Wingate, N.C.----Six different Bulldogs scored in double figures Tuesday night as Wingate University defeated visiting Lenoir-Rhyne University 94-82 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate moves to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the SAC, while the Bears fall to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Senior guard
Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) had 20 points to lead the Wingate attack, adding four rebounds and four assists. Junior center
Lee McCall (Indian land, S.C.) added 16 points and five rebounds, going seven-of-seven from the field. Senior forward
Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, going nine-for-nine at the free throw line. Senior
Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) had 11 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore
Mike Baez (Orlando, Fla.) contributed 11 points and four boards. Junior guard
Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) had 10 points, six rebounds and two assists for the Bulldogs.
Reed Lucas had 18 points to lead the Lenoir-Rhyne attack, while
Jalen Variste contributed 17 points and six assists.
Darrion Evans had 12 points and three boards, while
Billy Bales and
Ben Zemonek contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Buckets from Baez and McCall gave the Bulldogs a 15-7 lead seven minutes into the half, but a Bales triple got the Bears within three. Doyle pushed the advantage back to nine with a three at the 11:36 mark, while Griffin's three-point play at the 9:36 mark made it 28-17.
Threes from Bales and
Jarvis Calhoun got the Bears within three at the 7:20 mark, but a Dominguez three-point play and a Doyle triple made it 39-27 with 4:41 to go in the half. Buckets from Griffin and
Neico Robinson (Easley, S.C.) extended the lead to 13, but a Bales layup got LR back within eight with 1:10 remaining. Two free throws and a layup from
Devarious Christian (Charlotte, N.C.) in the final 41 seconds gave the Bulldogs a 47-35 lead at halftime.
Wingate took a 14-point advantage on a Griffin layup a minute into the second half, but Lenoir-Rhyne scored the next eight points, cutting the lead to six on a Variste layup at the 16:50 mark. Doyle buried another three to stretch the lead back to nine, but buckets from Evans and Lucas trimmed the deficit back to four just three minutes later. Lolar and Baez hooked up on an alley-oop to put Wingate on top by eight, while another three-point play from Dominguez made it 66-56 with eight minutes to go.
Evans drained a three with 5:43 remaining to get the Bears back within six, but a McCall layup and Doyle three-point play made it 77-66 with 4:58 remaining. Freshman
Jeremy Williams (Monroe, N.C.) followed with a three to give the Bulldogs a 14-point lead with 4:17 remaining. Lenoir-Rhyne got no closer than nine the rest of the way, with Wingate going eight-for-eight at the free throw line down the stretch.
The Bulldogs shot 49.3 percent from the field, going five-of-24 from three-point range (20.8 percent). Lenoir-Rhyne shot 42.4 percent from the field, going 10-of-21 from beyond the arc (47.6 percent). Wingate out-rebounded Lenoir-Rhyne 44-35, holding a 50-28 edge in points in the paint. The Bulldogs went 23-of-27 at the free throw line on the night (85.2 percent).
Wingate is back in action Sunday, traveling to Augusta for a 4 p.m. start.
