Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University point guard Donell Nixon had 22 points on seven-of-nine shooting from deep, as the Bulldogs outscored Mars Hill University 51-30 in the second half en route to an 87-65 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 17-6 overall and 13-6 in the SAC, while the Lions fall to 4-15 overall and 4-12 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 46 percent from the field; Mars Hill shot 47 percent
- The 'Dogs were 14-for-37 from three-point range; the Lions went 10-for-26 from deep
- The Bulldogs held a 41-31 rebounding advantage and 19-4 edge in second-chance points
- WU scored 25 points off 20 MHU turnovers, with a 12-0 edge in fast-break points
- The 'Dogs piled up 10 steals compared to Mars Hill's five
- Wingate shot 52 percent in the second half, hitting seven-of-17 triples
- The Bulldogs led for over 30 minutes on the day

KEY BULLDOGS

- Nixon had 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals
- Sean Elmore added 18 points, hitting four triples
- Jarren Cottingham contributed 15 points, four boards, three assists and three steals
- Destin Clark had 12 points, four boards, three assists and a steal
- Quantra Taylor registered two points, seven rebounds and six assists
- Rashaard Pringle added six points and seven boards
- Vontrez Roberts and Andreas Wilson contributed five points apiece

FIRST HALF

- A three and layup from Cottingham gave the Bulldogs an early 12-7 lead
- MHU scored the next 12, taking a 19-12 advantage on an Isaiah Jones bucket at the 11:23 mark
- Wingate countered with a 14-2 run to take a four-point lead
- Nixon had six in the spurt; Elmore added five in the run that put WU on top 26-22 with 6:23 left
- An Isayah Johnson triple put Mars Hill back on top 28-26
- Threes from Pringle and Elmore, along with a Roberts bucket gave the 'Dogs a 36-30 lead
- A Michael Hogue dunk with 37 seconds left cut the WU halftime lead to one at 36-35

SECOND HALF

- Wingate scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a double-digit lead
- Nixon had two threes in the flurry; Taylor capped it with a dunk to make it 46-35 at the 17:49 mark
- A Johnson dunk pulled the Lions back within nine
- WU answered with a 9-2 run, getting two more Nixon threes to go on top 57-41 with 14:21 to go
- A Roberts layup with 12 minutes left put the Bulldogs on top by 17
- KJ Marshall's layup with 7:21 remaining pulled Mars Hill back within nine
- Wingate scored the next seven, with threes from Wilson and Elmore making it 73-57 at the 4:48 mark
- An Elmore triple and Pringle dunk gave the 'Dogs a 20-point lead with 1:51 remaining
- A steal and a dunk from Elijah Thomas put the finishing touches on the victory

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Wednesday, traveling to Limestone for a 7:30 p.m. start
- The 'Dogs host Anderson the following Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.