The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team outscored Wingate 34-25 in the second half after trailing 42-36 at the break as the Crusaders improved to 2-0 with a gutsy 70-67 win over the visiting Bulldogs this evening at the Wheeler Center.

Trailing 59-57 with 6:26 left, the Crusaders surged ahead for good with an 11-0 run to claim a nine point advantage with 4:18 left. Sophomore guard Richard Barbee fueled the run, scoring six of the nine points on a field goal and four free throws, while Patrick Kuhlman added three of his 11 points and Deonte Murphy used a running layup.

Wingate would counter with an 8-0 to close within one point at 68-67 with 12 seconds left, but Kuhlman sank two free throws with 11.3 seconds left to provide the winning margin.

The Abbey shot 45.5 percent from the field (20-44) but 52.6 percent from three-point range (10-19) as senior guard Jonathan Jackson led four Crusaders in double figures with 21 points on 5-11 shooting. Barbee finished with 14 points, while Kuhlman added 11 on 3-6 shooting, all from beyond-the-arc. Chad Patus, in his first game action of the year, added a double double with 10 points, 13 rebounds (six offensive) and a career-high six assists. Murphy also had six assists and five steals.

Wingate was led by Chase Smith's 12 points, while Ben Davis added 11 and David Johnson posted ten as the Bulldogs shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor.