Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs buried 19 threes on 50 percent shooting Friday night, rolling to a 104-87 victory over visiting Belmont Abbey College in NCAA Division II men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate led by as many as 32 points, starting its season 1-0 while the Crusaders fall to 0-1 overall.

KEY STATS

- Wingate went 19-for-38 from three-point range
- The 'Dogs shot 48.1 percent from the field on the night; BAC shot 43.5 percent
- The 'Dogs went 10-for-17 from three-point range in the second half (58.8 percent)
- BAC was 26-for-30 at the free throw line (86.7 percent); WU was seven-for-11 (63.6 percent)
- The Crusaders held  43-39 rebounding edge; WU had a 21-20 advantage in second-chance points
- WU scored 17 fast-break points, turning 21 Abbey turnovers into 29 points
- Wingate had 27 assists on 39 field goals
- The 'Dogs had a 38-30 advantage in the paint
- Wingate led for over 39 minutes on the night
- The WU bench contributed 50 points
- Seven players made their Wingate debut Friday, combining for 53 points

KEY BULLDOGS

- Marco Haskins had 22 points, six assists and five boards, going five-for-nine from three-point range
- Joshua Strozier had 18 points on seven-of-nine shooting, hitting four-of-five shots from beyond the arc
- Francis Sio knocked down three-of-four triples, scoring 13 points
- Quantra Taylor had 12 points and 11 rebounds on five-of-seven shooting
- Dylan Robertson contributed 10 points and eight boards on five-of-seven shooting
- Frankie Johnson had six points, nine assists, four steals and three rebounds

NOTES

- Most points since scoring 120 against Mars Hill in February of 2013
- Most assists since the 32 in the Mars Hill victory
- The Mars Hill game was the last time the 'Dogs scored 100 points
- Most threes in school history
- First time Wingate has hit more than 15 threes in the last decade
- WU improves to 10-3 against BAC and 6-0 against the Crusaders in Cuddy Arena
- The 14 steals are the most WU has had since January of 2013 against Newberry
- Second career double-double for Taylor
- Fifth career 20-point game for Haskins

FIRST HALF

- Three triples from Haskins in the first 3:30 gave WU an early 11-4 lead
- Belmont Abbey got an LJ McCoy three to tie it at 13 at the 13:24 mark
- WU countered with a 16-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 29-15 lead
- Haskins had six points in the spurt; Charlie Hovasse added five points
- Strozier's three put the 'Dogs on top 32-17 with seven minutes left in the half
- McCoy's bucket with three minutes left got the Crusaders back within 10
- Johnson knocked down two triples the final two minutes to give WU a 46-35 halftime lead

SECOND HALF

- Wingate came out on fire in the second half, going on a 21-4 run to push the lead over 30
- Jakob Dawkins started the flurry with a three at the 17:35 mark
- Seven Bulldogs scored in the spurt, led by Sio's five points and Robertson's four points
- DeQuan Abrom got BAC within 27, but another Strozier three made it 81-50 with 11:15 left
- Strozier's triple at the 9:51 mark gave Wingate its largest lead at 86-54
- Wingate led by 28 with four minutes left; BAC ended the game on a 15-4 run

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting Limestone at 7:30 p.m.