Wilson, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs led by as many as 26 Wednesday night, then held off a Barton rally to prevail 86-82 in NCAA Division II men's basketball action Wednesday night. The 'Dogs improve to 2-1 on the season, while Barton falls to 0-3 overall.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 53 percent from the field, going eight-for-16 from three-point range (50 percent)
- Barton shot 41 percent from the field, hitting 11-of-33 shots from deep (33 percent)
- Wingate held a 39-35 rebounding advantage; BC held an 18-8 edge in second-chance points
- The 'Dogs scored 16 points off 13 Barton turnovers, notching eight steals
- Wingate outscored Barton 30-26 in the paint
- The 'Dogs shot 68 percent in the first half, going six-for-seven from deep to score 53 points

KEY BULLDOGS

- Donell Nixon had 20 points, four assists, two boards and a steal, going seven-for-10 from the field
- Josh Massey added 17 points, 11 rebounds and two steals on five-of-nine shooting
- Kendall Taylor contributed 15 points, five boards and three assists, going seven-for-seven at the line
- Sean Elmore had 11 points and four assists, knocking down three triples
- Vontrez Roberts added nine points, seven boards and five assists
- Taylor Bell had seven points on two-of-three shooting

FIRST HALF

- Will Asken gave BC an early 7-4 lead
- Wingate answered with a 15-1 run to take a 19-8 lead at the 12:39 mark
- Elmore had five points in the spurt, with Roberts adding four; an Aaron Hall dunk capped it
- Massey buried a three a minute later to extend the lead to 14
- Bell's triple at the 9:18 mark made it 29-13
- Trevon Spencer's triple pulled Barton to within 11 with 6:24 to go
- The 'Dogs scored the next 13 points to push the lead to 24
- Taylor had four in the flurry; threes from Nixon and Elmore capped the spurt that made it 48-24
- Reese McDonald hit a three with 28 seconds left to cut the lead to 19
- Nixon's triple with five seconds left made it 53-31 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- McDonald's triple trimmed the lead to 18 early in the second half
- Wingate scored the next eight, with Taylor's three-point play making it 63-37 with 15:37 left
- Trey Crews hit a three with 11 minutes left to pull Barton within 11
- Massey answered with two free throws to make it 67-54
- Jarrian Hancock's jumper at the 8:23 mark made it an eight-point game
- A Massey layup and Nixon three put the 'Dogs on top 77-64 with 6:28 remaining
- Bell's layup pushed the lead back to 15 at the 5:40 mark
- Barton used an 18-4 run over the next five minutes to make it a one-point game
- It was a Hancock dunk and two McDonald free throws that made it 83-82 with 22 seconds left
- Nixon knocked down two free throws with 20 seconds left to put WU on top by three
- Barton missed a shot on the other end, with Jordan Miller grabbing the rebound
- His free throw with six seconds left made it 86-82

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action next Wednesday, hosting Francis Marion at 2 p.m.