Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half Saturday afternoon, but fought back to take a lead before dropping a tough 96-95 contest at Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Catawba improves to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 59 percent from the field; Catawba shot 53 percent
- The 'Dogs hit 13-of-29 threes while the Indians connected on 10-of-21 shots from deep
- WU turned it over a season-high 22 times, which Catawba turned into 29 points
- The Indians held a 29-28 rebounding advantage and 14-8 edge in second-chance points
- Wingate went 18-for-20 at the free throw line while Catawba was 16-for-23
- The Bulldogs tied a season high with 20 assists while setting a high for field goal percentage and threes made

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sean Elmore had 20 points, knocking down six-of-13 threes, adding five boards and four assists
- Destin Clark had 18 points on eight-of-nine shooting, adding four assists and two rebounds
- Andreas Wilson contributed 13 points and four assists
- Vontrez Roberts had 12 points and eight boards, going five-for-five from the field
- Jarren Cottingham added 11 points, four assists, three boards and two steals
- Ahman Greenidge contributed 10 points on four-of-four shooting from the field
- Donell Nixon had seven points, four assists and three steals

FIRST HALF

- An 8-0 run gave Wingate a 13-5 lead, getting four points from Roberts in the spurt
- Catawba scored the next nine, taking a 14-13 advantage on a DeAngelo Epps bucket
- Buckets from Greenidge and Elmore gave the 'Dogs a 22-19 edge at the midway point
- O'Mazeon Tinsley's triple at the 5:37 mark put Catawba on top 33-26
- Another Tinsley three extended the advantage to 10
- Elmore's triple with 1:54 to go pulled Wingate within seven
- A Kaleb Wallace bucket put the Indians on top 51-39
- Clark's triple at the buzzer cut the halftime deficit to seven at 51-44

SECOND HALF

- A Dre Nelson triple at the 15:28 mark gave Catawba a 66-52 advantage
- Back-to-back Elmore threes cut the lead to eight a minute later
- A Ray Kowalski triple with12:43 to go pushed the lead back to 12
- An Elmore three and Greenidge three-point play cut the lead to four at the 8:45 mark
- Two Clark layups pulled Wingate within three at the 6:25 mark
- A Clark bucket with 5:45 to go tied it at 85
- Wilson buried a three to put the 'Dogs on top 88-85 with five minutes left
- Catawba scored the next four, taking an 89-88 lead on a Peyton Gerald three-point play
- An Adrian Scarborough bucket with three minutes left put the Indians on top by four
- Free throws from Roberts and Cottingham cut the lead to one with 1:19 remaining
- A Roberts offensive rebound and layup gave the 'Dogs a 95-94 lead with 31 seconds left
- Scarborough answered with a dunk 10 seconds later to put Catawba back on top by one
- WU had a chance to win, but Cottingham's three at the buzzer was off the mark

UP NEXT

- Wingate is at home for just the second time this season on Monday
- The Bulldogs host Barton at 2 p.m. on Monday
- That starts a five-game home stand, which continues Dec. 31 against Mount Olive
- WU hosts Newberry Jan. 4, Bluefield State Jan. 7 and Anderson Jan. 11