NEWBERRY — Newberry College men’s basketball dominate second half performance earns them their second consecutive win to start off the new year. The Wolves(8-7, 4-5 SAC) defeated Wingate(7-8, 2-7 SAC) by the score of 77-70 at home on Wednesday, Jan. 14th to continue their strong start to the second half of the season.
The Bulldogs shot the lights out of the ball in the first half. They were able to shoot 60.8% from the field and 85% from the three-point line. Newberry got off to a slow start to begin the game and found themselves down 19-9 at the 10 minute mark in the in the first half.
Then, the home team found themselves down 25-13 and the combination of Wingate’s hot shooting and their defense helped build their lead. The Wolves were able to battle back after falling behind by 12 points and outscored the Bulldogs 17-11 in the last eight minutes of the first half.
Newberry trailed 36-31 at halftime., but had all of the momentum going into the locker room and it carried over in the second half.
It was a tug-of-war to start the second half as the two teams constantly traded buckets, but Newberry took their first lead of the game at the 12:47 when Drake Downs drained a three-pointer. The home team led 44-42 and that basket also got Downs going on the offensive end. He began to dominate down the stretch in the second half. The senior forward finished the night with 22 points and 12 rebounds. He was also one of four Wolves to score in double figures on the night.
Wingate would not go away quietly and went on a 7-2 to reclaim the lead and extend it. They would lead 53-46 with 10:04 left to play in the second half, but that would be their last lead for the remainder of the night. Newberry would outscore the visiting Bulldogs 31-17 for the rest of the game lead by graduate guard Drew Robinson, who finished the game with 16 points and three steals.
Newberry’s three-point shooting and their defense to fuel their run. Robinson would knock down a pair of three’s during their comeback. Malakhi Stremlow would give them a major contribution by knocking down a few outside shots and getting to the free-throw line.
Wingate’s offense took a dive in the second half and so did their shooting numbers. They only shot 40.7% from the field and 60% from the three-point line in the second half. They also had a hard time defending the Wolves big men in the second half which was a major reason why they were leading in the first half.
“It was a war of attrition. Our guards did a good job of picking us up in the first half but to be honest with you, our big guys did a great job of bringing it home. Drake Downs had 22 and 12 coming down the stretch,” said Wolves head coach Marcus Kirkland.
Newberry has now won second consecutive games to start 2026 after stumbling at the end of the first half of the season, where they loss three of their last four games to close out 2025.
“It was really not a lot of changes. These guys are coming together as a team and we are hitting their stride at the right point. We kind of looked at this part of the season with these teams we had stacked up. These all of the top teams in our lead and they are just ahead of us. We can keep getting Ws then we can keep sliding up,” said Kirkland.
The Wolves will be on the road to face Carson-Newman on Saturday, Jan. 17th. The game will tip-off at 4:00 p.m.