Wingate, N.C.-----Wingate University senior Jakob Dawkins poured in 27 points Saturday afternoon, with classmate Frankie Johnson added 15 points and 11 assists to lead the Bulldogs to a 90-77 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 13-15 overall and 9-13 in the SAC, while the Pioneers fall to 18-12 overall and 13-9 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 48 percent from the field, hitting 14-of-34 threes (41 percent)
- Tusculum shot 41 percent from the field, connecting on nine-of-30 from beyond the arc (41 percent)
- The Pioneers held a 39-38 rebounding advantage and 18-12 edge in second-chance points
- Tusculum outscored Wingate 34-22 in the paint and scored 25 points off 16 WU turnovers
- The 'Dogs went 22-for-27 at the free throw line; Tusculum was 10-for-18 at the line
- Wingate had 23 assists on 27 field goals
- The Pioneers had 13 of the 18 steals on the day
- Wingate led for nearly 28 minutes; Tusculum led for less than 10 minutes

KEY BULLDOGS

- Dawkins went eight-for-14 from the field and seven-for-12 from beyond the arc to score 27 points
- Season high for Dawkins and one off his career high, adding six rebounds, two assists and a steal
- Johnson was eight-for-10 at the free throw line to go for 15 points and 11 assists, adding five boards and a steal
- The Citadel transfer ends his collegiate career with exactly 1,000 points
- Francis Sio had 19 points, hitting four-of-six threes on the night
- Quantra Taylor had nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks
- Miguel Priest had seven points on three-of-five shooting

FIRST HALF

- A Caleb Hodnett bucket gave Tusculum a 16-11 lead five minutes in
- Wingate answered with an 11-5 lead, getting two Dawkins triples along with a Johnson three to take the lead
- A Brandon Mitchell three gave the Pioneers the 24-22 lead with eight minutes to go
- The 'Dogs scored 11 of the next 13 points, getting threes from Sio and Dawkins to go up 33-26
- A Sio three and free throw put the Bulldogs on top by 11 with 1:38 to go
- Cameron King's dunk in the final seconds got Tusculum within eight at 41-33 heading to halftime

SECOND HALF

- A Priest three put Wingate on top 11 early in the second half, but Tusculum countered with an 11-0 run
- Dillon Smith's layup with 14:49 to go tied it at 44
- Wingate answered with an 11-0 run of its own, getting two Sio triples to take a 55-44 lead at the 12:42 mark
- A Tariq Jenkins three-point play got the Pioneers within eight a minute later
- A Priest layup, along with an emphatic and-one dunk from Taylor put WU on top 67-53
- A dunk and a free throw from Shaman Alston stretched the lead to 18 at the 5:11 mark
- The lead would remain in double figures the rest of the way