Box Score WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise men's basketball team won its second-straight game Saturday afternoon in the David J. Prior Convocation Center by earning a 82-68 Mountain East Conference win over the University of Charleston. For the first time since November of 2013, the Cavaliers (5-13, 3-9 MEC) have won back-to-back games.
 
UVa-Wise never trailed and led by as much as 22 in the second half against the visiting Golden Eagles (10-8, 4-8 MEC). The Cavs held Charleston to 34.4 percent (11-of-32) shooting in the opening half and were efficient offensively in the second half, going 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) from the floor and 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from deep.
 
Setting the tone early and playing with plenty of energy, UVa-Wise took an early 14-point lead when redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus (London, England) capped a 10-0 Cav run with a 3-pointer seven minutes into the contest. Another trey from Badmus with just under seven minutes to go in the opening half gave the Cavs their largest lead of the half at 29-12. UVa-Wise continued to hold 17-point advantage and led 33-16 with just over five minutes to play before the half.
 
The Golden Eagles kept the Cavs scoreless over the next four minutes as Charleston went on an 11-0 run to get within six at 33-27 with a minute to play in the half. Junior guard DeMarcus Edwards (Washington, D.C.) made a much needed 3-point basket from the left corner to extended UVa-Wise's lead back out to nine before the Golden Eagles' LeJavius Johnson connected on a jumper before the break. The Cavs took a 36-29 lead into the break.
 
UVa-Wise shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) in the first half and went 5-of-11 from distance, while holding the Golden Eagles to just one made 3-pointer. Charleston held a 21-19 advantage on the glass at the break after earning eight offensive rebounds in the half. Badmus had 13 points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of play as redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) scored 12 first-half points.
 
The Cavs began the second half much like they did the first half, keeping the Golden Eagles scoreless for the first three minutes and 12 seconds and scoring six unanswered points. An old-fashioned 3-point play from Badmus capped an 8-0 UVa-Wise run and gave the Cavs an 18-point lead at 50-32 with 15 minutes to go.
 
Charleston outscored UVa-Wise 10-4 over the next two minutes of play to trim its deficit to 12 before four straight points from freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.) put the Cavs back out by 16 with 11 and a half minutes remaining. Four consecutive points by the Golden Eagles' Elliott Cole got Charleston back to within 12 with just under eight minutes to play, however, that would be as close as the visiting team would get for the rest of the game.
 
UVa-Wise outscored the Golden Eagles 14-6 over the next four and a half minutes of play to build its largest lead of the night at 22, 75-53 with 4:27 to go. Charleston went on an 11-3 run over the next two and a half minutes to get within 14 at the 1:39 mark before Seals finished off a conventional 3-point play with just over a minute left. The Golden Eagles hit four free throws in the final minute as junior guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) connected on one of his own.
 
The Cavs shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the field for the game and went 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from beyond the arc, while holding Charleston to 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the floor and 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from long range. UVa-Wise outscored the Golden Eagles 36-34 in points in the paint and outrebounded Charleston 36-34. Charleston owned a 35-12 advantage in points off the bench.
 
Sousa led three different Cavs in double figures with a game-high 23 points on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown, to go along with five rebounds. Badmus continued his excellent offensive attack as of late, scoring 21 points and making 4-of-5 3-point attempts. Grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds, Badmus recorded his eighth double-double of the season. Despite two first-half fouls, Seals scored all of his 19 points in the second half and dished out a game-high eight assists. Freshman guard Chance Sheffey (Staunton, Va.) earned six boards as freshman guard Tajh Eason scored five points in eight minutes of action off the bench.
 
The Golden Eagles got a double-double from Johnson with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, not to mention a team-high three assists. Charleston's Shaq Speights hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points off the bench, while Keir Anderson collected 10 points off the bench as well. Justin Coleman collected seven rebounds for the Golden Eagles and Jaylen Hinton added eight points. UVa-Wise did a great job on Charleston's leading scorer, holding senior guard Cole to just four points.
 
The Cavs will now embark on their second three-game road trip starting with a visit to Shepherd University Thursday, Jan. 26. Tipoff from Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
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