WISE, Va. – UVa-Wise men's basketball returns to the David J. Prior Convocation Center for one game Saturday in the midst of two three-game road trips. The Cavaliers take on the University of Charleston at 4 p.m.
 
Storylines – vs. University of Charleston
The Cavs face the Golden Eagles for the second time this season after suffering a 93-80 road loss in the two teams' Mountain East Conference opener back on Nov. 19. In that game, UVa-Wise held a one-point lead early in the first half before Charleston pulled away and extended its lead to 11 with eight minutes to go. The Cavs made it a four-point game with 4:15 left but were outscored 19-10 in the final four minutes. The Golden Eagles shot 58.6 percent in the game and held UVa-Wise to 42.6 percent from the field, including 6-of-25 from long range.
 
Redshirt sophomore Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) led five different Cavs in double figures with 20 points as redshirt junior Taiwo Badmus (London, England) earned 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Six different Charleston players reached double figures led by junior guard Shaq Speights' game-high 24 points and senior forward Justin Coleman's double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds.
 
The Golden Eagles currently sit in eighth place in the MEC standings with a 3-7 league mark and a 9-7 overall record. Charleston is coming off of a 76-70 victory over West Virginia State Thursday night in the Golden Eagles' brand new Innovation Center. The win snapped a six-game losing streak by Charleston that included a 102-74 road win at Shepherd University. UVa-Wise defeated Shepherd in Wise (78-69) for its first conference win of the season earlier this month on Jan. 5.
 
The Golden Eagles are led by fourth-year head coach Dwaine Osborne and feature talented senior guard Elliott Cole, who is averaging a team-best 18.2 points per game. Coleman leads Charleston in rebounding with 7.6 per game and assists at 2.6 per contests.
 
The Cavs are 1-5 against the Mountain Lions since joining the MEC with their lone win coming during the 2014-15 season. Its only league win that year, UVa-Wise won a close 77-75 contest at Charleston on Valentine's Day of 2015.
 
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise stopped a four-game skid Thursday night at Concord University, routing the Mountain Lions by 28 points (98-70) after outscoring the home team 57-32 in the second half. The win was the Cavs' first true road win this season and first in over a year, last defeating Urbana University (85-82) in Ohio on Jan. 10, 2016.
 
Badmus scored a career-high 42 points in the win over Concord, making a career-high 14 field goals and connecting on six 3-pointers while also grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. It was the most points scored by any Cav this season. Sousa finished with 21 points and six boards as the Cavs shot 54 percent from the field in the game, including 50 percent (14-of-28) from behind the arc.
 
Badmus' 22.2 points per game and freshman point guard Michal Seals' 5.7 assists per contest are both 3rd-best in the conference.
 
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