Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs led wire-to-wire Saturday afternoon, leading by as many as 30 in a 100-83 victory over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs win their eighth straight, improving to 12-3 overall and 7-0 in the SAC. The Lions fall to 1-13 overall and 0-7 in league play. Wingate's 7-0 start in league play ties the best start in the SAC in program history. The 'Dogs started the 2012-13 season 7-0 in conference play, then started 5-0 in league play in 2013-14.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 53 percent from the field, going nine-for-17 from three-point range (53 percent)
- Mars Hill shot 49 percent from the field, going 10-for-21 from deep (48 percent)
- The Bulldogs held a 33-24 rebounding advantage; MHU had a 13-12 edge in second-chance points
- The 'Dogs piled up 28 assists on 35 field goals with just nine turnovers
- Wingate scored 17 points off 10 Mars Hill turnovers
- The Bulldogs held a 23-2 advantage in fast-break points
- The 'Dogs were 21-for-23 at the free throw line
- Season highs for field goal percentage, three-point percentage and assists
- Third time WU has hit the century mark (110 at Coker; 107 against Francis Marion)

KEY BULLDOGS

- Donell Nixon had 24 points and nine assists, going eight-for-10 from the field and four-for-four from deep
- Eight straight double-digit scoring effort, averaging 25.3 points per game his last three on 57 percent shooting
- Kendall Taylor added 19 points and seven rebounds, going six-for-10 from the field
- Josh Massey had 15 points, five boards, three assists, a block and a steal
- Aaron Hall contributed 14 points and five rebounds, going six-for-seven from the field
- Vontrez Roberts had 10 points, four boards and three assists on five-for-five shooting
- Jaden Lingo and Corbin Pack added eight and six points, respectively

FIRST HALF

- Triples from Nixon and Massey helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 14-8 lead six minutes in
- A Kadyn Dawkins three cut the lead to four, but Nixon's triple at the 11:18 mark made it 22-15
- WU used a 7-0 run to push the lead to 14, getting three points from Pack along with a Hall dunk
- A London Maiden layup cut the lead to eight at 34-26 with 6:22 to go
- A jumper and two free throws from Taylor stretched the WU advantage back to 12
- Lingo buried a three with 37 seconds to go to put the 'Dogs on top 47-32
- A Kory Davis free throw in the final seconds cut the halftime lead to 14

SECOND HALF

- A Roberts jumper and Taylor Bell layup gave Wingate a 55-35 lead two minutes in
- A Marvin Hires layup cut the lead to 17 at the 17:05 mark
- WU scored 11 of the next 13, getting five points from Taylor to go on top 68-42
- Layups from Lingo and Nixon gave the 'Dogs a 30-point advantage with 11:25 remaining
- A Lingo triple at the 9:39 mark made it 81-51
- A layup from Davis capped a 27-8 MHU run to cut the lead to 11 with 3:08 to go
- A layup and two free throws from Massey made it 93-78
- Massey buried a triple with 1:24 remaining to put the 'Dogs on top by 17
- A Jalani Jones layup gave the 'Dogs 100 points for the third time this season

UP NEXT

- Wingate travels to Anderson Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. start
- The Bulldogs return home Saturday to host Carson-Newman at 4 p.m.