Box Score BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The UVa-Wise men's basketball team played a hard-fought, Mountain East Conference road game Wednesday night but came out on the losing end of a 73-63 decision at West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A low-scoring affair in the first half, the Cavaliers (5-16, 3-12 MEC) stormed back from a slow start but were unable to make baskets late as the homestanding Bobcats (11-10, 8-7 MEC) scored 40 second-half points and shot 44 percent (11-of-25) in the final 20 minutes to claim the win.
 
It took UVa-Wise just over four minutes to score as West Virginia Wesleyan opened up the game with seven unanswered points. Trailing 9-2 after the first four and a half minutes of play, the Cavs went on a 16-3 run over the next seven minutes to take a six-point lead at 18-12 with just under nine minutes to go in the opening half.
 
A layup by junior guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) gave the Cavs a seven-point advantage with 7:26 remaining in the half, it would be the largest lead for UVa-Wise for the remainder of the night. The Bobcats outscored UVa-Wise 12-3 in the final four and a half minutes of the first half to retake the lead at 33-30 heading into the break.
 
The Cavs shot 37.9 percent (11-of-29) in the opening half and were only 3-of-12 (25 percent) from outside. Redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) scored 14 first-half points for UVa-Wise. West Virginia Wesleyan was held to 33.3 percent (10-of-30) shooting in the first half, including 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from deep.
 
After a pair of 3-pointers by the Bobcats in the first two minutes of the second half, West Virginia Wesleyan extended its lead to 39-33. A layup by redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus (London, England) capped an 11-3 Cavalier run that gave the lead back to UVa-Wise at 44-42 with just under 15 minutes remaining. Sophomore forward Leandro Amador (São Paulo, Brazil) made a layup with 11:20 to go, giving the Cavs a three-point, 48-45 lead before the Bobcats went on a 9-2 run over the next three minutes of play.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan extended its lead out to five twice before freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.) knocked down a 3-pointer to get UVa-Wise within two at 61-59 with 4:34 left. However, the Cavs were held to without a field goal for the rest of the game as the Bobcats scored five unanswered points over the next minute to build their lead to seven. The Cavs would get no closer than five points in the final three and a half minutes and were outscored 12-4 in the last four and a half minutes. A dunk by West Virginia Wesleyan's Luke Layhew with just over a minute left gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the game at 73-63.
 
UVa-Wise was held to 34.4 percent (11-of-32) shooting in the second half and made just two 3-pointers, while the Bobcats hit four treys and outrebounded the Cavs 22-20. All told, UVa-Wise shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field and 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from long distance. West Virginia Wesleyan finished shooting 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the floor and was 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Bobcats scored 19 points off of 13 Cav turnovers as UVa-Wise outscored West Virginia Wesleyan 22-16 in points in the paint.
 
Badmus led the Cavs with his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and collecting a game-high 18 rebounds. Sousa finished with 14 points and five boards, while Seals scored 12 points and dished out a team-high four assists. Hill Jr. had a nice game with eight points and three assists as Amador totaled six points for UVa-Wise.
 
Four different Bobcats scored in double figures led by a game-high 22 from Mo Berchie. West Virginia Wesleyan's Kevin Kangni finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Fred Brondsted tallied 12 points and Layhew posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards.
 
The Cavs return to the David J. Prior Convocation Center this weekend for a 4 p.m. matchup with Glenville State College Saturday, Feb. 4. Live play-by-play of Saturday's game can be heard on WDIC 92.1 FM – The Wolf, or online at wdicradio.com.
 
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