Belmont, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs led by as many as 30 points Friday evening en route to a convincing 86-66 victory over Limestone College in NCAA Division II men's basketball action at the Wheeler Center on the campus of Belmont Abbey College. Wingate starts the year 1-0, while the Saints fall to 0-1.

Freshman Mike Baez (Huntersville, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with 21 points and 12 rebounds in his collegiate debut. Junior forward Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) added 16 points, four assists, two steals and two blocks, while four other Bulldogs scored in double figures. Senior Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) and sophomore Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) scored 11 points each, while junior Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) and sophomore Lee McCall (Indian Land, S.C.) contributed 10 points apiece.

"We were ready to play," head coach Brian Good says. "We had a great start to set the tone. I was worried about rebounding and putting them at the free throw line. We learned some things that we will need to get better at, but it's nice to learn those things while still getting a win."

Brolin Floyd led the Limestone attack with 11 points, adding three assists and two steals. Kenshay Kirksey added 10 points, while Macoumba Kane contributed 10 points and eight boards for the Saints.

Wingate used an 8-0 first half run to take a 12-5 lead on a Doyle layup. A Shaq Dance layup trimmed the lead to four at the 13:43 mark, but the Bulldogs scored the next eight points to stretch the lead to 12. Baez and Lolar each knocked down a triple in the flurry. Another Lolar triple, along with a McCall bucket pushed the advantage to 15 with 10 minutes left in the half.

A triple and a jumper from Doyle gave the 'Dogs a 40-20 lead at the 7:41 mark. A pair of Kane free throws helped Limestone trim the deficit to 14, but a layup and two free throws from Griffin pushed the advantage back to 18. A Baez three, along with two Cureton free throws in the final minute helped Wingate take a 53-32 halftime lead.

Buckets from Baez, McCall and Griffin helped the Bulldogs stretch the advantage to 27 in the opening minute of the second half. Cureton's layup at the 13:42 mark gave Wingate a 67-37 lead. The advantage stayed above 20 until a Kane triple at the 4:36 mark made it 77-59. A Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) dunk, along with a Cureton layup pushed the lead back to 22 with three minutes remaining. Limestone would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Wingate shot 47.2 percent from the field, hitting seven-of-21 shots from three-point range (33.3 percent). Limestone shot just 34.2 percent, hitting three-of-13 shots from beyond the arc (22.6 percent). The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Saints 48-41, with each team scoring 10 second-chance points. The 'Dogs scored 46 points in the paint on the night.

Wingate is back in action Saturday, facing Belmont Abbey at 7:30 p.m.