Hickory, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs drained 11 three-pointers on 48 percent shooting from deep to cruise to an 89-69 road win at Lenoir-Rhyne University in their South Atlantic Conference opener Saturday afternoon in men's basketball action. The Bulldogs improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the SAC, while the Bears drop to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.
 
KEY STATS
 
- Wingate shot 51 percent from the field; Lenoir-Rhyne made 44 percent of its shot attempts
- The Bulldogs were 11-for-23 (48 percent) from three-point range, while holding the Bears to five-of-21 (24 percent) from deep
- Each team was 10-for-13 (77 percent) from the free throw line
- WU out-rebounded LR 36-32
- The 'Dogs dished out 18 assists with just six turnovers offensively; Lenoir-Rhyne had 17 assists and 10 turnovers
- LR out-scored Wingate 42-38 in the paint
- WU was efficient on second-chances – turning nine offensive boards into 16 points
- The Bulldog bench out-scored Lenoir-Rhyne's 32-20
 
KEY BULLDOGS
 
- Andreas Wilson scored a game-high 25 points off the bench with six three-pointers
- Jarren Cottingham added 19 points off seven-for-nine shooting with six assists and two steals
- Josh Massey posted 17 points and seven rebounds
- Vontrez Roberts chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds
- Destin Clark was the fifth Bulldog in double figures with 10 points and nine boards
 
FIRST HALF
 
- LR came out hot out of the gate, scoring the game's first seven points
- Cottingham's three cut the deficit to four at the 14:26 mark
- He answered with another triple a minute later to bring it to 13-11
- Sasha Letino's dunk gave the Bulldogs the lead with just over 11 minutes to go in the half at 16-15
- Wilson's three-pointer with less than eight minutes to go pushed the WU lead to five
- An 11-3 LR run put the Bears back in front around the four-minute mark
- The 'Dogs fought right back with a 7-0 run of their own; Wilson's three in fast break gave WU a 35-31 lead with under three minutes to go
- After an LR basket, Wingate ended the half on another 7-0 run off three Wilson free throws and a Massey layup to take a 42-33 lead into the locker room
 
SECOND HALF
 
- Roberts poured in six points in the 'Dogs' 8-0 run to open up the second half
- His pair of free throws made it 50-33 at the 17:29 mark, a 22-2 run dating back to the first half
- The teams traded baskets until back-to-back threes from the Bears cut their deficit to 10 points with 12 minutes left
- Massey's three and Roberts' layup pushed the lead back to 15 points less than two minutes later
- An 11-2 Wingate run stretched the lead to over 20 points with 5:23 to go; Wilson's jumper put the 'Dogs up 76-55
- WU stretched the lead to as much as 25 points when Taylor Bell's fastbreak layup put the visitors up 86-61 with 2:20 to go
 
UP NEXT
 
- The 'Dogs are in Cuddy Arena for the first time this season, hosting Coker in the home opener next Sunday at 2 p.m.