WINGATE, N.C. – The Converse University men's basketball team defeated Wingate 84-72 on Saturday evening inside Cuddy Arena.
With the win the Valkyries improve to 2-0 on the season and defeat Wingate for the first time in program history. This is also the first time the Valkyries have won both games in the conference cross over tournament to start the season.
Uzziah Dawkins (Spartanburg, S.C.) led the team in scoring with a 29-point effort against the Bulldogs.
CJ Jamison (Greer, S.C.) and
Edoardo Buffo (Milano, Italy) both added 14-points and
Joel Pullen contributed 11-points in the win. Jamison and Leo da Campo (Venice, Italy) both had a team best 7 rebounds, while Pullen finished with a team high 8 assists.
First Half Notes:
- Wingate won the opening tip-off and both teams missed their first shots of the game. Kendall Taylor scored the first points of the game for either side with a layup at the 19:05 mark of the half.
- Edo Buffo found CJ Jamison for a three-pointer and the Valkyries first points of the contest at the 18:50 mark of the half.
- Following the early Converse lead the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run over the next few minutes of game time to take an 8-3 advantage over the Valkyries.
- Joel Pullen found Leo Da Campo for an easy layup to end the scoring draught for the Valkyries offense. On the very next possession the duo connected again and the Valkyries had cut the Bulldogs lead down to 10-7.
- Neither team was able to click on offense over the next few minutes of game time, but with 14:51 to play in the period, Josh Massey hit a three-pointer to give Wingate a 13-7 advantage.
- Moments later the Valkyries were down 17-7 before Uzziah Dawkins connected on three-pointer to end the scoring lapse for Converse. Dawkins jump started the Valkyries offense with his three-pointer and over the next two minutes of game time, Converse went on a 9-0 run.
- With 8:09 to play, Pullen hit a mid-range jumper and tied the match at 23. Following a Wingate turnover, Da Campo made a layup off a steal and gave Converse their second lead of the half.
- The two teams matched one another down the stretch but a late three-pointer by Buffo gave Converse a 37-34 advantage going into the halftime intermission.
- Converse shot 51 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 66 percent from the free throw line in the opening half of play.
Second Half Notes:
- Coming out of the halftime break, Pullen scored the first points of the half on a layup to give the Valkyries a 39-34 lead. On the Valkyries next possession down the court Dawkins scored his 10th point of the game on a layup attempt.
- The Valkyries quickly got into a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball and held a 52-41 advantage over Wingate before the first media timeout of the half.
- Back-to-back three-pointers by Edo Buffo and Jay Mitchell had the Valkyries in full control up 59-41.
- For most of the second half the Bulldogs had to play catchup but the Valkyries were able to shutdown their runs with key baskets. However, with 4:43 to play in the game the Valkyries had seen their once impressive lead dwindled down to 66-63.
- Pullen found Dawkins for a much needed three-pointer and the Valkyries were back on top 69-63.
- The Valkyries made key baskets down the stretch and connected on their free throw attempts to pull out a 12 point victory.
- Dawkins scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half on Saturday afternoon. As a team the Valkyries shot 65 percent from the field, 63 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the free throw line.
Stat Leaders:
Points – Dawkins (29), Jamison (14), Buffo (14), Pullen (11)
Rebounds – Jamison (7), Da Campo (7), Pullen (6)
Assists – Pullen (8), Buffo (4), Dawkins (4)
Next Up:
The men's basketball team will stay on the road this week with trip to Newberry on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is set for a 7:00 p.m. start time.
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