WINGATE, N.C. – The Wingate men's basketball team survived not one, but two furious comebacks by the Trojans when guard Kendrick Tucker hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs an 87-86 overtime win over Anderson in South Atlantic Conference action, Thursday night at Cuddy Arena.
Less than 24 hours ago, the Trojans erased nearly all of a 16-point deficit with less than nine minutes on the clock and on Thursday night, the Black and Gold trailed by a dozen midway through the second stanza before mounting a rally to send the game into overtime. The Bulldogs then scored the first six points of the extra frame, before AU scored eight unanswered points to claim a late two-point lead and setting the stage for the frenzied end to the contest.
"It was another exciting college basketball game," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "We seem to find ourselves in these late game situations a lot this season. Unfortunately, we came up on the wrong side tonight. While the outcome was not what we wanted, there are a lot of positives we can take from our effort tonight."
Anderson fell to 5-9 overall and 5-9 in the league with its third straight setback, while Wingate (10-6, 10-6 SAC) won its third straight decision and has claimed victories in four of its last five outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore guard Crosby James II, who led all scorers with 25 points on Wednesday night, had an encore performance with a game-high 24 points - including 18 in the second half and overtime - and completed the double-double by pulling down a game-best 11 rebounds. The sophomore from Columbia, S.C., also handed out three assists. Junior Jalen Hillery tossed in 22 points, including 13 in the second half and extra period. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Junior guard Kai Rivers netted 10 points, with guard Joseph Staton adding nine points and a pair of assists. Senior guard Alex Keel tallied eight points and sophomore guard Mason Carver posted seven points and equaled a career-high by hauling in nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Both teams started sluggishly on the offensive end, with Wingate scoring the first five points of the contest and junior Jalen Hillery getting the Trojans on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer from the left corner at the 16:55 mark. Following the slow start, it heated up quickly in Cuddy Arena, with AU overcoming an 11-7 deficit by scoring seven unanswered points to take its first lead of the contest. The attack was balanced, with three different Trojans fueling the surge.
The Bulldogs responded with nine straight points of their own, as part of a 16-2 outburst that saw WU gain a 27-16 advantage with 7:21 left in the half. Long-range accuracy fueled the Bulldogs' offense, as they were 10-of-12 from the field at that point, and had connected on 7-of-12 treys on the night after making six 3-pointers for the entire game Wednesday night at the Abney Center.
Kai Rivers dropped in a layup and sophomore guard Mason Carver added an old-fashioned three-point play 37 seconds later to close the gap to six (27-21), but that was as close as the Trojans would get during the rest of the first half, with Wingate holding a 36-28 lead at intermission.
Second Half
Wingate's lead hovered between six and eight points and climbed to double-digits with a little less than 18 minutes on the clock, with the 'Dogs holding the margin until taking their largest lead of the contest, at 64-52, with 10:03 remaining in the second half.
Hillery ignited the rally with a 3-pointer and two minutes later, Keel capped the 10-0 run by sinking one of two from the line, as AU climbed within 64-62 at the 7:36 mark. Wingate's Miguel Priest slowed the comeback with a 3-pointer, but the Trojans weren't through. Hillery added a pair of free throws and following another Wingate jumper, Carver nailed a trey that brought AU within 69-67 with more than five minutes on the clock.
The Bulldogs refused to relinquish the lead and held a 74-70 edge following Jasmine Stephens' 3-pointer with just 17 ticks on the clock. Following a Trojan timeout, Keel found James in the corner and he drained a trey with 10 seconds left to get AU within one. The Trojans fouled Jarren Cottingham, who hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to boost Wingate's lead to 76-73. Following another timeout, Keel again found James, who sent the game into overtime by draining a 3-pointer from the right wing just before the horn sounded.
Overtime
The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the extra period, before Josh Livingston sparked the Trojan offense with two free throws with less than three minutes on the clock. AU forced a turnover and Keel followed with a rare four-point play to even the score at 82 apiece. After a missed 3 on the other end, Carver found Mack Burgett inside for a basket that gave the Trojans their first lead (84-82) since the 12:58 mark of the first half.
Priest knotted the score at 84-84 with a pair of free throws, with Hillery answering for the Trojans by dropping in a 14-foot jumper to give AU a two-point lead with 18 seconds left, setting up Tucker's last-second heroics.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
On Wednesday night, Wingate won the battle of the boards, 40-39. The Trojans out-rebounded Wingate, 42-36, tonight and recorded a dozen offensive rebounds.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans and Bulldogs have met 29 times since the 2001-02 season, with Wingate holding a 20-9 edge in the all-time series.
• The Trojans have played five games in eight days and are in the midst of playing eight games in a 14-day span.
UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the court Saturday, when the Trojans play host to Catawba on Senior Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Abney Athletic Center.
