Wingate, N.C.----The Brevard College Tornados finished the game on a 21-7 run in the final five minutes Saturday afternoon, defeating Wingate University 79-77 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Brevard improves to 12-16 overall and 10-12 in the SAC, earning the final spot in next week's SAC Tournament. Wingate falls to 15-13 overall and 12-10 in the SAC.

The Bulldogs will be the number five seed in this week's SAC Tournament. Wingate will travel to Queens Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. tip. Brevard travels to top-seeded LMU Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs won both regular season games against the Royals.

Darius Moose had 26 points to lead the Brevard attack, going nine-for-16 from the field, adding six rebounds and three assists. Trevon Shaw added 20 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Tornados, going three-for-five from beyond the arc. Miles Leathers added 10 points and five boards, while Phil Wallace had eight points.

Senior guard Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.) scored a season-high 29 points to lead the Wingate attack, knocking down five triples on the afternoon. Freshman guard Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) added 15 points and four rebounds, going eight-for-10 at the free throw line. Junior guard Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while sophomore center Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

A Daye layup gave the 'Dogs an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes. A pair of free throws from Moose cut the lead to one at the midway point of the half. Wingate scored the next six points, taking a 22-15 lead on a Xavier Griffin three-point play. Alex Moe knocked down a triple to trim the lead to three, but a jumper and a three from Daye made it 27-19 with six minutes to go. Sophomore guard Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) added a triple to push the advantage to 10. Wingate led 36-26 at halftime.

Daye and Xavier Griffin knocked down threes to put the Bulldogs on top 52-37 at the 14:43 mark. Brevard responded with a 12-2 run, cutting the lead to five on layups from Moose and Leathers. A Keith Griffin layup, followed by another Daye triple and two Lolar free throws put the 'Dogs on top 65-53 at the 8:08 mark. A Daye layup gave Wingate a 13-point advantage with 6:55 to go. A Shaw jumper cut it to 11, but a free throw from Terrill Hilliard (Rocky Mount, N.C.) gave Wingate a 12-point lead with 5:26 left.

Shaw buried a triple to trim the lead to seven a minute later, while a Moose bucket made it a five-point game with four minutes left. Moose added a triple a minute later, while Shaw's layup with 2:30 left tied the game for the first time all night. A Keith Griffin dunk put Wingate back on top, but a jumper and a three from Shaw gave the Tornados their first lead since the opening minutes of the game with. Shaw added two free throws to push the lead to three, while a Cureton free throw cut the lead back to two. Xavier Griffin added a free throw to make it a one-point game with 18 seconds left. Wallace hit a pair of free throws, but Daye was fouled while shooting a three with eight seconds left. He missed the first, made the second, then missed the third, with Wingate getting the rebound. After a ball went out of bounds, Wingate had the ball at midcourt with two second left, but Lolar's desperation three was offline, giving Brevard the win.

Brevard shot 53 percent from the field, including 69.2 percent shooting in the second half, connecting on each of its last seven field goal attempts. The Tornados were 10-for-22 from three-point range (45.5 percent). The Bulldogs shot 42.6 percent from the field, going eight-of-22 from beyond the arc (36.4 percent). Wingate held a 35-31 rebounding edge, while both teams scored 28 points in the paint.

The Bulldogs are back in action Wednesday night, traveling to Queens for a 7 p.m. start in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals. Wingate won 65-60 in Charlotte against the Royals this season, while prevailing 75-74 in Cuddy Arena earlier in February.