Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University junior forward Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) had a season-high 22 points, while junior guard Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) handed out a career-high 10 assists to lead the Bulldogs past the visiting Mars Hill College Lions 90-70 in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs improve to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the SAC, while the Lions fall to 3-12 overall and 1-5 in the SAC.

Alexander knocked down eight-of-13 shots from the field on the afternoon, while sinking all six free throws and pulling down nine rebounds. Kincaid handed out eight of his 10 assists in the first half, while adding three points and six boards. Senior guard Jaime Vaughn (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 16 points for the Bulldogs, while senior guard Chase Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.) had 11 points and three steals.

Senior forward Sammy Emile (Lake Worth, Fla.) had a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mars Hill attack, adding five assists on the day. Junior forward Khouriachi Thiam (Dakar, Senegal, Africa) had 10 points and nine boards for the Lions, while freshman guard Terrell Harris (Indiantown, Fla.) also had 10 points.

The Lions used a 9-2 run to take a 23-20 advantage with 5:25 to go in the opening half. Thiam had four points in the spurt, including the dunk to finish. The Bulldogs answered with a 16-6 run to close the half. Alexander started things with a pair of jumpers, while Vaughn added a triple. Junior guard Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) knocked down a triple with four seconds remaining in the half to put the ‘Dogs on top 38-31 at intermission.

Wingate used a 10-3 run to take a double-digit lead seven minutes into the second half. Four free throws from Alexander started the flurry, while sophomore forward Jeff Parker (Madison, N.C.) capped the run with a dunk to give the Bulldogs an 11-point advantage. Senior forward Petar Kostic (Belgrade, Serbia) answered with a jumper to trim the lead to nine with 12 minutes to go, but a triple from Smith pushed the margin to 12. The lead would remain in double figures the rest of the way.

A triple from Matilus, followed by a dunk and lay-up from Parker, pushed the lead to 19. A three-point play from Smith made the score 80-58 with 3:48 remaining in the contest. An Emile triple and a Thiam free throw cut the lead down to 18, but lay-ups from Smith and freshman forward Mike Tyson (Kinston, N.C.) gave Wingate its biggest lead of the game at 86-63 with 1:09 to go.

Wingate shot 49 percent from the field on the day, hitting six-of-19 from three-point range (31.6 percent). The Bulldogs set season highs for points (90), field goals (34), assists (22) and steals (16), while forcing a season-high 19 turnovers. Matilus had a game-high five steals to lead the ‘Dogs, while sophomore forward Robert Carpenter (Fayetteville, N.C.) added four. Mars Hill shot 43.6 percent from the field, hitting five-of-13 from beyond the arc (38.5 percent). The Bulldogs held a 42-32 rebounding advantage and 44-28 edge in points in the paint. The Wingate bench outscored the Mars Hill bench 35-13 on the afternoon.

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday, hosting Newberry College at 8 p.m. Mars Hill is also in action Wednesday, traveling to Carson-Newman College for an 8 p.m. start.  

(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.)