Box Score WINGATE, N.C.--USC Aiken lost to Wingate University, 89-82, tonight in a non-conference men's basketball game in Wingate, N.C. The Bulldogs (7-6) used a 21-2 run in the second half to turn a seven-point deficit into an eight-point lead. The Pacers (2-9) would get within one point but Wingate connected on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds to earn the victory.
Lee Burton's (Clearwater, Fla.) three-pointer pushed the Pacers out in front by nine with 14:16 left in the game. Djuan Hankins' basket two minutes earlier cut a 10-point haltime Pacer lead in half.
Burton finished the night with a team-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the line. The junior also dished out three assists and his four rebounds tied
Minda Statkus (Mazeikai, Lithuania) and
Eric Dugans (Columbia, S.C.) for the team lead.
Dugansalso set a career high with 11 assists.
Hankins led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
Ronnie Brock followed
Burton's three with a jumper at the 14:03 mark that cut the Pacer lead to 62-55 and started a 21-2 run by Wingate that lasted for the next five minutes. Adam Vandergrift's basket with 10:56 remaining gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the 12:29 mark in the first half. Vandergrift ended the run with a tip-in and a free throw to push Wingate out ahead, 72-64, with 8:58 left in the game. Vandergrift finished the night with 20 points and tied teammate Njogou Bah with a game-high seven rebounds.
The Pacers ended the Bulldog run with six straight points of their own to get back within two points, 72-70, with 7:14 left in the game.
Todd Williams (Hopkins, S.C.) scored four of the six USCA points during the run. The junior finished with 16 points, three rebounds, one assist and tied a career high with six blocks.
Bryant Latimer's (Columbia, S.C.) free throw with 6:05 remaining tied the game for the final time, 73-73.
Mitch Lewis(Newbourgh, Ind.) cut a four-point Bulldog lead to two with 30 seconds left in the game. Three free throws by Steven Mims and two by Hankins over the final half minute set the final score, 89-82, as the Pacers failed to score.
Wingate jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open the game, but a dunk and a lay-up by
Statkus evened it up with 17:32 left in the first half.
Latimer's lay-up, with 12:28 left in the first, gave the Pacers their first lead of the game, 17-16.
The Pacers went down low to
Williams, who scored eight straight USCA points. His last jumper gave USC Aiken a 27-24 lead with 9:25 left before the break.
Two
Burton free throws with 8:02 on the clock keyed a 13-2 run for the Pacers. He had six of the 13 USCA points and hit two more free throws to cap the run and give the Pacers a 10-point lead, 40-30, with 4:28 remaining. After Vandergrift cut the lead to six, the Pacers would go out ahead by 10 on three more occasions in the final two minutes of the half.
Lewis'trey with 30 seconds left in the first set the halftime score at 51-41.
Hankins' 20 first half points kept the Bulldogs in the game as the Pacers hit 61.6 percent (21-of-34) of their shots in the opening stanza.
For the game the USC Aiken connected on 55.0 percent (33-of-60) of their shots from the field, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from behind the three-point arch.
The difference in the game came on the boards and at the free throw line. Wingate out-rebounded USCA, 35-26, and went 26-of-37 from the charity stripe compared to 8-of-10 for the Pacers.
USC Aiken will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Morrow, Ga., for a Peach Belt Conference game against Clayton College and State University. Tip-off against the Lakers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
SCORING:
Wingate University (89): Keenan Dunn 13, Adam Vandergrift 20, Njogou Bah 15, Fernando Powell 2, Djuan Hankins 27, Steven Mims 6, Ronnie Brock 4, Kristian Jensen 2
USC Aiken (82): Lee Burton 22,
Minda Statkus 8,
Mira Jonuska 2,
Bryant Latimer 13,
Eric Dugans 4,
Taurus Watson 6,
Todd Williams 16,
Mitch Lewis 11
