Men's Basketball | 12/16/2016 11:02:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs play their third straight home game Saturday afternoon, hosting Brevard College at 4 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. Wingate will look to get back on track after suffering its first home setback of the season Wednesday night, an 84-72 loss against No. 23 Lincoln Memorial. The Bulldogs are 3-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference. Brevard enters the contest 1-9 overall and 0-5 in league play.

Wingate started its three-game home stand last week, prevailing 68-64 against Lander on Monday night. Sophomore guard Mike Baez (Orlando, Fla.) and senior forward Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) combined for 41 points, with Baez scoring all 22 of his points in the second half, adding 15 rebounds while going six-of-12 from the field and seven-of-eight at the free throw line. Dominguez had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds, going eight-for-12 from the field.

The Bulldogs trailed by 21 against the four-time defending SAC champion Railsplitters Wednesday night, but got within six midway through the second half before ultimately falling 84-72 in a rematch of last year's SAC title game. Baez and Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) had 20 points apiece, with Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) adding 18 points for the Bulldogs.

Prior to the Lander victory, the Bulldogs went through a tough three-game losing streak, with the setbacks coming by a combined nine points. Of Wingate's seven losses this year, five have come by a total of 15 points. The losses at Newberry and Mars Hill saw both opponents hit game-winning threes in the final seconds. Dominguez had 18 points at Augusta, while Baez piled up 26 points and 13 rebounds at Newberry. Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) added 24 points and 15 boards, while Lolar contributed 20 points and 14 rebounds. Dominguez and Griffin had 19 points apiece in the Mars Hill loss, with Doyle adding 17 points.

The offense has been good for the Bulldogs, averaging 79.4 points per game, the highest since the 2007-08 season. Six different Bulldogs are scoring over 10 points per game, with Wingate shooting 45 percent from the field. The 'Dogs are allowing 82.5 points per game, the highest in the Brian Good era. The 'Dogs have not allowed over 73 points per game since the 2009-2010 season. Opponents are shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range against the Bulldogs this year, the highest in the SAC, while teams are knocking down 10.1 threes per contest against Wingate.

Wingate and Brevard met twice last season, with the Bulldogs winning both meetings. The 'Dogs prevailed 90-76 on the road, getting a career-high 28 points from Doyle on 10-of-12 shooting, including seven-of-nine shooting from three-point range. Baez added 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Wingate won 81-57 in Cuddy Arena, with Dominguez scoring 18 points on six-of-eight shooting from beyond the arc. Lolar and Doyle added 11 points each.

Lolar is scoring 14.6 points per game for the Bulldogs, adding 5.7 rebounds per contest, shooting 38 percent from three-point range while knocking down a team-best 19 triples. Baez contributes 14.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, scoring in double figures each of the last seven games, registering over 20 points in four of those contests. Dominguez averages 12.6 points per contest, shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from beyond the arc while handing out a team-best 25 assists.

Griffin is averaging 11.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, shooting 59 percent from the field while piling up 22 blocked shots. He ranks second in the SAC in blocked shots, sixth in rebounding and eighth in field goal percentage. Doyle is averaging 10.6 points per game, ranking second on the team with 17 threes on the year.

Brevard has lost four straight, with all four setbacks coming in league play. Stevie Williams leads the Tornados with 17.9 points per game. Evan Dunham contributes 12.3 points per game, knocking down a team-best 15 triples on 48.5 percent shooting from three-point range. Omar El Diraoui averages 10.4 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per contest, while also leading the Tornados with 18 blocks.

This will be Wingate's final contest until after Christmas. The Bulldogs will return to action on New Year's Eve, traveling to Mount Olive at 2 p.m. to start a three-game road trip. Wingate is at Coker Jan. 4, while traveling to Carson-Newman Jan. 7 before returning home Jan. 11 to host Catawba.