Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs never trailed Wednesday night, picking up a 78-75 victory over Anderson University in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action inside Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in the SAC, while the Trojans fall to 4-11 overall and 1-4 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 39 percent from the field; Anderson shot 37 percent
- The 'Dogs hit 11-of-31 threes while the Trojans went six-for-19 from deep
- Anderson held a 45-32 rebounding advantage and 16-6 edge in second-chance points
- The Bulldogs scored 26 points off 21 AU turnovers
- The Trojans went 27-for-32 at the free throw line, while the 'Dogs went 19-for-25
- Wingate had seven of the 10 blocked shots on the night
- The WU bench outscored Anderson's bench 25-9

KEY BULLDOGS

- Destin Clark had 22 points and seven rebounds, going six-for-10 from the field and nine-for-10 at the line
- Donell Nixon added 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal, going four-for-seven from deep
- Josh Massey had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots
- Sean Elmore contributed 10 points, knocking down three triples
- Ahman Greenidge had five points, six boards, a block and a steal
- Jarren Cottingham had five points, two boards, two assists and a steal
- Andreas Wilson and Sasha Letino contributed five points apiece for the 'Dogs

FIRST HALF

- Cottingham's layup gave the 'Dogs an early 9-3 lead
- A Jackson Greco three-point play cut the lead to one at the 14:19 mark
- Cottingham's triple with 13 minutes to go put Wingate on top 15-11
- A Jalen Hillery free throw with 7:56 remaining made it a one-point game
- WU went on a 15-4 run to take an 11-point lead late in the half
- A Massey three and back-to-back Elmore triples started the spurt, while a Nixon triple at the 3:04 mark made it 32-21
- Massey's three with a minute left pushed the lead to 12; a Massey free throw with three seconds left made it 39-26 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- A layup and dunk from Mack Burgett pulled the Trojans within three points six minutes into the half
- Nixon's triple put the Bulldogs on top 45-39
- A three-point play and a layup from Wilson gave Wingate an eight-point advantage with nine minutes left
- Mason Carver's triple at the 5:50 mark pulled Anderson within four at 60-56
- Myles Jenkins cut the lead to three with a layup with 5:16 remaining
- Nixon answered with another triple to push the lead back to six with five minutes left
- A tip-in and two free throws from Clark put WU on top 69-62 with 2:39 remaining
- Greco's three-point play with 27 seconds left made it a three-point game
- Elmore's free throw pushed the lead to four, but a Luke Denbow triple made it 74-73 with nine seconds left
- Nixon knocked down a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to push the lead to three
- Carver answered with two free throws with four seconds left to make it 76-75
- Nixon answered with two more free throws with three seconds left to put WU back on top by three
- Anderson's desperation half court heave was off the mark at the buzzer to give Wingate the win

UP NEXT

- Wingate travels to Tusculum Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip
- The 'Dogs return home next Wednesday to host Catawba at 7:30 p.m.