Hickory, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs picked up a big road victory Wednesday night, taking down Lenoir-Rhyne University 87-79 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Wingate improves to 14-10 overall and 10-6 in the SAC, while the Bears fall to 16-7 overall and 9-6 in league play.
 
THOUGHTS FROM BRIAN GOOD

"Big time effort by our team against a very good opponent. It was a hostile crowd and we had a short bench. We've been dialed in on defense lately and we were finally able to start scoring the ball better."

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 43 percent from the field, hitting 13-of28 from beyond the arc (46 percent)
- LR shot 46 percent from the field, connecting on 10-of-34 from beyond the arc (29 percent)
- Each team had 39 rebounds and six second-chance points
- WU went 20-of-24 at the free throw line; LR was nine-for-15
- Wingate had 15 assists and just eight turnovers

KEY BULLDOGS

- Jakob Dawkins had a career-high 21 points, going four-for-six from threes
- Emarius Logan added 20 points, six rebounds and three assists
- Marco Haskins contributed 18 points and eight boards
- Frankie Johnson had 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals
- Jarren Cottingham had 11 points, going three-for-five from three-point range

FIRST HALF

- Logan's three gave Wingate an early 9-5 lead
- A Deontae Weaver three gave LR a 22-18 advantage with 11:35 to go
- A layup and a three from Johnson put the 'Dogs back on top at the 8:57 mark
- RJ Gunn's layup put the Bears on top by three with 6:43 left in the half
- A layup and a triple from Dawkins put WU back on top by two a minute later
- Haskins knocked down a jumper to stretch the lead to four at the 3:49 mark
- A Dawkins triple and Johnson layup put WU on top 41-35 in the final 90 seconds
- A Haskins jumper in the final minute made it 43-37 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- A Haskins three-point play put the 'Dogs on top by nine in the opening minute of the second half
- LR scored the next nine points, with Gunn's dunk tying it at the 16:29 mark
- A Cory Thomas triple gave LR a three-point lead with 13:24 remaining
- Cottingham buried a triple to put WU back on top two minutes later
- A Dawkins three-point play and Haskins layup gave the 'Dogs a five-point lead at the midway point
- A Dawkins triple and Haskins three-point play stretched the lead to eight
- A Davion Bradford bucket got the Bears within four at the 8:20 mark
- Two threes and two free throws from Logan put Wingate on top by 10 at the 6:36 mark
- Bradford trimmed the lead to six with under four minutes left
- Two Logan free throws made it 79-71 with under three minutes to go
- Johnson's free throws at the 1:48 mark made it a 10-point game
- LR went on an 8-1 run over the next 30 seconds, with a Thomas layup making it 82-79 with 1:15 to go
- Cottingham answered with a big bucket on the ensuing possession to make it 84-79
- Johnson came up with a steal on the LR trip, then made three free throws the final 30 seconds to seal it

UP NEXT

- Wingate hosts Mars Hill Saturday at 4 p.m. on Senior Day
- The 'Dogs are at Newberry next Wednesday at 8 p.m.