Lions Fall to Hot-Shooting Wingate

MARS HILL, N.C.- Wingate rode hot shooting to a 89-65 victory over Mars Hill Saturday evening in South Atlantic Conference action at Stanford Arena.

The Bulldogs shot 55.4 percent from the field (36-of-65), including 27-of-38 inside the arc. Mars Hill was paced by Khouraichi Thiam with 21 points and seven rebounds. WU's Ryan Daye hit his first nine shots from the field and finished with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Mars Hill fell to 3-9 overall and 0-4 in SAC play. Wingate is now 8-4 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

Jalen Witherspoon and Kevin Haynes added 13 points apiece for the Lions. Mars Hill shot 39.3 percent from the field (24-of-61).

Deion Thurman scored 14 points and added nine rebounds for Wingate. Quan Alexander added 13 points, while Eddie Lewis chipped in with 12.

A quick start saw the Lions jump out to a 12-3 lead with 16:32 to play in the first half. Thiam led the way with a bevy of post moves and a pair of dunks. Witherspoon and Haynes each added buckets during the hot start.

A 19-4 Wingate run gave the Bulldogs their first lead and a 22-16 advantage with 10:21 to play in the half. Daye keyed the first half effort for the Bulldogs, scoring 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting and hitthing three treys in the first half. Wingate pushed the halftime advantage to 10 with an 8-2 run to close the half and make the score 42-32.

Mars Hill connected on 14-of-34 from the field (41.2 percent) in the first half. Wingate it 60 percent from the field (18-of-30).

The Bulldogs continued their tear early in the second half, opening on an 18-5 run to push their lead to 23. Alexander scored seven points during the run, while Thurman added six. Wingate led by as much as 31 in the second half.

Mars Hill will face Carson-Newman this Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 8:00 p.m. in Stanford Arena.