Isiah Cureton led all players with 26 points and sparked a late 11-2 run as Wingate University held off several Tusculum College rallies to claim a 78-67 victory at Pioneer Arena in a South Atlantic Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon.

Cureton went 8-for-14 from the field and 9-for-9 from the foul line and scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half for the Bulldogs (15-4, 11-2 SAC), who never trailed but saw the Pioneers pull within a possession several times after twice trailing by double figures. Mike Baez hit his first four attempts from three-point range and finished with 18 points for Wingate, which finished with a 43-27 edge on the boards over Tusculum and converted 14 Pioneer turnovers into 24 points.

Chase Mounce paced the Pioneers (9-10, 5-9 SAC) with 18 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-9 shooting from the field, but the Pioneers offset an advantage in field-goal shooting by going 13-for-24 from the foul line in the game. Darius Carter added 16 points, three assists and three steals for the Pioneers, who nearly erased an early 11-point deficit and a 14-point deficit in the second half.

Cureton scored the first five points of the game before Baez caught fire from long range. The freshmen hit four straight from behind the arc over a span of just about three minute to give Wingate a 17-6 lead with six minutes gone in the first half. Tusculum answered with a 13-3 run to pull within a point on a basket by Javon Price with 8:24 left in the half, then bounced back from a six-point deficit by scoring five in a row on a three-pointer by Gunnar Beamer and two free throws by Carter. Wingate would end the first half by scoring the final six points over a two-minute span to go to the locker room with a 35-28 lead.

Baez led all players with 15 points in the first half on 4-for-7 shooting from the field, while Cureton had seven points, four rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs. Matt Shown was the leading scorer for the Pioneers with seven points in the opening half, while Mounce had a game-high seven rebounds. Tusculum shot 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from the field in the first half while Wingate connected on 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) but went 10-for-17 at the free-throw line as a team.

A free throw by Baez less than 90 seconds into the second half gave Wingate its largest lead to that points at 40-28, but Tusculum chipped away at the deficit as Mounce hit four layups in a span of 4 1/2 minutes to trim the Bulldogs' lead to 46-40 with 13:31 to go. Carter drilled a three-pointer with 11:41 left to pull the Pioneers within two at 48-46, but a basket from Cureton and two free throws by Keith Griffin pushed the Bulldogs back on top 52-46 with 9:39 to play.

Tusculum would come back to within a possession three times over the next five minutes, with a three-pointer by Cory Fagan bringing the Pioneers to within 60-57 with 4:45 to go. However, a three-pointer by Anthanee Doyle was followed by a steal, layup and three-point play from Cureton as the Bulldogs quickly went back up by nine at 66-57 at the 4:21 mark. A layup by Josh Dominguez with 2:13 left would be the final field goal of the night for the Bulldogs, who went 8-for-10 from the foul line the rest of the way.

Shown finished with nine points and three rebounds for the Pioneers before fouling out with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. Fagan hit a pair of three-pointers and had eight points for the Pioneers, while Zach Davis came off the bench to add seven points and four rebounds in 21 minutes of action.

In addition to his 26 points, Cureton had seven rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and four steals in 37 minutes of playing time for the Bulldogs. Keith Griffin had six points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds, and Doyle finished with eight points and a pair of boards.

Tusculum will travel to Anderson University Wednesday night for a matchup with the Trojans, who are 1 1/2 games behind the Pioneers in the SAC standings. Tusculum beat Anderson 85-58 at Pioneer Arena on Dec. 8. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. from the Abney Athletic Center in Anderson, South Carolina.