Men's Basketball | 2/23/2016 1:51:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs close out the 2015-16 regular season with a pair of home games this week, starting Wednesday night when Catawba comes to Cuddy Arena for an 8 p.m. contest in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Wingate enters the week at 19-7 overall and 15-5 in the SAC. The Indians are 11-15 overall and 9-11 in the conference.

With two games remaining in the conference schedule, Wingate sits alone in third place in the league standings. Fourth-ranked LMU has clinched the regular season SAC title with a 20-0 mark in conference play. Seventh-ranked Queens is 17-3, alone in second place and two games ahead of the Bulldogs. Wingate is three games up on fourth-place Lenoir-Rhyne (12-8). Catawba is in seventh place, one game behind sixth-place Carson-Newman and two back of fifth-place Newberry. Wingate is ranked fourth in the first NCAA Southeast Region poll, which came out last Wednesday. The 'Dogs are looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2012-13 season.

The Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to three with an impressive 81-60 victory at Carson-Newman Saturday. SAC Player of the Week Mike Baez (Huntersville, N.C.) had 22 points and six rebounds, going eight-for-10 from the field and six-of-eight from three-point range. Junior Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) added 16 points and five boards, while junior Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) and sophomore Kerigan Farley (Hickory, N.C.) contributed 10 points apiece. The Wingate defense held Carson-Newman to its second-lowest point total and field goal percentage of the season. The Eagles scored a season-low 48 points in the meeting with the Bulldogs in Cuddy Arena in January. Carson-Newman, ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage, has only shot below 40 percent three times this season. Two of those contests were against the Bulldogs.

Wingate and Catawba met in Salisbury in January, with the Bulldogs prevailing 59-58. Baez led the way with 13 points, while Cureton added 11 points. Keith Griffin registered five points, five rebounds and five blocks. The 'Dogs limited Catawba to 37.7 percent shooting, while holding the Indians 18 points below their season average. Wingate has won three straight against Catawba and 11 of the last 12 in the series. The Indians have not won in Cuddy Arena since February of 2010.

The Bulldogs lead the SAC and rank ninth nationally in blocked shots, while also leading the league in scoring defense. Wingate is second in the conference in field goal percentage defense, rebounding margin and defensive rebounding. Offensively the Bulldogs are averaging 76.4 points per game, the most Wingate has averaged since scoring 76.6 points per contest during the 2009-10 season.

Wingate's balanced attack has eight players averaging at least five points per game, led by Cureton's 14.4 points per contest. He shoots 48.6 percent from the field and 82.5 percent at the free throw line, leading the team in steals while ranking second in rebounding and blocked shots. Baez contributes 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, ranking second on the team with 47 threes. Junior Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) has knocked down a team-best 50 triples, averaging 10.2 points per contest.

Xavier Griffin contributes 9.0 points and a team-best 3.2 assists per game. Sophomore Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) averages 8.0 points per contest, connecting on 32 shots from beyond the arc. Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) shoots 52.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range, contributing 7.3 points per game. Keith Griffin averages 6.3 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game, leading the conference with 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Catawba snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday, picking up an 85-74 victory over Brevard. Jameel Taylor leads the Indians with 16.5 points per game, shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range, adding 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest. Jerrin Morrison contributes 12.8 points per game, shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc while adding 4.8 rebounds per game.

Wingate will wrap up the regular season Saturday, hosting Anderson at 4 p.m. on Senior Day. The Bulldogs have guaranteed a home game in the opening round of the SAC Tournament on Wednesday, March 2.