Box Score CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The UVa-Wise men's basketball team fell 93-80 at the University of Charleston Saturday evening in its Mountain East Conference opener. The Cavaliers (1-3, 0-1 MEC) were outrebounded by an overwhelming margin of 18 and the Golden Eagles (3-0, 1-0 MEC) shot at a mark of 58.6 percent (34-of-58) for the game to earn the victory.
 
UVa-Wise shot 42.6 percent (29-of-68) in the forty minutes and was unable to extend a one-point lead early in the second half. After a 10-6 lead at the beginning of the game, the Cavs found themselves down 10 at 31-21 before going on a 15-6 run over about a four minute period to make it a one-point game at 37-36. Forcing turnovers and stepping up its defensive effort, UVa-Wise was able to stay within a possession of the Golden Eagles, but the Cavs were unable to tie or take the lead heading into the half.
 
Trailing 42-40 after 20 minutes of play, UVa-Wise went 13-of-39 (39.4 percent) from the field in the opening half and were only 2-of-13 from distance. Contrarily, Charleston shot the ball at 58 percent (19-of-31) in the first half and connected on 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Despite leading by one early in the second half, the Cavs found themselves down for the remainder of the game. UVa-Wise hung around and continued to put pressure on Charleston, getting within six before the Golden Eagles pulled away from the Cavs in the final five minutes. Although UVa-Wise forced 19 Golden Eagle turnovers, the Cavs were unable to collect rebounds. Charleston outrebounded UVa-Wise 44-26, including 30-12 on the defensive end. Perhaps what the Cavs did best was protect the ball, only giving up seven turnovers, and creating seven steals.
 
The Golden Eagles went 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) from downtown and made 85 percent of their free throws, while UVa-Wise finished 6-of-25 (24 percent) from the 3-point line and made only 59.3 percent (16-of-27) of its foul shots.
 
Redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed four rebounds as redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus (London, England) earned 19 points and collected a team-high seven rebounds. The Cavs got a spark off the bench when freshman guard Chance Sheffey (Staunton, Va.) notched 16 points and four rebounds on 7-for-11 shooting. Freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.) and sophomore forward Leandro Amador (São Paulo, Brazil) each finished with 11 points, while Seals also dished out five assists and junior guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) made three steals.
 
Charleston got a double-double from forward Justin Coleman, who put up 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting and earned a game-high 17 rebounds. Shaq Speights scored a game-high 24 points for the Golden Eagles as guard Elliott Cole added 17 points and LeJavius Johnson another 12. Jonathan Joseph and Keir Anderson each contributed 10 points for Charleston, while Coleman dished out a team-high five assists and Anderson and Cole each grabbed seven boards.
 
The Cavs will now return to Wise for UVa-Wise's home opener Monday against West Virginia State. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. from inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
 
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