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It was a Valentine’s Day game to remember.
That’s what Catawba College’s Indians were saying after they upended Wingate University’s highly ranked Bulldogs 99-84 in Goodman Gym Wednesday night.
It was only the second loss for Wingate, ranked third among NCAA Division II teams. It left the Bulldogs with a 21-2 overall mark, and a 9-2 mark in the SAC race.
Coach Jim Baker’s Indians improved to 19-4 for the season and pulled within a game of Wingate in the SAC regular season race with an 8-3 record.
Catawba grabbed a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes and never trailed.
The Indians enjoyed a 13-point lead on three occasions in the first half. They managed a 49-46 edge at halftime.
Wingate, which has not won at Catawba in a dozen years, closed the gap to 79-78 with 3:51 to play.
Nedzad Gusic grabbed a rebound and scored for the Indians. Alex Luyk and Quentin Bryant fired in back-to-back 3-pointers and Kevin Petty dropped two free throws to give the Indians an 89-79 advantage with two minutes remaining.
The Indians then got four clutch free throws from Petty and baskets from Brian Carter and Gusic in the fading seconds.
The final margin was the Tribe’s widest lead.
“We got a super effort,” said Baker. “I’m so proud of the team. We came out and played with unity. It was one of our best games.”
The victory avenged a 104-68 loss to the Wingate earlier in the season in which the Indians lost their All-America candidate and leading scorer Terrence Hamilton for the season with a broken leg.
“We played hard and didn’t take too many bad shots,”Baker pointed out.
The Indians made 51.5 percent of their shots (36 of 70) and hit eight of 16 from 3-point range. They made 19 of 29 at the foul line.
The Indians used their best scoring balance of the season. All five starters reached double figures.
Carter was high scorer with 23. He got 13 in the first half when he paced all scorers. Petty followed with 20, including 12 clutch points in the last half. Ten came in the last six minutes.
Luyk also had 20, including nine on 3-pointers. Gusic delivered a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, including eight off the defensive board.
Bryant was 6-for-6 from the floor and added 14 points.
“We played hard and with a lot of emotion,” said Petty, who served as playmaker for the Indians. “We had to buckle down and play hard. Everybody did a good job.”
Petty also pointed out the Indians wanted to win the game for Hamilton, who suffered a broken lead in the first meeting with Wingate.
Jonathan Tyson led Wingate with 20 points. Marcus Thompson had 17 and Djuan Hankins 16.
Trailing by 38-26, the Bulldogs went on a 9-1 roll to close the gap to 39-37, but Carter dropped in two buckets and Bryant added a three-point play to get the Indians rolling again. They jumped ahead by 47-39 before the Bulldogs pulled within three at 49-46 at halftime.
Leading 54-50, the Indians used a 9-2 surge to open up a 63-52 lead.
Hankins and Thompson then led Wingate on a rally that closed the margin to 79-78, before the Indians spurted again.
Wingate was held to 37.3 shooting (31 of 83) and the Bulldogs made six of 20 from the 3-point arc.
The Indians will try for their 20th win Saturday when they invade Newberry for their final game on the road.
WINGATE (84) — Tyson 20, Harrington 4, Dunn 13, Hankins 16, Reid 6, Raley 4, Miller 4, Thompson 17.
CATAWBA (99) — Bryant 14, Carter 23, Luyk 20, Gusic 18, Petty 20, Raikes, Parks 2, Proctor 2, Everett, Robertson.
Wingate 46 38 — 84
Catawba 49 50 — 99
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