Box Score JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – UVa-Wise men's basketball fell just short Wednesday night inside Carson-Newman University's Holt Fieldhouse, dropping a 96-91 decision in overtime. The Cavaliers (1-2) led for the majority of the game but a late second-half scoring drought and a 7-1 run by the host Eagles (3-0) over the last three minutes and thirty seconds of regulation pushed the game into overtime. After going up by five in the extra period, UVa-Wise was unable to stop a 13-3 run by Carson-Newman that closed out the game and gave the Eagles the win.
 
Both teams shot the ball at 50 percent or better for the game as the Cavs went 34-of-68 from the field and connected on 38 percent (10-of-26) of their 3-point attempts. Carson-Newman shot slightly better at 54 percent (33-of-61) and went 10-for-24 (42 percent) from deep. Redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) scored a career-high 35 points and redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus (London, England) collected a double-double with 27 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
 
The Cavs jumped out to a 12-8 lead at the first timeout and continued their strong shooting to extend that lead to 10 at 23-13 with about 12 minutes remaining in the opening half. UVa-Wise shot the ball at 60 percent the first eight minutes of the game. However, the Eagles would go on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes after three layups, a 3-pointer and a pair of foul shots to retake the lead 24-23 with nine minutes to go in the half.
 
The score remained close for the next three minutes and 15 seconds but an 8-0 Cavalier run capped by a layin from sophomore forward Leandro Amador (São Paulo, Brazil) gave UVa-Wise a 39-31 advantage with 2:46 to go in the half. The Cavs took a 45-38 lead into the break after shooting 51.5 percent (17-of-33) in the first 20 minutes of play as Badmus and Sousa combined for 29 first-half points. The Eagles shot at a mark of 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the first half as Malik Abraham led the way for Carson-Newman with 10 points.
 
UVa-Wise continued to shoot well in the second half and began to collect some hard-fought rebounds after being outworked on the glass in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Cavs increased their advantage to 11 with 11 minutes to go after two consecutive buckets by redshirt junior guard Desmon Shaver (Charlottesville, Va.). Carson-Newman stormed back over the next two minutes to cut the Cavs lead down to three after 8-0 run. However, UVa-Wise responded with a run of its own as Sousa scored nine-straight points to give the Cavs their largest lead of the game at 73-61 with seven minutes to go.
 
A deep wing 3-pointer by Sousa as the shot clock expired gave UVa-Wise an eight-point lead with 3:37 remaining but that would be the last field goal the Cavs would make for the rest of regulation. Three Eagle layups made it a two-point game at 82-80 with 1:58 to go before a shot clock violation at the 1:21 mark gave the ball back to Carson-Newman. The Eagles turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Badmus collected a huge offensive rebound off of a Sousa 3-point miss and was fouled. However, the forward was only able to hit one of two foul shots before Carson-Newman's Abraham tied up the game at 83 with a 3-point dagger.
 
With 35 seconds remaining, the Eagles called a timeout before UVa-Wise's possession. The Cavs worked the clock down to inside 10 seconds before freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.) had to hoist up a three from the top of the key, the 3-point shot was good but it was one second after the shot clock expired. A half court heave at the buzzer by Carson-Newman's Charles Clark fell short, sending the game into overtime.
 
The Cavs jumped out early in the extra period and led by five at 88-83 with four minutes remaining after an Amador layup and a Sousa three. Both teams would go scoreless for the next minute and a half before six-straight Carson-Newman points gave the lead back to the Eagles with just over a minute to play. Badmus hit a free throw to tie up the game at 89 but a jumper by the Eagles' Shaun Jones and a missed 3-pointer by Sousa forced the Cavs to foul with under 30 seconds remaining and down 91-89. The Eagles went 1-for-2 at the line but elected to foul Seals instead of giving UVa-Wise a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer. Seals sunk both free-throws with 10 seconds left to make it 92-91, but four made foul shots by Carson-Newman and a Cavalier turnover down the stretch gave the home team the 96-91 overtime victory.
 
Sousa finished the game going 14-for-23 from the field, including 6-for-12 from 3-point land, while Badmus connected on 9-of-16 shots and made three blocks. Seals earned 10 points and dished out a team-high five assists as junior guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 10 and grabbed four boards. The Cavs outscored the Eagles 46-44 in the paint and won the rebound margin by one (35-34), but only got seven points off the bench compared to 30 bench points from Carson-Newman.
 
Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference First Team selection Clark led the Eagles with 25 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting. Abraham claimed 18 points for Carson-Newman, while preseason All-SAC First Team performer Sawyer Williams finished with 16 points, a team-high four assists and six boards. The Eagles also got 12 points from Zack Pangallo, nine points from Jones and six boards from Mason Bates.
 
The Cavs will open up Mountain East Conference play this weekend with a trip to the University of Charleston Saturday, tipoff is set for 4 p.m. from the Charleston Catholic High School Athletic Complex.
 
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