Box Score WISE, Va. – UVa-Wise men's basketball hung with the second-ranked team in the nation for one half before West Liberty University shot lights out in the second half to defeat the Cavaliers (7-17, 5-13) 88-66 inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center Saturday evening. The visiting Hilltoppers (22-2, 16-2) outscored homestanding UVa-Wise 57-32 in the final 20 minutes of the game and shot 63.9 percent (23-of-36) in the second half to earn the Mountain East Conference road win.
 
The Cavs held a three-point, 34-31 advantage over West Liberty, who is ranked No. 2 in the nation according to the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II poll, at the half but could not maintain their strong defensive play. Despite holding the Hilltoppers to 36.4 percent (12-of-33) shooting in the first half, UVa-Wise gave up 32 points in the paint in the second half and was outrebounded 22-12.
 
Trailing for the first six and a half minutes of the game, the Cavs took their first lead after five-straight points from redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus (London, England). Badmus nailed a 3-pointer to give UVa-Wise its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 13:33 remaining in the half. Inspired play by the Cavs ensued as UVa-Wise outscored West Liberty 11-4 over a five minute span of play to build a six-point, 24-18 lead with just under eight minutes to go in the half. A free throw from redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) gave the Cavs their largest advantage of the day at eight (30-22) with about four and a half minutes to go before the break.
 
A 6-0 run by the Hilltoppers got West Liberty back to within two before Clay Guillozet knocked down his second 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with just under two minutes to play in the half. Neither team made a field goal for the rest of the half as freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.) made a pair of free throws to give UVa-Wise a 34-31 lead going into the locker room.
 
The Cavs shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) in the opening half as their stifling defense forced nine West Liberty turnovers, scoring 10 points off of those miscues. UVa-Wise made seven first-half steals and had seven assists on 12 made baskets at the half.
 
The Hilltoppers came out in the second half on a mission and quickly led by seven after a little over four minutes of play. West Liberty held the Cavs to without a field goal for the first 4:19 of the second half, outscoring UVa-Wise 13-3.
 
A 3-pointer by Seals trimmed down the deficit to four with just under 15 minutes to go and a layup by Badmus at the 14-minute mark did the same, but that would be as close as the Cavs would get for the remainder of the contest. The Hilltoppers outscored UVa-Wise 21-11 over the next six and a half minutes to mount a depleting 14-point lead at 69-55 with seven and a half minutes to go. West Liberty followed that up with a 10-0 run over a three minute span, taking a 79-56 advantage with only 4:19 left. A 3-pointer by the Hilltoppers' Devin Hoehn with 1:25 remaining gave West Liberty its largest lead of the day at 26 (88-62) before the Cavs scored the last four points of the game.
 
UVa-Wise was -10 in the rebound column and gave up 14 offensive boards that led to 12 West Liberty points. The Hilltoppers also collected 20 points off of 15 Cavalier turnovers. The Cavs finished the game shooting 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the floor, including going 5-for-18 (27.8 percent) from deep. West Liberty connected on 50.7 percent (35-of-69) of its shots and knocked down 10 three-pointers on 27 attempts (37 percent).
 
Badmus led the Cavs with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Seals finished with nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists. Freshman forward Tajh Eason (Newport News, Va.) scored a career-high 11 points off the bench and tied a career high in rebounds with seven. Freshman guard Chance Sheffey (Staunton, Va.) also notched 11 points as Sousa claimed seven points and four boards. Junior guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) had an exciting five points early in the first half and dished out a pair of assists.
 
Four different Hilltoppers scored in double figures led by 20 points from Dan Monteroso. Hoehn finished with 17 points and five rebounds, while Guillozet scored 16 points off the bench after going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. West Liberty's David Dennis tallied 12 points, six boards and five assists as Zac Grossenbacher claimed a game-high eight rebounds.
 
The Cavs will now hit the road for a trio of games starting Thursday, Feb. 16, when UVa-Wise takes on Notre Dame College for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff from South Euclid, Ohio. Fans can listen to the men's and women's basketball doubleheader online here.
 
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