Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs outscored Catawba College 47-30 in the second half Wednesday night, picking up a 79-73 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. The Bulldogs improve to 21-6 overall and 17-6 in the SAC, while the Indians fall to 10-15 overall and 9-14 in league play. The 'Dogs are guaranteed a top-four spot in the SAC standings and a home game in next week's SAC Tournament quarterfinals.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 46 percent from the field; Catawba shot 42 percent
- The 'Dogs hit 12-of-29 threes; the Indians went nine-for-26 from deep
- Each team had 36 rebounds; the Bulldogs held a 14-13 edge in second-chance points
- Wingate scored 23 points off 17 Catawba turnovers
- The 'Dogs held a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint
- The Bulldogs had nine of the 15 steals on the night

KEY BULLDOGS

- Andreas Wilson had 19 points, three rebounds and two steals, hitting five-of-10 triples
- He scored 14 of his points in a big two and a half minute stretch in the second half
- Jarren Cottingham had 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals
- Donell Nixon added 11 points, six boards, six assists and five steals, hitting three-of-six triples
- Destin Clark contributed 11 points on five-of-seven shooting
- Sean Elmore and Vontrez Roberts had seven points apiece for the Bulldogs

FIRST HALF

- Nixon's triple four minutes in gave the 'Dogs an 11-6 lead
- Threes from Cottingham and Wilson extended the lead to nine with 14 minutes left
- A Dre Nelson triple pulled the Indians back within five
- Elmore buried a three to make it 21-13 at the 12:30 mark
- Trevion Lamar's bucket with nine minutes left cut the lead to five
- Another Elmore triple pushed the lead back to eight for the Bulldogs
- A Cottingham bucket and Quantra Taylor free throw made it 30-23 with 5:51 to go
- Catawba closed the half on a 20-2 run, with a Kris Robinson three making it 43-32 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- A Nixon three and Cottingham layup pulled Wingate within six just over a minute in
- Lamar answered with a bucket to give Catawba a 47-39 advantage
- The 'Dogs scored the next eight, getting two Clark bucket to tie it at 47 with 13:49 to go
- The Indians answered with a 7-0 run, taking a 54-47 advantage on a Lamar triple
- WU responded with another 7-0 run, with Wilson's three at the 8:52 mark tying it at 54
- Another Wilson triple 40 seconds later gave the Bulldogs a 57-55 advantage
- Wilson drained another triple to put the 'Dogs on top by three at the 7:35 mark
- He added a jumper and another three to put Wingate on top by seven with 6:19 remaining
- Lamar's three with four minutes to go pulled Catawba back within three
- Cottingham answered with a layup to make it 70-65
- Four Lamar free throws with 3:12 remaining made it a one-point game
- Free throws from Cottingham and Taylor, along with a Taylor putback put WU on top 74-69 with 1:32 left
- Bernard Pelote's layup cut it to three, but Clark's layup with a minute left made it 76-71
- Two Nixon free throws with 36 seconds remaining put the 'Dogs on top by seven
- Catawba got no closer than five the rest of the way

UP NEXT

- Wingate wraps up the regular season Saturday at Queens at 4
- The 'Dogs will host a SAC Tournament quarterfinal contest next Wednesday
- The opponent will be announced Saturday evening when the SAC Tourney bracket is released