Box Score WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise men's basketball team picked up its first Mountain East Conference win of the season with a 78-69 win over Shepherd University Thursday evening in the David J. Prior Convocation Center. Behind redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus' (London, England) career-high 30 points, the Cavaliers (3-9, 1-5 MEC) shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) from the floor and made 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from behind the arc to upend the visiting Rams (6-6, 3-3 MEC).
 
UVa-Wise outscored Shepherd 43-33 in the second half after trailing for the majority of the first half. The Cavs outscored the Rams 38-26 in points in the paint and owned a 14-4 advantage in fast break points, while holding Shepherd to 39.7 percent (25-of-63) shooting for the game including 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) from long range.
 
An emphatic dunk by Badmus gave UVa-Wise an early 4-3 lead after nearly three minutes of play before Shepherd responded with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes of play. The Rams took their largest lead of the half and the game a little over six minutes into the contest when AJ Carr laid it in to make it an eight-point game at 15-7.
 
The Cavs worked their way back, outscoring Shepherd 15-8 over the next five and a half minutes of play as a 3-pointer by redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) made it a one point game at 23-22. The Rams extended their lead back out to seven after a three by Steffen Davis made it 34-27 with 2:44 to go in the half. UVa-Wise went on an 8-2 run over the final two and a half minutes of the half as Sousa connected on another three right before the break to make it a one-point game at 36-35.
 
UVa-Wise shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) in the opening half and held Shepherd to 36.8 percent (14-of-38) from the field, but the Rams connected on six 3-pointers. Badmus had 12 points and five rebounds after one half of play, including two impressive throw downs.
 
A 3-pointer from freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.) to open up the second half gave UVa-Wise its first lead since early in the first half. Badmus made a layup five minutes into the second half, putting the Cavs up by five at 46-41. UVa-Wise would not trail for the remainder of the game and outscored the Rams 16-7 over the next seven and a half minutes to take its largest lead of the day at 14 (62-48) with 7:28 to play.
 
Shepherd responded with a 6-0 run after a pair of Cav turnovers, making it an eight-point game at 62-54 with 5:49 remaining. A 3-pointer by Gavin McTavish with 2:45 left got the Rams within five at 68-63 but a Badmus lay-in put the Cavs back out in front by three possessions. Shepherd's AJ Carr knocked down a pair of foul shots moments later to get the Rams back within five with 2:14 to go. However, clutch free throws from freshman guard Chance Sheffey (Staunton, Va.) and Badmus down the stretch, in addition to a Sousa layup in the final seconds secured the victory for UVa-Wise.

The Cavs went 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the field in the second half and made five of their seven 3-point attempts.
 
Along with his career-high 30 points, Badmus collected a team-high 11 rebounds to earn his fourth double-double of the season. Sousa finished with 20 points, while Seals and Sheffey scored nine. Seals grabbed a career-high seven boards and dished out a game-high seven assists as Sheffey tied his career highs with six rebounds and four assists. Junior guard DeMarcus Edwards (Washington, D.C.) earned six points for the Cavs off the bench, going 2-of-4 from downtown.
 
Carr led four different Shepherd players in double figures with a near double-double of 18 points and nine rebounds. Skyler Roman added 15 points for the Rams as Davis finished with 13 and McTavish scored 12.
 
The Cavs remain in Wise this weekend and will take on Urbana University Sunday, Jan. 8 in the Prior Center, tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. Just like the last two home games, admission is free to the men's and women's doubleheader.
 
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