Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs jumped out to a 15-0 lead Wednesday night and never trailed, defeating Catawba College 80-74 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Goodman Gymnasium. Wingate improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Catawba falls to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Senior guard Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.) had 22 points to lead the Wingate attack, hitting three-of-four shots from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) had 18 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three assists, while freshman forward Lee McCall (Indian Land, S.C.) added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) contributed 11 points, while sophomore center Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) had nine points and nine boards.

Rakeen Brown had 21 points to lead the Catawba attack, hitting eight-of-nine shots at the free throw line. KJ Arrington added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Jameel Taylor had 14 points and seven rebounds. Reggie Perkins added nine points for the Indians, while Troy Warren had eight points and five boards.

The Bulldogs came out hot, jumping out to a 15-0 lead six minutes into the contest. Daye hit a pair of triples in the first 90 seconds, while a Lolar layup made it 10-0. A McCall rebound and layup pushed the lead to 13, while a McCall dunk capped the opening flurry. The Indians responded with a 15-4 run to trim the lead to four. Arrington scored 11 points in the spurt. A Xavier Griffin triple and McCall layup pushed the lead back to double figures at 26-15 at the 6:15 mark. A Keith Griffin three-point play made it a 12-point game, while triples from Lolar and Daye made it 37-22 with 2:22 left in the half. Catawba cut the lead to 11 on a Perkins triple, but a Daye layup at the buzzer gave the 'Dogs a 41-28 halftime advantage.

A triple and two free throws from Cureton gave Wingate a 46-28 lead 70 seconds into the second half. A Lolar jumper pushed the lead to 19 at the 16:36 mark. The Bulldogs still led by 17 on a Daye jumper with 13:13 remaining, but a 6-0 run cut the lead to 11 at the 11:10 mark. A McCall layup at the midway point of the half made it 58-45, but a Taylor layup cut the lead to nine with nine minutes left. The 'Dogs pushed the lead back to double figures when Daye's layup made it 63-51 at the 8:33 mark.

Catawba used a 6-0 run, cutting the lead to 63-57 on a Warren layup with 4:38 remaining. Free throws from Keith Griffin and Lolar pushed the lead back to 10. Taylor's layup cut the lead to eight at the 2:22 mark, but a Keith Griffin tip-in made it 71-61 with 1:50 to go. A pair of Arrington free throws got the Indians to within five at 73-68 with 44 seconds remaining. Cureton knocked down a pair of free throws, while two Keith Griffin free throws made it 77-69 with just 17 seconds left.

Wingate shot 43.5 percent from the field, while hitting seven-of-13 shots from three-point range (53.8 percent). Catawba shot 37.1 percent from the field, knocking down eight-of-23 shots from beyond the arc (34.8 percent). The Bulldogs held a 47-42 rebounding edge, holding a 25-11 edge in second chance points.

Wingate is back in action Saturday, traveling to Tusculum for a 4 p.m. start.