Mount Olive sliced a 24-point deficit down to six late in the second half, but the Trojans fell to Wingate 82-73 in non-conference men's basketball Saturday at Wingate, N.C. Craig Hayes and Derek Staton led the Trojans with 15 points apiece.

Mount Olive (7-2) trailed 58-34 with 13:02 left in the game before the Trojans started their comeback. Mount Olive limited Wingate to one field goal over the next five minutes and Dory Hines' basket capped a 17-7 run to pull the Trojans within 65-51 with 7:19 remaining.

The margin grew to 16 before Staton's steal set up an Ewon Wright three-pointer with 5:06 left to cut Wingate's lead to 67-56. Hines sank a pair of free throws with 3:51 remaining to bring the deficit down to single digits for the first time in the second half at 69-60.

Wingate (4-7) built its lead back to 12 after Jaime Vaughn hit a jumper with 2:33 left to play, but Mount Olive again drew within single digits. Jordan McCain hit a three and Hines sank two more free throws to get the Trojans within 74-67 with 1:32 remaining.

After Paidrick Matilus hit 1-of-2 free throws for Wingate, Hines nailed a jumper with 1:19 left to make it a two-possession game at 75-69. Eddie Lewis answered with a layup and the Bulldogs extended the lead to nine. McCain hit another three-pointer with 46 seconds left to pull Mount Olive within 78-72. But that's as close as Mount Olive would get as Wingate hit 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Staton opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer and Mount Olive (7-2) trailed only 10-8 with 14:03 left in the first half before Wingate broke the game open. Quan Alexander's steal prevented the Trojans from tying the game and the Bulldogs went on to score eight unanswered points to build their first double-digit lead.

Mount Olive got as close as five points as Staton's three-point play and Hayes' basket pulled the Trojans within 27-22 with 4:33 left before halftime. But Mount Olive was held without a field goal the remainder of the half and the Trojans trailed 41-23 at the break.

Baskets by Staton and Kason Cheeks in the opening minute of the second half ended Mount Olive's field goal drought, but a 7-0 Wingate run in a span of less than two minutes gave the Bulldogs a 24-point advantage before the Trojans started their rally.

Hines scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half, while McCain scored all nine of his points after halftime. McCain also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, six in the second half. The Trojans finished with 20 offensive boards and outrebounded Wingate 45-40.

Matilus and Jeffrey Parker led four Wingate players in double figures with 16 points. Parker recorded six of Wingate's 15 blocked shots.

Free throws were a difference in the game as Wingate was 21-for-29 (72.4 percent) from the line, compared to 16-for-34 for Mount Olive.