Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs suffered their first home setback of the season Wednesday night, with visiting Lenoir-Rhyne University hanging on for a 77-75 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. The Bears improve to 7-8 overall and 5-4 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 8-8 overall and 5-3 in league play.

Cory Thomas led the Bears with 16 points on the night. Djibril Diallo added 14 points, four assists and two steals, while Jarvis Calhoun contributed 13 points on five-of-seven shooting from the field. Reed Lucas had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists on the night.

Graduate student point guard Kerigan Farley (Hickory, N.C.) had 22 points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds to lead the Wingate attack. Junior guard Marco Haskins (Fredericksburg, Va.) had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while senior guard Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) also had 12 points for the Bulldogs. Senior forward Devarious Christian (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed nine points, 10 boards and two blocks, while freshman center Quantra Taylor (Indian Land, S.C.) had seven points and eight boards.

A triple from Bales gave the Bears a six-point lead five minutes into the opening half, but buckets from Farley, Christian and Haskins tied it at 14. Taylor capped an 8-0 run with a dunk to put the Bulldogs on top, but a Mason Hawks three put LRU back ahead at the 11:48 mark. Another Hawks triple stretched the lead to five, but threes from Lolar and Charlie Hovasse (Colorado Springs, Colo.) tied it at 30 with 6:26 left in the half.

Lenoir-Rhyne countered with an 8-0 run, taking a 38-30 lead on a layup from Emmanuel Wembi at the 2:11 mark. Back-to-back Farley buckets got the 'Dogs within four heading to halftime.

Calhoun's three early in the second half extended the LRU lead back to seven, but two Lolar buckets and a Farley layup got the Bulldogs within a point with 15 minutes left in the game. Taylor tied it with a free throw, but the Bears again had the answer, with a Lucas bucket capping a 6-0 run to make it 51-45 at the 12:26 mark. A Taylor putback and two Hovasse free throws got Wingate within two with 8:10 to go.

Calhoun buried a three to put Lenoir-Rhyne on top by five, while a Lucas triple at the 5:25 mark made it 63-57. Wingate answered with an 8-2 run, tying the game at 65 on an Emarius Logan (Columbia, S.C.) layup with three minutes left. Back-to-back Thomas layups put Lenoir-Rhyne back on top by four, but Farley's jumper cut the lead in half with a minute to go. Diallo's jumper and two Thomas free throws made it 74-69 with 25 seconds to go, while two more Thomas free throws put the Bears on top by six with 14 seconds left. Farley knocked down a three at the buzzer to make the final margin 77-75.

Lenoir-Rhyne shot 53.8 percent from the field, hitting eight-of-16 shots from three-point range (50 percent). Wingate shot 41.9 percent from the field, connecting on six-of-20 shots from beyond the arc (30 percent). The Bulldogs held a 39-28 rebounding advantage and 22-10 edge in points in the paint.

Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting Carson-Newman at 4 p.m.