Texas center Cameron Ridley scored 14 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked four shots as the Longhorns outlasted the Samford Bulldogs 59-49 on Friday at the Erwin Center.

Texas (5-3) led by as much as 18 points in the second half but could never put away the feisty, but undersized and outmanned Bulldogs until the final minutes.

Ridley hit seven of his 10 shots in the game and is shooting 72 percent from the floor this season. Guard Javan Felix added 11 points and guard Demarcus Holland hit for eight for Texas.

Samford (6-4), which shot just 34 percent from the floor, was led by 16 points from point guard Christen Cunningham. Center Wyatt Walker added 14 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Samford missed 14 of its 16 shots from the field during an 11-minute stretch of the first half in which the Longhorns moved from an 11-10 deficit to a 26-16 lead. Texas also struggled from the floor, enduring a 5:32 scoreless stretch in the half, but ground out a 30-20 lead at halftime as nine Longhorns scored.

Points continued to be at a premium in the second half as both teams employed a pressing, trapping defense and Samford utilized a zone to try to force the Longhorns to beat them with the outside shot.

Texas was able to get inside for a few baskets, most notably a huge dunk by center Cameron Ridley off a feed by guard Kerwin Roach to push the Longhorns' lead to 40-22 with 14:40 to play. But the Bulldogs got back into the game with an 11-3 run over the next five minutes.