Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University men’s basketball team will host the Pioneers of Tusculum College Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Wingate is 10-7 overall and 3-3 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Pioneers are 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the SAC.
 
            The Bulldogs suffered a tough 88-87 loss in their most recent home contest last Saturday. Senior guard Larry Staley (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with 20 points and five steals. Sophomore guard Jaime Vaughn (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 18 points, while freshman guard Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Freshman guard Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) posted 13 points and seven assists off the bench.
 
            Wingate notched a 93-81 win at Carson-Newman Wednesday, Jan. 13. Five players scored in double figures as the Bulldogs shot 55.6 percent from the field. Freshman forward Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way with 18 points, while Staley added 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
In their most recent action, the Bulldogs suffered an 89-73 setback Wednesday night at Mars Hill. Freshman forward Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way with 13 points, while Turner added 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
            The Bulldogs feature an incredibly balanced attack, with all five starters ranking in the top 25 in the SAC in scoring. Turner leads the team and is 15th in the league with 12.8 points per game. He also leads the Bulldogs with 6.1 rebounds per game, good for ninth in the SAC. Turner’s 1.59 blocks per game rank sixth in the conference.
 
            Staley is 19th in the league with 11.6 points per game. He is seventh on the individual field goal percentage charts, shooting 57.3 percent from the field. Matilus is right behind him at 11.2 points per game, while ranking seventh in the SAC with 1.59 steals per game. Vaughn and Alexander are each averaging 10.5 points per game for the Bulldogs. Vaughn is tied for the team led with 22 three pointers made. Alexander is second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game.
 
            The Bulldogs and Pioneers met twice last season, with each team winning at home. Tusculum won 60-55 in the first meeting. Ryan Troutman led the Pioneers with 21 points, while Kyle Moore added 19. Vaughn led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Tusculum won despite making only 13-of-44 shots from the field (29.5 percent). Wingate won 67-55 in Cuddy Arena. DeMario Mattox had 12 points, four assists and three blocks, while Staley added 10 points for the Bulldogs. Moore led the Pioneers with 20 points.
 
            Moore leads the way for Tusculum, ranking second in the SAC with 22.6 points per game. His 3.35 three pointers per game are third on the league list. Moore is shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc, good for second in the conference. Wes Taylor is third on the team with 9.1 points per game, while ranking sixth in the SAC with 6.6 rebounds per game. Tusculum leads the league in scoring defense, allowing only 59.8 points per game. The Pioneers are last in the league in scoring offense, scoring only 63.5 points per contest.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
            Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.
 
            Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.
 
            Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.
 
            Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
 
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)