The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team outscored Wingate 35-32 in the second half, but Wingate's first half surge proved to be too strong to overcome as the Bulldogs earned an 81-65 win over the Crusaders this afternoon at the Wheeler Center. Wingate moves to 6-4, while the Abbey drops to 4-5.

Belmont Abbey led 17-11 with 11:52 left in the opening half, but a 28-4 Wingate run over the next seven minutes essentially put the game away. In the run, Wingate hit six three-pointers, including five in consecutive possessions, to pull away to a 39-21 lead with 4:45 left. Robert Carpenter drilled three from beyond the arc, while Jaime Vaughn hit two-straight on consecutive possessions. The Bulldogs took a 49-30 lead into the break.

In the final 20 minutes, the Abbey outscored the Bulldogs 35-32 but could not trim the lead to any fewer than 13 points, and Wingate's lead never grew any higher than 20.

Wingate shot 50.8 percent (30-59) including 55.9 (19-34) in the first half as Quan Alexander tied for the game-high with 17 points and seven rebounds. Carpenter added 14, all in that first half run. Vaughn chipped in with 13 and Odell Turner contributed with ten. Wingate won the rebounding edge 37-26.

Kyle Phillips led the Abbey with 17 points and seven rebounds. Richard Barbee added 15 as he moved into eighth place on the school's all-time scoring chart. Jay Council added ten points as the Abbey shot 41.1 percent (23-56) from the field. Matthew Beerse, in his first career start, handed out six assists.