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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Samford University basketball team turned in a stellar defensive performance and used a double-double performances from both Wyatt Walker and Alex Thompson to knock off the No. 2-seeded Furman Paladins, 67-63, in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.
 
"Since I've been here, we have been a pressing team," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "But just watching the game film against Furman in the two games we played against them, I knew there was no way we could press them. They get too many points off our press because they execute."
 
With the win, Samford (19-14) advanced to the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament for only the second time in school history and the first time since 2006, when the Bulldogs upended The Citadel in their first year in the league.
 
Samford will face the No. 3-seeded ETSU Buccaneers (25-7) in Sunday's semifinal round at 6:30 p.m. (CT). The Bulldogs came up short in both games against ETSU this season, but they were both extremely close matchups.
 
On Jan. 25, the Buccaneers escaped Birmingham with a 94-84 double-overtime contest held at the Pete Hanna Center. Then, in the return matchup held in Johnson City, Tenn., on Feb. 15, Samford garnered a lead for a majority of the game, but ETSU rallied late for a slight 79-77 victory.
 
With Saturday's thrilling win against Furman (21-11), Samford snapped a four-game losing streak against the Paladins and avenged a pair of defeats in the series from earlier this season.
 
"For our guys to go through a walk-through and lock into the half court so well, because our half-court defense has not been our number one strength, makes me so proud of them," Padgett said. "Furman is very tough to play against, and they have been every year, especially this year. For us to lock in, and hold Furman to 30 percent, I just can't say enough. We are a very good offensive team, and if we are locked in like this defensively, then I think we can be tough to beat."
 
Christen Cunningham's free throw with 4.3 seconds remaining put the bow on Samford's 67-63 win over Furman. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs pulled the first upset of the tournament topping the regular season co-champions.
 
Samford boasted an 11-point advantage with 1:09 to go, 63-52, on two Cunningham free throws. It got interesting from there.
 
Furman's Geoff Beans got the deficit to single digits with two from the charity stripe eight ticks later. Samford missed six of eight free throws on their next four possessions opening the door for the Paladins.
 
Furman got back-to-back threes from Daniel Fowler and Sibley to get within three, 63-60, with the clock winding down inside 30 seconds. The Paladins missed two free tosses of their own just inside 20 seconds remaining but got a break with the ball going out of bounds after the second miss.
 
There was a scramble out top with SoCon steals leader Josh Sharkey making his one for the game. Two free throws later, it was a 66-60 advantage with the clock ticking toward the 10-second mark.
 
Sibley scored his 30th point with a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key with nine seconds to go to slice it to three, 66-63. That set up Cunningham sealing the deal with 4.3 to go.
 
Cunningham paced Samford with 17 points and eight assists. Wyatt Walker and Alex Thompson each recorded double-doubles. Walker had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Thompson chipped in 10 and 11. SoCon Player of the Year Devin Sibley had 30 points for the Paladins. Andrew Brown added 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 13-point lead in the first half following a 3-pointer from Thompson and a jumper from Cunningham.
 
Down the stretch in the opening period, Furman was able to trim the Bulldogs' advantage to two points, 29-27, after a triple from John Davis and a driving layup from Sibley.
 
Samford's Demetrius Denzel-Dyson connected on a pair of free throws late in the half to extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 31-27 at the intermission.
 
"We have more confidence in ourselves and confidence in each other," said Walker. "One thing Coach Padgett has been preaching is the next play, playing forward, and moving on from what just happened in the past. We always say, 'one more,' whether it be one more stop, one more pass to the open guy, or one more rebound on the defensive end. I think that helped us get the win."
 
Samford limited Furman's high-powered offense to only 63 points Saturday. The Bulldogs shot 39.6 percent from the field in the victory, while the Paladins were held in check at 30.3 percent.
 
Despite being outrebounded, 47-39, Samford only turned the ball over eight times in the game and outscored Furman, 15-7, in points-off turnovers.
 
The Samford University basketball team will continue its quest for the 2017 SoCon Tournament championship Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs face the No. 2-seeded Furman Paladins in a key matchup to be held at the U.S. Cellular Center.
 
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