GREENWOOD – The Wingate Bulldogs rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit and closed the game on a 40-21 run, spoiling Lander’s home opener 79-70 in non-conference action Tuesday night at Horne Arena.
Wingate (2-2) rallied from a 27-9 deficit to close within four at halftime and was down 49-39 with 14 minutes to go before going on a tear from behind the 3-point line to close out the victory.
The Bearcats fell to 0-2 and will host Southern Wesleyan Saturday afternoon as they search for Jeff Burkhamer’s first win as Lander’s head coach.
Tracy Parks led the Bulldogs with 16 points, Odell Turner scored 14 points, and Larry Staley added 11 points. Jaime Vaughn had nine points and seven assists.
Tovi Bailey led the Bearcats with 15 points, Da’Shon Barrino added 12 points, and Greg Smalls scored 10. Darius Johnson and Curtis Milner led Lander with eight rebounds apiece.
Vaughn’s 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half got Wingate within one, 39-38. After the teams traded free throws, Lander’s Johnson hit a jumper and then Bailey dunked on an alley-oop pass from Bailey to give the Bearcats a 46-39 lead.
After a time out, Roy Hinson scored off an offensive rebound and Brenton Harris hit a free throw to give Lander a double-digit lead, 49-39, with 14 minutes left to complete a 9-0 run.
Wingate’s Parks hit a 3-pointer to end the scoring drought and teammate David Johnson added a three to cut it to five, 52-47. After the teams traded baskets, Parks hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within 58-56 to start a 13-2 run.
Turner’s three-point play closed Wingate within one, and Paidrick Matilus’s inside basket gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 61-60, with 7:13 to go. Vaughn added a basket and Turner a 3-pointer to push the Bulldog lead to 66-60.
Bailey’s 3-pointer from the right side pulled Lander within 66-65 at the 5:05 mark. But Parks, Matilus and Staley hit 3s to give Wingate its largest lead of the game at 75-65 with 2:54 to go.
Lander scored the game’s first seven points on Bailey’s 3-pointer from the left corner and Milner’s two inside baskets. After Wingate closed within 7-4, the Bearcats went on an 11-0 run highlighted by 3-pointers Smalls and Hinson to make it 18-4 with 13:42 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs cut their deficit to 23-9, but Barrino went high off the glass for a lay-up, Antonio Pope dunked, and Deangelo Spruill hit a jumper to push Lander’s lead to 27-9 at the 11:09 mark. That would be the largest Bearcat lead of the game.
Wingate came storming back with a 24-8 run. A 3-pointer by Matilus pulled the Bulldogs within 29-16 with 9:12 to go, and after Lander’s Barrino scored, Wingate went on a 10-3 run to cut its deficit to 32-26 on Bradley Van Staalduinen’s two free throws.
Smalls hit a jumper to push the Bearcat lead to eight, 34-26, with 3:47 to go. But Chase Smith’s 3-pointer pulled Wingate within two, 35-33, at the 2:10 mark to complete the 24-8 run. It remained a two-point game until Bailey hit a fade-away jumper at the buzzer to give Lander a 39-35 halftime lead.
The Bearcats made 26 of 63 shots from the floor (41 percent), 13 of 26 free throws (50 percent), and five of 13 from behind the 3-point line (39 percent).
Wingate hit 28 of 69 shots (41 percent), 12 of 14 free throws (86 percent), and 11 of 26 from behind the arc (42 percent).
Lander had a 46-40 edge on the boards and 18 turnovers to only 12 for Wingate.
