Charlotte, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs trailed by 17 points in the first half Saturday afternoon at 10th-ranked Queens University, then faced a 15-point deficit with 11 minutes left in the regulation before closing the game on a 25-5 run to pick up a huge 80-71 victory over the Royal in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Wingate wins its third straight, moving to 3-2 overall and 3-2 in the SAC, while the Royals fall to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.

THOUGHTS FROM JARREN COTTINGHAM

"We just fought from beginning to end. Even when we were down early, the fighting never stopped. And if Andreas didn't step up big in that first half like he did, I don't know where we would have been. I had been saying upset city since Friday night, I knew we were bound for something special."

THOUGHTS FROM BRIAN GOOD

"I thought the win was a testament to our perseverance today. We did some really good things today, but just couldn't seem to get anything going consistently on offense until the final stretch. But we stayed with what we were trying to do. Our defense in the second half allowed us to hang around. Andreas kept us in the game in the first half with his shooting. Obviously, this was a very good road win."

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 44 percent from the field; Queens shot 45 percent
- The 'Dogs hit 13-of-37 threes (35 percent); the Royals were 10-for-22 from distance (46 percent)
- WU shot 52 percent from the field in the second half while QU shot 38 percent
- The Bulldogs outscored Queens 46-27 in the second half
- Wingate forced 21 turnovers, turning those into 35 points
- The Royals held a 37-28 rebounding edge; each team scored 12 second-chance points
- The 'Dogs held a 20-8 advantage in fast-break points and 28-16 edge in bench scoring
- The Bulldogs had seven of the 10 steals on the day
- Queens led for almost 37 minutes; the game had zero ties and just one lead change
- Wingate held Queens without a field goal for over eight minutes during the huge run

KEY BULLDOGS

- Andreas Wilson poured in a career-high 19 points, hitting four-of-six threes and all five free throws
- Jarren Cottingham had 16 points, three rebounds, a block and an assist
- Francis Sio scored all 14 of his points in the pivotal second half, adding three steals on the day
- Miguel Priest contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists
- Kendrick Tucker registered eight points, two boards and two assists
- Donell Nixon registered seven points, four assists and three steals

NOTES

- Snaps an eight-game Queens winning streak in the series
- First win for WU in the series since beating the Royals twice in less than a month in the 2016-17 season
- Queens was ranked in the top 10 for both of those contests
- The 'Dogs are 17-21 all-time against the Royals and 8-13 in Charlotte
- WU is 2-0 in SAC road games this year, outscoring Catawba and Queens 183-155
- The Royals and Indians combined to win 31 SAC games last season
- Wingate has scored 281 points its last three games (93.7 ppg)
- Cottingham has scored 79 points in the three-game winning streak (26.3 ppg)
- Sio scores in double figures for the 12th straight time
- Priest has been in double figures all three games of the winning streak, adding 22 boards
- Wilson's career high for points, threes made and free throws made
- Nixon has 10 assists and just two turnovers in his three games this season, adding four steals
- WU is averaging 51.7 points per game in the second half during the three-game winning streak

FIRST HALF

- Queens jumped out to a 14-point lead, with an AJ McKee triple making it 19-5 less than six minutes in
- A Malcolm Stevenson bucket at the 12:19 mark gave the Royals a 23-7 lead
- A Tucker triple and two Rashaard Pringle free throws pulled Wingate within 11 at 23-12
- Quan McCluney buried a three with 6:36 to go to put Queens on top by 17, its largest lead of the day
- Wilson hit a three and two free throws to cut it to 11, while a Cottingham triple got WU within nine
- Another Wilson triple with 48 seconds left pulled Wingate within seven at 41-34
- Kelyn Pennie's three with 18 seconds left put Queens on top 44-34 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- Two Justin Thomas free throws put the Royals on top 58-43 with 11:36 to go
- Three Wilson free throws and a Priest jumper pulled the 'Dogs back within 10 with 10 minutes left
- Gavin Rains stretched the lead back to 14 with a jumper at the 8:44 mark, making it 62-48
- Sio knocked down a triple to trim the lead to nine a minute later, but Pennie's free throws with seven minutes left made it 66-55
- The 'Dogs would outscore the Royals 25-5 over the final 6:32
- A Nixon steal and pass ahead to Cottingham for a bucket started the spurt
- Threes from Priest and Sio pulled the Bulldogs within three at the 5:05 mark, forcing a QU timeout
- After a pair of free throws pushed the lead to five, Nixon knocked down a deep three to make it 68-66
- Sio buried a triple on the next WU possession to put the 'Dogs on top 69-68, the only lead change of the day
- Back-to-back fastbreak layups from Cottingham made it 73-68 with 1:42 left
- A Priest bucket and Cottingham runner in the lane with 20 seconds left made it 77-68, capping a 22-3 run
- Wingate held Queens without a field goal from the 8:44 mark until the final 15 seconds of the game

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action next Saturday, hosting Mars Hill at 4 p.m.
- The 'Dogs host Newberry Dec. 16 at 5 p.m.