Harrogate, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs trimmed a 20-point second half deficit to five Saturday evening, but the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters responded with a late 14-2 run, prevailing 88-71 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. LMU improves to 18-6 overall and 14-3 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 19-6 overall and 14-3 in league play. The two teams are now tied for first in the league standings.

KEY STATS

- LMU shot 56 percent from the field, going 14-for-32 from three-point range (44 percent)
- Wingate shot 37 percent from the field, connecting on nine-of-32 from deep (28 percent)
- The Railsplitters held a 39-32 rebounding advantage; the 'Dogs had a 6-2 edge in second-chance points
- The 'Dogs scored nine points off 16 LMU turnovers
- Wingate was 12-for-20 at the free throw line; Lincoln Memorial went 16-for-18

KEY BULLDOGS

- Kendall Taylor had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists
- Josh Massey added 15 points, six boards, two steals and a block
- Donell Nixon contributed 12 points and seven assists
- Vontrez Roberts had 11 points and three rebounds
- Jaden Lingo and Taylor Bell added eight and six points, respectively

FIRST HALF

- Roberts knocked down a three on the opening possession to give Wingate the lead
- A Jordan Walters three gave LMU a 10-5 lead at the 16:52 mark
- Back-to-back Roberts buckets cut the lead to one
- Chase Rankin's layup at the 12:54 mark made it 15-9
- Ranking buried a three with 8:37 to go to push the lead to 15
- Back-to-back Lingo triples, along with a Nixon three cut the lead to seven at 32-25
- A Walters layup at the 4:21 mark pushed the lead back to 10
- Bell's layup pulled Wingate back within six a minute later
- A three from Mattehw Sells with two minutes left made it 43-31

SECOND HALF

- A Wes Enis triple at the 17:38 mark put LMU on top 51-31
- A Nixon three and two Taylor free throws cut the lead to 15
- Triples from Taylor and Massey pulled Wingate within 10 at 54-44 with 13:20 to go
- Enis pushed the lead back to 13 with a triple at the 12:06 mark
- WU scored the next eight, getting threes from Taylor and Corbin Pack to make it 59-54
- An Enis jumper pushed the lead back to seven, but a pair of Taylor free throws made it 63-58
- LMU used a 14-2 run to pull away, taking an 82-64 lead at the 2:55 mark on a Luke Bartemes three
- Nixon's layup with 1:15 to go cut the lead to 14
- The Bulldogs got no closer the rest of the way

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action next Saturday, hosting Anderson at 4 p.m.