Men's Basketball | 1/10/2017 1:32:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs will play in Cuddy Arena for the first time since before Christmas Wednesday evening, hosting Catawba College at 8 p.m. on ESPN3. Wingate has won four in a row, entering the contest at 7-7 overall and 4-4 in the SAC. The Indians are 10-4 overall and 4-4 in league play.

"Catawba is a very good basketball team," head coach Brian Good says. "They have three explosive scorers within a team that can really score. They can also rebound it well and pressure the ball."

Three of Wingate's victories in the current four-game winning streak have come by a total of 60 points, with the fourth coming this past Saturday, a 79-77 victory at Carson-Newman. Wingate's fourth straight win over the Eagles, sophomore guard Mike Baez (Orlando, Fla.) had 21 points and six rebounds, going seven-of-11 from the field. Senior center Keith Griffin (Concord, N.C.) added 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, while classmate Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) contributed 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The winning streak started with a 78-56 win over Brevard before Christmas, getting 18 points and six rebounds from Griffin. Dominguez added 13 points and five boards while Baez contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Wingate led wire-to-wire at Mount Olive on New Year's Eve, leading by as many as 31 en route to an 84-61 win. Baez had 21 points and five assists, while freshman Jeremy Williams (Monroe, N.C.) added a career-high 13 points. The 'Dogs prevailed 99-84 at Coker last Wednesday, leading by as many as 24. Wingate got 22 points and 10 rebounds from Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.), while Dominguez and Baez added 21 and 20 points, respectively. It marked the second time this season the Bulldogs have had three players score at least 20 points in a game.  

Wingate and Catawba met twice last season, with each team winning on the road. The 'Dogs prevailed 59-58 at Catawba, getting 13 points from Baez and 11 points from Cureton. The Indians won 78-62 in Cuddy Arena, despite a 20-point effort from Baez. Jameel Taylor scored a game-high 27 for the Indians. The Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 13 against Catawba. Wingate had won five straight against the Indians in Cuddy Arena before last season.

The offense continues to be a strong point for the Bulldogs, averaging 81.0 points per game on the year, the highest since the 2007-08 season. Six different Bulldogs are scoring over 9.5 points per game, with Wingate shooting 45.2 percent from the field. The 'Dogs are the only team in the SAC with six players averaging over 9.0 points per contest. The Bulldogs are sixth in the league in scoring defense and fifth field goal percentage defense, allowing 78.8 points per game, the highest in the Brian Good era. The 'Dogs have not allowed over 73 points per game since the 2009-2010 season. Opponents are shooting 39.9 percent from three-point range against the Bulldogs this year, the highest in the SAC, while teams are knocking down 9.4 threes per contest against Wingate. Of the seven losses for the Bulldogs this season, five of the setbacks have come by a combined 15 points.

Baez leads the Bulldogs and ranks 11th in the SAC with 15.5 points per game, knocking down a team-best 24 triples while adding 6.4 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures each of the last 11 games, scoring 20 or more points seven times, including five of the last six. Cureton, Dominguez and Zeriq Lolar (Orlando, Fla.) contributed 12.8, 12.7 and 12.5 points per game, respectively. Cureton leads the way with 7.7 rebounds per game, while Dominguez has handed out a team-best 35 assists. Lolar is second on the team with 30 assists and 23 threes made.

Griffin averages 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, shooting 58.5 percent from the field while ranking second in the SAC with 2.3 blocks per contest. Senior guard Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) averages 9.9 points per game, knocking down 23 triples on the season while handing out 30 assists and collecting a team-best 15 steals.

Catawba has won seven of its last nine games, coming off an 81-46 victory over Brevard Sunday. The Indians dropped a tough 83-77 contest against Queens last week. Catawba has two of the top five scorers in the league, with Taylor contributing 18.6 points per game while also leading the team in assists, steals and blocks while shooting 51 percent from the field. He ranks third in the SAC in points, fourth in steals and sixth in assists. KJ Arrington averages 17.9 points per game, good for fifth in the conference, adding 4.8 rebounds per contest. Jerrin Morrison contributes 14.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The Indians score 84.5 points per game, shooting 46.7 percent from the field.

Wednesday's game starts a span with the Bulldogs playing three of their next four contests in Cuddy Arena. Wingate hosts Anderson Saturday at 4 p.m. while hosting Mars Hill the following Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. The lone road game in the stretch is next Wednesday, when the 'Dogs travel to Charlotte to face third-ranked Queens at 8 p.m.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 10 years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.