Mount Olive, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore guard Mike Baez (Orlando, Fla.) scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the first half Saturday afternoon, leading the Bulldogs to a convincing 84-61 victory at the University of Mount Olive in NCAA Division II men's basketball action. Wingate improves to 5-7 overall, while the Trojans fall to 1-11 on the season.

Baez knocked down five-of-eight shots from three-point range, adding five assists. Freshman guard Jeremy Williams (Monroe, N.C.) registered a career-high 13 points on five-of-seven shooting, while junior guard Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) had 11 points on four-of-six shooting. Senior Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) and sophomore Lee McCall (Indian Land, S.C.) contributed 10 points apiece, combining to go eight-of-12 from the field.

Cameron Robinson had 21 points to lead the Mount Olive attack. Tayon Gleaves added 14 points, while Tyler Thomas contributed 11 points and nine rebounds. Armond Griebe chipped in with nine points for the Trojans.

Wingate raced out to an 11-2 lead five minutes into the opening half. Lolar started it with a three, while Baez added a pair of triples in the spurt. A Saiquan Jamison bucket got the Trojans within seven, but back-to-back McCall buckets pushed the lead back to double figures. A pair of Baez threes gave the 'Dogs a 35-23 lead 4:34 remaining.

Gleaves got the Trojans within 12 with a triple, but a Lolar three and two Cureton free throws made it 40-23. Williams buried a three to put Wingate on top by 20, while Cureton's layup in the final minute pushed the advantage to 21. A bucket from Emmanuel Patton with 25 seconds left cut the halftime deficit to 19 at 45-26.

Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) knocked down a three in the opening minutes of the second half to push the Bulldog lead to 22. A Lolar three made it 55-31 at the 15:45 mark. Buckets from Cureton and Baez made it a 25-point game, while a Williams jumper midway through the half made it 70-43. Back-to-back buckets from Cureton gave the 'Dogs their biggest lead of the night at 74-43. Mount Olive got no closer than 23 the rest of the way.

Wingate shot 52.9 percent from the field, hitting 12-of-26 shots from three-point range (46.2 percent). Mount Olive shot 37.5 percent from the field, hitting nine-of-25 shots from beyond the arc (36 percent). The Bulldogs held a 36-29 rebounding advantage, holding a 15-7 edge in second chance points. The Wingate bench outscored the UMO bench 38-2.

Wingate is back in action Wednesday, traveling to Coker for an 8 p.m. start.