Hickory, N.C.----Cooper Fowler's offensive rebound and 17-footer at the buzzer gave the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears an 86-85 victory over visiting Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night. The Bears improve to 6-2 overall and 6-2 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 6-4 overall and 6-4 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 56 percent from the field; Lenoir-Rhyne shot 53 percent
- The 'Dogs were nine-for-20 from three-point range (45 percent); LR was six-for-25 (24 percent)
- The Bulldogs held a 31-28 rebounding advantage; LR had a 12-11 edge in second-chance points
- WU went 12-for-16 at the free throw line; Lenoir-Rhyne went 10-for-14
- The Bears turned 15 Wingate turnovers into 18 points
- The 'Dogs held the lead for nearly 31 minutes Wednesday night

KEY BULLDOGS

- Jarren Cottingham had 22 points on nine-of-14 shooting, adding six rebounds and two blocks
- Francis Sio added 20 points, four rebounds and four assists
- Andreas Wilson contributed 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting, hitting three-of-five triples
- Quantra Taylor had eight points on three-of-four shooting
- Miguel Priest collected six points and 12 boards

FIRST HALF

- A Cottingham three, followed by buckets from Priest and Taylor gave WU an early 12-6 lead
- A Darius Simmons layup cut the lead to three at  the 13:31 mark
- A Zim Fields layup put the Bears on top 17-16 with 12 minutes left
- A Wilson triple, along with a Cottingham layup and Rashaard Pringle dunk put Wingate on top by three
- The 'Dogs used a 6-0 run to go on top 31-25, getting two Wilson buckets and a Cottingham layup
- Davion Bradford's layup made it a one-point game with five minutes left
- Wilson buried another three, but a Mason Hawks jumper tied it at 36
- A Wilson triple and Destin Clark layup gave Wingate a 43-40 advantage
- A Simmons layup made it a one-point game, but Priest's layup put WU on top 45-42 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- R.J. Gunn's triple put the Bears on top 49-47 early in the second half
- A Taylor dunk and Cottingham three-point play gave Wingate a 52-49 advantage
- Another Hawks three put Lenoir-Rhyne back on top by two with 14 minutes to go
- Wingate went on an 8-0 run, getting six points from Sio to go on top 62-56
- Wilson's layup with 9:35 remaining made it 66-57
- Cottingham's triple with seven minutes to go pushed the lead to nine
- A Sio triple a minute later put the Bulldogs on top 74-64
- LR scored the next nine, with a Simmons layup making it 74-73 at the 4:13 mark
- Two Sio free throws pushed the lead to three, but a Gunn jumper with three minutes left gave LR the lead
- Sio put the 'Dogs back on top with a triple, but Gunn's bucket with 2:25 left tied it at 79
- Cottingham's layup was answered by a Davion Bradford dunk to tie it at 81 with 1:31 left
- Pringle's layup made it 83-81, but LR took the lead on a Hawks three-point play with 13 seconds to go
- Sio was fouled on the other end and made both free throws to put WU on top 85-84 with five seconds left
- Simmons missed a long three in the final seconds, but Fowler got the long rebound behind the free throw line and connected on the desperation shot at the buzzer

UP NEXT

- Wingate is at Carson-Newman Saturday at 4 p.m.
- The Bulldogs wrap up the road trip next Wednesday at Coker at 8 p.m.
- WU is back home Jan. 30, hosting LMU at 4 p.m.