Greeneville, Tenn.----Wingate University junior
Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) and freshman
Mike Baez (Huntersville, N.C.) combined to score 44 points Saturday afternoon, leading the visiting Bulldogs to a wire-to-wire 78-67 victory at Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Wingate wins its eighth straight game and ninth consecutive league contest, defeating Tusculum for the 11th straight time to move to 15-4 overall and 11-2 in the conference. The Pioneers fall to 9-10 overall and 5-9 in the SAC.
After a career-high 28 points in Wednesday night's win, Cureton poured in 26 points Saturday, adding seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks while going eight-of-14 from the field and nine-for-nine at the free throw line. Baez had 18 points on five-of-nine shooting, knocking down four-of-five shots from three-point range. Junior center
Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) had six points and a career-high 14 rebounds, adding two blocks and two steals. Junior
Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) added eight points, while senior
Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) contributed seven points and four rebounds.
Chase Mounce had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Tusculum attack.
Darius Carter added 16 points and three assists, while
Matt Shown and
Cory Fagan contributed nine and eight points, respectively.
The Bulldogs came out hot, jumping out to a 17-6 advantage six minutes into the opening half. Cureton scored the first five points of the flurry, while Baez scored the last 12 points, knocking down four threes to give Wingate a double-digit lead. Tusculum scored the next seven points, cutting the advantage to four on a pair of Shown free throws at the 10:36 mark.
A Xavier Griffin bucket pushed the lead back to seven, but a
Javon Price bucket got the Pioneers within one at 20-19 with 8:24 to go. A
Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) layup and free throw stretched the advantage back to four, while two Xavier Griffin free throws made it 29-23 at the 3:53 mark. The Pioneers got back within one on a pair of Carter free throws with 2:53 left, but the 'Dogs closed the half on a 6-0 run.
Kerigan Farley (Hickory, N.C.) started the spurt with a layup, while three Baez free throws gave Wingate a 35-27 halftime advantage.
A Xavier Griffin layup, along with free throws from Cureton and Baez stretched the lead to 12 early in the second half. A Mounce layup helped cut the lead in half with 16 minutes left, but buckets from Baez and Cureton made it 44-36. A pair of Carter triples got the Pioneers within two at the 11:41 mark. A Farley bucket and Keith Griffin dunk gave Wingate a 56-50 edge with 6:55 remaining.
Layups from Shown and
Zach Davis got Tusculum within two at the 5:56 mark, but a Cureton bucket stretched the advantage back to six. Fagan buried a three to get Tusculum within three at the 4:51 mark, but Wingate responded with a huge 11-2 run to take a 12-point lead. Doyle got it started with a three, while Cureton stole the ensuing inbounds pass and converted a three-point play. A
Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) layup and Xavier Griffin free throw made it 71-59 with 1:50 to go. Tusculum would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs shot 40.7 percent from the field, hitting six-of-21 shots from three-point range (28.6 percent). Tusculum shot 46.2 percent from the field, knocking down six-of-17 shots from beyond the arc (35.3 percent). The Bulldogs held a 43-27 rebounding advantage, which included a 25-9 edge in the second half. Wingate piled up a season-high 11 steals, forcing 14 TC turnovers and turning those into 24 points.
The Bulldogs are back in action Wednesday, starting a big stretch of four games in eight days at Newberry at 8 p.m. That will be followed by a home game Saturday against seventh-ranked Lincoln Memorial at 4 p.m. The 'Dogs host Mars Hill next Monday in a make-up game, while traveling to No. 15 Queens two days later.
