Box Score  

Greeneville, Tenn.----Wingate University senior guards Eddie Lewis (Rocky Point, N.C.) and Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) combined to score 34 points Saturday afternoon, leading the Bulldogs to a 69-46 victory at Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action. Wingate improves to 14-6 overall and 10-2 in the SAC. The Pioneers fall to 5-15 overall and 3-9 in the conference.

Matilus paced the Wingate offense in the first half, scoring 14 of his 16 points. He went six-for-10 from the field on the game, knocking down three-of-six shots from beyond the arc. Lewis scored 15 of his 18 points after halftime, knocking down four triples while adding three steals. Senior forward Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) added nine points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) had eight points and four assists.

The first nine minutes of the game remained close, until Wingate used a 13-0 run to take a 25-11 lead at the 4:15 mark. Matilus started the flurry with a jumper and back-to-back threes, while Lewis capped it with a triple. A dunk from JD Miller got Tusculum back to within 10 at the 3:24 mark, but Matilus knocked down another triple on the ensuing possession. Back-to-back layups from Darius Carter, along with an Addison Flynn layup made it 28-21 with one minute remaining in the half. Turner knocked down a triple two seconds before halftime, giving the Bulldogs a 10-point lead at intermission.

A Flynn bucket and Nick Spinks layup made it a five-point game five minutes into the second half. Wingate scored the next six points, taking a 44-33 lead on back-to-back Lewis buckets. Keith Jumper answered with a bucket to make it a nine-point game at the 12:55 mark. That would be the last time the lead would be below 10. Consecutive triples from Lewis pushed the advantage to 15, while three more free throws put the Bulldogs on top 53-35 with 10:21 remaining.

The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to take a 25-point lead with three minutes to go. Griffin and junior center Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had three points each in the spurt. A layup from Griffin with 43 seconds to go gave Wingate its largest lead of the night at 69-41.

The Bulldogs shot 46.3 percent from the field, hitting nine-of-21 shots from beyond the arc (42.9 percent). Tusculum shot just 34 percent from the field, knocking down two-of-four shots from three-point range (50 percent). Each team had 35 rebounds, while Wingate outscored Tusculum 14-2 in fast-break points. The Bulldogs had 17 assists on 25 field goals Saturday afternoon. In two meetings this season, Wingate held the Pioneers to a combined 93 points, outscoring Tusculum by 52 points.

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday, hosting Newberry at 8 p.m. Tusculum is at Anderson Wednesday at 8 p.m.