into 18 turnovers and outscored the Gamecocks, 29-9, in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs only turned the ball over six times.
 
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs remain at home to square off against cross-town foe Miles College in a non-conference contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
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