Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore guard Mike Baez (Orlando, Fla.) and senior forward Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) combined for 41 points Monday night, leading the Bulldogs to a 68-64 victory over visiting Lander University in NCAA Division II men's basketball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 3-6 overall, while the Bearcats fall to 3-4 on the season.

"I thought the second half was our best half of basketball this season," head coach Brian Good says. "We defended, rebounded and shared the ball. I was really pleased with the crowd tonight, they gave us some great energy down the stretch."

Baez scored 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, knocking down three triples. Baez also had three assists and three steals. Dominguez had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds, going eight-for-12 from the field. Junior guard Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) had eight points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs.

JR Washington had 22 points to lead the Lander attack, adding nine rebounds. Telvin Gabriel added 10 points on five-of-six shooting, while Nicklas Jonsson contributed nine points.

Wingate raced out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes, with Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) knocking down an early three. The Bulldogs led 13-8 after a Dominguez bucket, but Lander countered with a 13-0 run, taking a 21-13 advantage on a Gabriel jumper at the 6:11 mark. A bucket from Srdjan Ivic pushed the lead to double figures, but a three-point play from Dominguez with 45 seconds left trimmed the halftime deficit to seven at 29-22.

A triple from Washington stretched the advantage back to double figures at the 17:32 mark of the second half, but the Bulldogs scored 12 of the next 14 points, tying it at 40 on a Baez bucket with 14:21 to go. Baez and Lolar each knocked down triples in the flurry. A Dominguez layup put the 'Dogs on top by three. Buckets from Baez and Lee McCall (Indian Land, S.C.) made it 49-43 at the 10:40 mark. Baez buried two more threes, pushing the advantage to 13 with 7:27 remaining.

A Griffin layup with 4:36 to go made it 63-50, but Lander countered with a 14-4 run to cut the lead to four with 1:37 remaining. Chris Tate had six points in the spurt, while a three from Washington got the Bearcats within three with under a minute to go. Lander had a chance to tie it with nine seconds left, but Washington missed a three from the top of the key and Baez pulled down his 15th rebound, then converted a free throw on the other end to make it 68-64.

Wingate shot 46.3 percent from the field, shooting 59.3 percent in the second half. The 'Dogs hit five-of-16 shots from three-point range (31.3 percent). Lander shot 45.5 percent from the field, hitting five-of-14 shots from beyond the arc (35.7 percent). The Bulldogs held a 38-27 rebounding advantage, with Lander holding a 14-12 edge in second-chance points. Wingate outscored the Bearcats 38-30 in the paint, while holding a 12-2 advantage in fast-break points.

The Bulldogs are back in action Wednesday, Dec. 14, hosting Lincoln Memorial at 8 p.m.