Men's Basketball Drops 80-63 Decision to Wingate

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions lost to Wingate University, 80-63 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday evening in Stanford Arena. Wingate improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the SAC with the victory, while Mars Hill slips to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in league play.

Wingate got career-high scoring efforts from Isiah Cureton and Josh Dominguez to lead the Bulldogs. Cureton finished with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, while also compiling 12 rebounds and three steals. Wingate's bench outscored the Mars Hill reserves 36-2.

Wingate jumped out to a 10-0 lead over the first five minutes of play, capped by a lay-up by Xavier Griffin at the 14:53 mark. The 10-point lead was the largest of the first half for the Bulldogs, who held a 38-31 halftime advantage.

Mars Hill cut the Wingate lead down to five points multiple times early in the second half, the final time coming on a lay-up from Jalen Witherspoon with 16:48 remaining in the game. From this point, the Bulldogs outscored the Lions 18-6 over the next nine minutes to seize control of the contest.

Four Mars Hill players notched double-figure scoring totals, led by the 15-point outputs from Isaiah Cuthbertson and Devonte Williams. Cuthbertson added a double-double with 12 rebounds. Thomas Anderson also posted a double-double with 10 points and the same number of rebounds.

The Lions will travel to Furman University on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs return to action Monday night, visiting Johnson C. Smith University for a 7:30 p.m. tip.