CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) _ Jerome Russell rushed for 231 yards and two touchdowns, including a game-winning 7-yard run, to lead Samford to a 35-32 overtime victory over Western Carolina on Saturday.

Samford trailed much of the game but took the lead with 1:12 remaining, only to see Western Carolina force overtime on a 60-yard pass from Shawn Snyder to Michael Banks with 23 seconds left in regulation.

The Catamounts then took a 32-29 lead in overtime on a 30-yard field goal by Josh Jones _ who went 6-for-6 on the day and set a Southern Conference single-game record for field goals _ but Russell got the ball all three times in a 3-play drive that gave Samford the victory. Russell earned all of his rushing yards in the second half.

Kadell Wright scored three touchdowns for the Bulldogs (5-4), including a 3-yard run with 8:49 left in the first quarter that was Samford's only score of the first half.

The Catamounts (2-7) tied the score at 7-7 on a 1-yard run by Darius Hooks with 5:29 left in the first quarter. Jones added field goals of 25, 30, 47 and 33 yards to give Western Carolina a 19-7 lead at halftime.

Samford took the second-half kickoff and needed only 43 seconds to close to within 19-14 as Russell scampered 56 yards for a touchdown.

After Jones kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, Wright tied the score at 22-22 midway through the period on 3-yard run that capped a 7-play, 99-yard drive.

The Bulldogs took a 29-22 lead with 72 seconds left in regulation on a 1-yard run by Wright, but Snyder connected with Banks 49 seconds later on a crossing pattern to force overtime.

Snyder completed 18 of 33 passes for 207 yards, and Brad Hoover added 159 yards rushing for Western Carolina. Banks caught six passes for 96 yards.