Daytona Beach, Fla.----The University of West Alabama Tigers outscored Wingate University 43-28 in the second half Friday evening en route to a 78-58 victory over the Bulldogs on day one of the Bahama House Classic. West Alabama improves to 4-2 on the year, while Wingate falls to 2-4 overall.
Charles Eaton led the West Alabama offense with 31 points, going 14-for-22 from the field.
Gavin Robinson contributed 16 points and 11 boards, while
Josh Fleming added 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while.
Senior forward
Devarious Christian (Charlotte, N.C.) had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wingate attack. Graduate student point guard
Kerigan Farley (Hickory, N.C.) added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, while junior guard
Marco Haskins (Fredericksburg, Va.) had 13 points, hitting three-of-five shots from three-point range. Senior guard
Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) contributed 12 points for the Bulldogs.
A Lolar triple gave Wingate a 15-12 advantage seven minutes into the opening half, but a jumper and a dunk from Eaton put the Tigers on top 21-17. Back-to-back buckets from Christian tied it, while a Lolar three and Haskins jumper gave the 'Dogs a 26-25 lead with five minutes left in the half. UWA ended the half on a 10-4 run, with a
Dominique Alexander tip-in in the final minute giving the Tigers a 35-30 halftime advantage.
West Alabama opened the second half on a 15-5 run, taking a 50-35 lead on a
Trey Petty layup at the 14:42 mark. A Haskins bucket three minutes later got the Bulldogs within 11, but a dunk and a layup from Robinson gave the Tigers a 63-47 advantage with 7:56 remaining. Christian scored the next seven points in the game, getting Wingate to within 11 with five minutes to go. An Eaton layup and Robinson dunk put UWA back on top by 15, while two more buckets from Eaton pushed the lead to 20 with a minute to go.
West Alabama shot 47 percent from the field, hitting four-of-16 shots from three-point range (25 percent). Wingate shot 36 percent from the field, while connecting on six-of-26 shots from beyond the arc (23 percent). West Alabama converted 13 Bulldog turnovers into 20 points, while holding a 45-33 rebounding advantage. Wingate held a 21-11 edge in second-chance points, while the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 44-30 in the paint.
Wingate is back in action Saturday on day two of the Bahama House Classic in Daytona Beach. The Bulldogs will take on either Embry-Riddle or Auburn-Montgomery at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
