Greeneville, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs got a combined 49 points from Josh Massey and Kendall Taylor Saturday afternoon, taking down Tusculum 83-76 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Wingate wins its fourth straight, improving to 18-5 overall and 13-2 in the SAC. The Pioneers fall to 10-11 overall and 8-7 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 53 percent from the field, going five-for-nine from three-point range (56 percent)
- Tusculum shot 41 percent from the field, connecting on seven-of-22 from deep (32 percent)
- The Bulldogs held a 31-29 rebounding advantage; TU had a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points
- Wingate was 30-for-36 at the free throw line; Tusculum went 21-for-24
- The 'Dogs scored 12 points off 11 Pioneer turnovers
- Wingate collected 16 assists on 24 made field goals

KEY BULLDOGS

- Massey had 28 points and five boards, going 10-for-14 from the field, six-for-six at the line and two-for-two from deep
- Taylor added 21 points, five rebounds and five assists
- Donell Nixon had 18 points, going 10-for-10 at the free throw line and two-for-three from deep
- Taylor Bell added eight points, six boards and two assists
- Vontrez Roberts contributed six points, five rebounds and three assists

FIRST HALF

- A TJ Printup triple gave Tusculum a 16-8 lead five minutes in
- Wingate scored the next eight, getting six points from Taylor to tie it at 16
- A Taylor triple and Nixon layup put the 'Dogs on top 22-18 at the 8:41 mark
- Threes from Nixon and Massey pushed the lead to seven with 7:28 remaining
- An Akeem Odusipe layup pulled the Pioneers within one at 29-28
- Roberts answered with a layup to push the lead back to three
- Connor Jordan's jumper at the 2:55 mark gave Tusculum a 32-31 advantage
- Wingate scored the last eight points of the half to take a 39-32 lead
- Taylor scored the final four points of the frame to give the 'Dogs the seven-point cushion

SECOND HALF

- A three and layup from Massey capped a 7-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 46-34 lead two minutes in
- Odusipe's three-point play cut the lead to nine
- Nixon answered with a triple, while Bell's layup at the 15:31 mark made it 53-39
- A Printup dunk with 11:54 remaining pulled the Pioneers to within eight
- A three-point pay from Roberts gave the 'Dogs a 60-49 advantage
- A Travis Pourciau dunk with 7:43 to go capped a 10-2 run to make it a three-point game
- Two KJ Crump free throws at the 6:31 mark made it 62-61
- Massey's layup pushed it back to three, but a Printup layup made it 66-65 with five minutes left
- Two Nixon free throws pushed it back to three, but a Printup layup cut it back to two
- Wingate scored the next seven to take a 75-66 lead with 2:32 to go
- Taylor started it with a layup, while Massey capped it with two free throws and a jumper
- Josiah Morris cut the lead to six with a triple with 1:47 remaining
- Massey and Nixon went four-for-four at the line to push the lead back to 10 with 23 seconds left
- Tusculum got no closer than seven the rest of the way

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Wednesday, hosting Newberry at 7:30 p.m.