Jefferson City, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs finished off the season sweep against Carson-Newman University with a convincing 81-60 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. Wingate improves to 19-7 overall and 15-5 in the SAC, while the Eagles fall to 14-12 overall and 10-10 in the conference.

Freshman Mike Baez (Huntersville, N.C.) had 22 points on eight-of-10 shooting to lead the Wingate attack, hitting six-of-eight shots from three-point range while adding six rebounds and two assists. Junior Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) had 16 points, five rebounds and two steals, while junior center Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) contributed 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Kerigan Farley (Hickory, N.C.) also had 10 points for the Bulldogs, adding five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Senior Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) filled up the stat sheet with six points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Carson Brooks, Sawyer Williams and Mason Bates had 11 points each for Carson-Newman, while Charles Clark added 10 points. Clark, the leading scorer in the SAC with 22.4 points per game, has scored in double figures in every game this season, but has been held to 10 points in both games against the Bulldogs this season.

Threes from Baez and Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) gave the Bulldogs a 12-7 lead in the opening half. The Eagles tied it at 14 on a triple from Zack Pangallo with 12 minutes to go, while a Pangallo layup gave CN a 20-18 lead with nine minutes remaining. The Bulldogs scored the next nine points, taking a 27-20 lead on a Baez three and Lee McCall (Indian Land, S.C.) layup at the 6:16 mark.

Two free throws from Brooks got the Eagles within three, but the 'Dogs countered with a 13-3 run to put the lead in double figures. Baez started the spurt with a jumper and a three, while dunks from Neico Robinson (Easley, S.C.) and Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) helped the 'Dogs take a 40-29 halftime lead.

Wingate opened the second half on an 11-2 run to push the advantage to 20. Xavier Griffin started the flurry with a layup, while his layup and a Cureton triple made it 51-31 with 17:11 remaining. Triples from Baez and Cureton pushed the advantage to 26 at the 14:38 mark. A Josh Rodgers jumper got the Eagles within 17, but a Farley three pushed the lead back to 20 at the midway point of the second half.

A pair of layups from Williams got Carson-Newman back within 16, but a layup and dunk from Cureton gave the 'Dogs a 74-51 lead with 5:52 to go. A Farley three and Dominguez dunk pushed the advantage to 27 with 3:34 remaining. The lead would stay above 20 the rest of the way.

Wingate shot 50.8 percent from the field, hitting 11-of-29 shots from three-point range (37.9 percent). Carson-Newman, who entered the contest ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (52.4 percent), shot 37.9 percent from the field. The Eagles have only been held below 40 percent shooting three times this season, with two of those instances coming against Wingate. Carson-Newman went two-for-16 from three point range (12.5 percent) after going 0-for-12 from beyond the arc at Wingate earlier this season. The 'Dogs held a 35-32 rebounding advantage, while converting 14 CN turnovers into 20 points.

The Bulldogs have two games remaining in the regular season, both at home. Wingate hosts Catawba Wednesday at 8 p.m., while wrapping up the regular season Saturday at 4 p.m. against Anderson on Senior Day. The 'Dogs have already locked up a home game in the opening round of the SAC Tournament on Wednesday, March 2.