GAFFNEY, S.C.  – The Limestone College men's basketball team opened the 2017-18 season with an 87-74 victory over non-conference opponent Wingate University on Friday evening at the Timken Center.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 87, Wingate 74       
Records: Limestone (1-0), Wingate (0-1)  
Location: Timken Center
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Junior guard Kenny Hairston (Charlotte, N.C.) paced the Saints with a career-high 22 points.
• Redshirt-junior guard T.J. Sheppard (North Augusta, S.C.) tallied 16 points.
• Redshirt-senior forward Donovan Harris (Burlington, N.C.) cleaned the glass for the Saints with 15 boards. He added 15 points for his first double-double of the season.
• Senior guard Montrel Goldston (Greensboro, N.C.) notched 11 points and five assists.
• Limestone shot 55.4 percent from the field (36-of-65) and 53.8 percent from the free-throw line (seven-of-13).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Half
Limestone opened the season by scoring the first two points to take the early 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs. Play went back and forth before Wingate put together a 7-0 run to build some space at 10-4. The Saints worked to chip away at the difference and evened the score at 10-all after a series of six consecutive points.
 
After trading possessions, the Bulldogs started to slip away from the Saints with six unanswered points to go out ahead, 30-25 at the 3:33 minute mark. Limestone retaliated with six points of its own to regain the lead, 31-30. In the final minutes of the half, the Bulldogs outscored the Saints 5-2 to take a 35-33 lead into the locker rooms.  
 
Second Half
The Saints looked to shift the momentum with an early crowd-wakening dunk to knot the score at 35-all. The Blue and Gold went out ahead of the Bulldogs on the next possession and held onto the lead even as the Bulldogs evened the score on two different occasions, the second time coming at 52-all.
 
Limestone continued to add tallies to the scoreboard and worked its way to its first double-digit lead of the game, 68-58, with 8:46 left on the clock. The Saints worked to its largest lead of the game at 85-71 with one minute remaining in regulation. In the final minute, the Saints were outscored 3-2 but still finished ahead of the Bulldogs, 87-74.  
 
NOTABLES
 

• The Saints last beat Wingate on Nov. 10, 2012 when the Saints won 75-71 in Wingate, N.C.
• Goldston, Simms, Sheppard and Hunt recorded their first points in the Blue and Gold uniform.  

 
 
UP NEXT
The Saints will return to action tomorrow (Nov. 11) against Mars Hill University. The non-conference game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Timken Center.