Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs closed out the game on a 23-4 run Saturday evening, knocking off the sixth-ranked Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters 77-72 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate moves to 8-8 overall and 7-7 in the SAC, while the Railsplitters fall to 14-3 overall and 12-2 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate shot 43 percent from the field, going eight-for-21 from three-point range (38 percent)
- LMU shot 51 percent from the field, connecting on five-of-20 from deep (25 percent)
- The Railsplitters held a 32-31 rebounding advantage; WU had an 11-8 edge in second-chance points
- The 'Dogs were 19-for-23 at the free throw line; LMU was 17-for-23
- The Bulldogs scored 22 points off 15 Lincoln Memorial turnovers
- The Wingate bench outscored the LMU bench 23-7
- The Railsplitters outscored the Bulldogs 38-24 in the paint
- Lincoln Memorial went six minutes without a field goal down the stretch, as Wingate erased a 14-point deficit  

KEY BULLDOGS

- Kendall Taylor had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals
- Corbin Pack had 14 points and three boards, knocking down three-of-four from deep
- Nine of his points came in a 90-second stretch, sparking the late-game rally
- Mike Erbeck contributed 10 points, six rebounds and two assists
- Jaden Lingo had 10 points on two-of-three shooting from the field, going five-for-six at the line
- Jordan Miller registered eight points, nine rebounds, five assists and a steal
- Aaron Hall had eight points on four-of-six shooting
- Derek Bradley contributed seven points, two boards and an assist, going three-for-four from the field

FIRST HALF

- Two early Erbeck triples and a Pack three gave Wingate a 9-7 lead five minutes in
- LMU used an 11-2 run to take an 18-11 lead on an EJ Smith layup at the 9:50 mark
- A Jordan Walters three-point play stretched the lead to nine with eight minutes left
- Threes from Lingo and Bradley pulled Wingate back within three with four minutes to go
- A Wes Enis three-point play capped a 6-0 LMU run to make it 34-25
- Wingate scored the final six of the half, getting four points from Hall to make it 34-31 at halftime

SECOND HALF

- An Enis triple five minutes in gave the Railsplitters a 45-37 lead
- A Smith layup at the 11:51 mark put LMU on top by 11
- A Jaleb Grant jumper at the midway point pulled the 'Dogs back within eight at 52-44
- An Elyjah Freeman jumper with 7:56 to go gave LMU a 60-47 advantage
- Taylor's triple a minute later cut the lead to 10
- Lincoln Memorial took a 68-54 lead on Freeman's layup with 6:10 remaining
- The 'Dogs would outscore the Railsplitters 23-4 over the final six minutes
- LMU's next field goal would not come until the final 10 seconds of the half
- Pack's four-point play started the flurry with 3:51 to go, pulling Wingate within eight
- Pack then knocked down a jumper and a three in the next 80 seconds to make it a three-point game
- Miller's offensive rebound and layup with 1:52 to go made it a one-point game
- Taylor's free throw at the 1:24 mark tied it at 70
- LMU missed two free throws on the other end, while Taylor would knock down two with 40 seconds left to put the 'Dogs on top 72-70
- The Bulldogs forced another LMU turnover with 27 seconds left, with Lingo's free throw making it 73-70
- A Walters layup with nine seconds left cut the lead to one
- Miller knocked down two free throws a second later to make it 75-72
- Miller would then come up with the game-sealing steal on the other end
- His two free throws with two seconds left made the final margin 77-72

UP NEXT

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