Newberry, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs erased all but two points of a 17-point second half deficit Wednesday night, but could not complete the comeback, falling 81-77 at Newberry College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. The Wolves improve to 14-5 overall and 10-5 in the SAC, while the 'Dogs fall to 12-7 overall and 9-6 in the conference.

Dondray Walker had 14 points and five rebounds to lead the Newberry attack, while Demarkus Smith also had 14 points for the Wolves. James Ashby and Xavier Holmes added 10 points apiece for Newberry.

Junior guard Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.) scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Wingate attack. Freshman forward Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman forward Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) had 11 points. Freshman Dustin Dodd (Concord, N.C.) scored all nine of his points in the first half, hitting three-of-six shots from three-point range.

Wingate jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, getting two triples from Dodd. Newberry responded with a 15-5 run, taking a 17-13 lead on a Smith free throw at the 8:57 mark. Dodd answered with another three, but Newberry responded with a 10-1 run, taking a 27-17 advantage on a three from Gerald Evans with 5:29 to go.

Brunes Charles put the Wolves on top by 12 at the 2:31 mark. Daye answered with a layup, while a Cureton triple trimmed the lead to seven. Cureton followed with a steal and a layup, while a Cureton offensive rebound and layup helped the Bulldogs trim Newberry's halftime advantage to four at 36-32.

A Dominguez layup, followed by a pair of free throws from senior center Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got Wingate to within three at 52-49 with 12:20 to go in the second half. The Wolves answered with a 14-0 run to take a 17-point lead. Walker started the flurry with a jumper, while Smith capped it with a three-point play at the 8:31 mark.

Wingate would not go away, cutting the lead to 12 on a Dominguez layup with 7:38 remaining. The Wolves led by 11 with 4:24 to go, but a pair of Daye triples made it a four-point game with 3:15 remaining. A Smith layup and Mitch Riggs free throw pushed the advantage back to seven at 77-70 at the 2:23 mark. A three-point play from Dominguez made it 77-74 with 54 seconds left. Turman would bury a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left to make it a two-point game, but two Smith free throws pushed the lead back to four. Sophomore Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) hit one free throw to cut the lead back to three, but a free throw from Walker with 13 seconds left made the final margin 81-77.

Newberry shot 50 percent from the field, hitting five-of-21 shots from beyond the arc (23.8 percent). Wingate shot 43.3 percent from the field, going eight-for-23 from three-point range (34.8 percent). The Bulldogs held a 38-33 rebounding advantage and a 15-9 edge in second chance points. The Wolves converted 19 Wingate turnovers into 29 points.

Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting Anderson at 4 p.m.