GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Jarren Cottingham poured in a game-high 23 points including the go-ahead layup with 1:51 remaining to lead the Wingate University men's basketball team to a 79-72 win at Tusculum University Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
The Bulldogs (11-5, 6-1 SAC) remain co-leaders in the South Atlantic Conference Piedmont Division while halting the Pioneers' three-game winning streak. Wingate also halts a four-game skid in games played in Greeneville.
Cottingham finished the game shooting 8-of-15 from the floor including 4-of-6 from three-point territory. He was also a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line including a pair with 21 seconds to go to put the game out of reach.
Tusculum (9-6, 5-3) made a pair valiant efforts in the second half as the Pioneers erased a 10-point deficit to take a one-point lead. TU later trailed by nine points and tied the game at 70-70 with 2:14 to go on a Justin Mitchell basket.
Cottingham put the Bulldogs ahead for good with his driving layup for a 72-70 advantage.
The Pioneers were called for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, but Tusculum got the ball back on steal in the backcourt by Mitchell. But his running jumper in the lane was off target and was hauled in by Destin Clark for his game-leading ninth rebound.
Donnell Nixon hit the shot of the game when he dribbled to the right corner and put up a high-arching rainbow triple with 53 seconds left for a 75-70 WU lead.
TU's James West IV cut the deficit to three with his fast-break layup as the Pioneers called timeout with 44.3 seconds remaining, trailing 75-72.
The Pioneers put on the press as Wingate got the ball across and Cottingham drew a foul with 21.4 seconds remaining. He would make both free throws for a 77-72 lead. The Pioneers would commit their 14th turnover as Clark would make his two free throws with 11.5 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
Cottingham's 23-point performance was his best in his eight previous career meetings against the Pioneers. Vontrez Roberts posted 14 points, while Clark added 13 points to go along with his nine rebounds. Nixon went 3-of-5 from downtown as he accounted for 11 points and six boards.
Tusculum's Inady Legiste had a solid game as he posted 17 points with eight rebounds and career-highs with six assists and four blocked shots. Mitchell added 13 points off the bench, while Jacob Hobbs went a perfect 5-of-5 for his season-high 11 points. Connor Jordan had eight points and four assists, while Joshua Scott and West both had seven markers each in the loss.
The first half was a back-and-forth contest as neither team led by more than four points as the lead changed hands 11 times with seven ties as the Bulldogs took a 35-31 lead into the locker room.
Wingate went on a 8-2 run early in the second half powered by triples from Cottingham and Nixon and free throws from Roberts as WU led 47-38 with 16:17 remaining.
West would end an 0-for-8 drought for the Pioneers from long-range with his 3-pointer at the 15:56 mark of the period. But the Bulldogs would get three straight buckets from Roberts including his tip-in with 12 minutes to go as Wingate took its largest lead of the game at 56-46.
With the Bulldogs up 58-48, the Pioneers went on a 11-0 run over a span of 2:47 as Tusculum took its first lead of the half at 59-58 following a KJ Crump three-pointer.
Wingate responded with a 10-0 run of its own as Cottingham converted a three-point play and Sean Elmore added a three-pointer of his own as the Dogs went back up 70-61 with 5:15 to go.
But a 9-0 run by Tusculum tied the game at 70-70 as Mitchell scored five points and Legiste added four in the TU spurt.
The Pioneers outshot the Bulldogs from the field going 28-of-55 for 50.9 percent, while WU went 27-of-63 for 43 percent. But it was from long-range where Wingate won the game as the Bulldogs went 9-of-19 from beyond the arch (47.4%) while TU shot a cold 3-of-16 (19%).
Wingate edged the Pioneers on the boards by a 35-32 margin while the Bulldogs scored 18 points off of TU's 14 miscues.
Tusculum returns to action next Saturday when they travel to Coker University for a 4 p.m. contest.
