Men's Basketball | 2/12/2016 2:48:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs return to Cuddy Arena Saturday afternoon, hosting Brevard College at 4 p.m. in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Wingate enters the weekend 16-7 overall and 12-5 in the SAC. Brevard is 4-19 overall and 3-14 in the conference.

Wingate has dropped three of its last four games after winning eight in a row. The setbacks came at Newberry and seventh-ranked Queens in addition to a home loss against No. 5 Lincoln Memorial. The Bulldogs are in third place in the league standings with five games remaining. Wingate is behind a pair of top-10 teams in LMU and Queens, while sitting two games ahead of fourth-place Carson-Newman.

The Bulldogs and Tornados met in Brevard in December, with Wingate prevailing 90-76. Junior guard Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) poured in a career-high 28 points, going 10-of-12 from the field and seven-of-nine from three-point range. Sophomore Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) added 15 points on five-of-seven shooting, while freshman Mike Baez (Huntersville, N.C.) contributed 12 points. Wingate shot 52.5 percent from the field and hit 13-of-22 shots from beyond the arc (59.1 percent). The 'Dogs also out-rebounded Brevard 39-28. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against Brevard 14-5.

Wingate leads the conference in blocked shots, ranking second in field goal percentage defense, scoring defense and defensive rebounding.

Wingate's balanced attack has eight players scoring at least 5.0 points per game. Junior Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) leads the way with 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting 48 percent from the field and 82 percent at the free throw line while leading the team in steals and ranking second in blocks and third in assists. Baez contributes 12.1 points per contest, adding 5.7 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team with 40 threes.

Doyle scores 10.8 points per game, knocking down a team-best 46 triples on the season. He is second on the team with 27 steals. Senior Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) averages 9.5 points and a team-best 3.1 assists per contest, while Lolar scores 8.3 points per game, knocking down 28 shots from beyond the arc. Junior Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) shoots 53 percent from the field, scoring 7.1 points per game while junior Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) leads the SAC with 1.7 blocks per game, adding 6.1 points and 6.2 boards per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field.

Brevard snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday with an 86-81 win at Mars Hill. Demarcus Threatt led the Tornados with 24 points on nine-of-15 shooting. Threatt leads Brevard and ranks third in the conference with 21 points per game, shooting 49 percent from the field. Miles Leathers contributes 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, while Alex Moe adds 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.

After Saturday's contest, the Bulldogs are on the road for two in a row, starting Wednesday at Coker at 8 p.m. Wingate travels to Carson-Newman next Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest against the Eagles. The Bulldogs defeated both teams in the earlier season meetings in Cuddy Arena.