Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University junior Charlie Hovasse scored in the final second Wednesday night, giving the sixth-seeded Bulldogs a thrilling 80-78 victory at number three seed Lincoln Memorial University in the quarterfinals of the 2019 South Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament. Wingate improves to 17-12 overall, advancing to the SAC Tournament semifinals Saturday night. LMU falls to 20-9 on the season.

THOUGHTS FROM BRIAN GOOD

"I can't imagine being any prouder. We just refused to go away. There was a lot of fight in us tonight and we did it without a single three-pointer from Marco, which makes it more impressive. I don't know how many charges we took, but it was several. I believe Frankie took four himself. Charlie was fantastic all night, but obviously made some huge baskets down the stretch."

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 44 percent from the field, hitting 10-of-32 threes (31 percent)
- LMU shot 48 percent from the field, connecting on 15-of-32 from beyond the arc (47 percent)
- The 'Dogs knocked down 14-of-17 free throws; LMU was 11-for-14
- Wingate held a 34-33 rebounding advantage and 11-0 edge in second-chance points
- The Bulldogs outscored the Railsplitters 30-22 in the paint
- The contest featured seven ties and four lead changes
- Lincoln Memorial led for 29 minutes, Wingate held the lead for just over eight minutes
- The 'Dogs converted 18 LMU turnovers into 16 points
- Each team had eight steals, Lincoln Memorial held a 5-3 advantage in blocked shots

KEY BULLDOGS

- Jakob Dawkins had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals
- Jarren Cottingham added 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal
- The two combined to hit six-of-12 from three-point range
- Hovasse added 15 points on seven-of-12 shooting
- Marco Haskins contributed 10 points, six boards and two assists
- Frankie Johnson added six points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals
- Francis Sio and Joshua Strozier had seven and six points, respectively

NOTES

- Snaps a 15-game losing streak against Lincoln Memorial
- First win at LMU since February of 2008
- Wingate's last victory over the Railsplitters came in the 2013 SAC championship game
- LMU had appeared in the SAC Tourney semifinals in each of the past nine seasons
- The Railsplitters were the defending SAC Tournament champions
- The Bulldogs are in the SAC Tournament semifinals for the fourth straight season
- Wingate is looking to return to the title game for the second time in three years
- The 'Dogs have won five SAC Tournament championships, with the latest coming in 2013
- Dawkins has scored 19 or more points in four of his last six games
- He has hit 17-of-34 threes during that stretch
- Seventh double-digit scoring effort from Cottingham this season
- His seven rebounds are a career high, while the 17 points are two away from a career high
- Fourth double-digit scoring performance from Hovasse this season
- Third time this year he has scored at least 15 points; WU is 3-0 in those games
- Haskins has scored in double figures in 28 of 29 games this season
- Johnson has had multiple steals in 20 of 29 contests this season
- The Bulldogs are 11-2 this season when scoring at least 80 points

FIRST HALF

- Buckets from Cottingham, Hovasse and Haskins gave WU an early 6-0 lead
- A Rhondi Hackett jumper and Julius Brown three put LMU on top 14-11 with 11 minutes left
- Strozier buried a three to tie it, but buckets from Anthony Brown and Courvoisier McCauley put LMU on top by eight
- Threes from Strozier and Cottingham got the 'Dogs within two at 25-23 with 6:52 remaining
- The Railsplitters scored the next seven points, taking a 32-23 lead on a pair of Brown free throws
- A Johnson jumper got WU back within three, but back-to-back Brown triples put LMU on top by 10
- Wingate scored the last five points of the half, with a Dawkins three and Sio jumper making it a five-point game at halftime

SECOND HALF

- Cornelius Taylor knocked down a three at the 16:46 mark to put Lincoln Memorial on top 54-42
- Wingate countered with an 11-0 run to get back within one, holding LMU scoreless for five minutes
- Dawkins had four points in the spurt, while a Sio three capped it at the 11:39 mark
- Lincoln Memorial scored the next eight, taking a 62-53 lead on an Alex Dahling three with 8:46 to go
- The 'Dogs scored 10 of the next 12 points to get back within one
- Haskins had three points in the flurry, while Cottingham's three made it 64-63 with six minutes left
- The 'Splitters again stretched the lead back to six on a McCauley triple with 4:36 remaining
- A Hovasse layup and Cottingham triple got WU within one, while a Dawkins three at the 2:47 mark tied it at 71
- Haskins knocked down a jumper with 1:47 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 74-72 lead
- Taylor answered with a three to put LMU back on top
- Sio buried two free throws with 1:11 remaining to give Wingate a one-point edge
- A Hovasse steal with 56 seconds left gave the ball back to the Bulldogs
- Hovasse's bucket with 27 seconds remaining made it 78-75
- LMU tied it on McCauley's triple with 22 seconds remaining
- Haskins got double-teamed on the left wing in the final seconds, then found a cutting Hovasse
- The junior made the double-clutch layup in traffic to give Wingate the victory

UP NEXT

- Wingate will face second-seeded Catawba in the SAC Tournament semifinals Saturday
- The semifinal contest will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C.
- Wingate and Catawba split the regular season series, with each team winning at home