INSTITUTE, W.Va. - - UVa-Wise returned to action today as the Cavaliers were defeated by Johnson C. Smith University, 79-58, in day two of West Virginia State's Earl Lloyd Classic. The Golden Bulls walked away undefeated on the weekend while the Cavaliers now start the season 0-2.
Senior forward Taiwo Badmus put UVa-Wise on the scoreboard first to start the game, hitting a pair of free throws. The Cavs extended their lead to six, going ahead 21-15 over the Golden Bulls behind a three-pointer by sophomore point guard Michal Seals with 9:05 on the clock.
Johnson C. Smith came back to tie the game, 22-22, with 7:48 left in the half. A technical foul called on sophomore forward Yesid Mosquera-Perea with 5:30 on the clock resulted in a pair of made free throws by the Golden Bulls' Robert Davis with JCSU taking a 31-25 advantage over the Cavs.
Another Seals three-pointer allowed UVa-Wise to get within five points, 33-28, with a little less than four minutes left in the first half. A jumper by the Golden Bulls' Cayse Minor would put JCSU up eight points, 39-31, over UVa-Wise heading into halftime.
JCSU's Davis posted 17 points and four assists in the first half while Roddric Ross had 10 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field. The Golden Bulls shot 14-of-32 (43.8 percent) from the floor and recorded 17 rebounds in the opening half.
UVa-Wise posted 22 rebounds while shooting 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from the floor in the first half. Seals led the Cavs in points with 10 and added four assists.
A jumper by sophomore guard Chance Sheffey got things going in the second half, cutting the Golden Bulls lead to six, 39-33. Following a layup by Minor, JCSU held a 50-36 lead over UVa-Wise only a few minutes into the half.
With 6:32 left in the game, the Golden Bulls took a 15 point advantage over the Cavs, 68-53. JCSU would go on an 11-0 run before it was halted by a three-pointer by UVa-Wise redshirt freshman guard Michael Osborne with 44 seconds left to play.
The Golden Bulls' Minor went 3-of-4 in the second half with eight points and four rebounds while Ross scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. Seals had 11 points in the second half off of 5-of-9 shooting while Mosquera-Perea went 3-of-3 with seven points and two rebounds.
JCSU shot 28-of-62 (45.2 percent) from the floor, led by Davis who shot 8-of-18 with 25 points and seven assists. The Golden Bulls' Ross finished the game just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds and 19 points off of 8-of-13 shooting.
Seals led UVa-Wise in points with 21, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and added six rebounds and five assists while Mosquera-Perea went 4-of-8 with nine points and eight rebounds. The Cavs shot 20-of-58 (34.5 percent) and posted 39 rebounds in the loss.
Men's basketball will host Carson-Newman in its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside the Prior Center.
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