Box Score WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise men's basketball team avenged its overtime loss earlier this season at Wheeling Jesuit University by upsetting the 18th-ranked Cardinals 83-81 Thursday night in the David J. Prior Convocation Center. The Cavaliers (7-16, 5-12 MEC) won their third-straight home game and claimed back-to-back wins for the second time this season with the victory over visiting Wheeling Jesuit (18-5, 12-5 MEC).
 
The Cardinals, who are ranked No. 18 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II poll and who were ranked as high as No. 6 earlier this season, shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the field in the game but were unable to come up with a game-tying basket in the final seconds. In a contest that saw 19 lead changes and 14 ties, UVa-Wise and Wheeling Jesuit went back-and-forth for much of the game with neither team able to gain much separation from the other. The Cavs led for the majority of the second half and began to pull away with eight and a half minutes remaining but could not keep the Cardinals at bay for long.
 
After an early 8-4 lead by the visitors, UVa-Wise began to settle in as redshirt sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) and freshman guard Chance Sheffey (Staunton, Va.) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to give the Cavs their first advantage at 12-10 five minutes in. Following a dunk by Wheeling Jesuit's Haywood Highsmith, the Cardinals took their largest lead of the night at five (24-19) with 9:27 to go in the half. UVa-Wise responded with five unanswered points from freshman point guard Michal Seals (Lancaster, Pa.), tying the score up at 24 apiece.
 
Except for a four-point Wheeling Jesuit lead with just under seven minutes to go, the two teams remained within one possession of each other for the remainder of the opening half. Redshirt junior forward Taiwo Badmus (London, England) hit a jumper with just under 30 second left in the half to tie up the score at 40-40 heading into the break.
 
The Cavs were held to 42.9 percent (12-of-28) shooting in the first half, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from downtown, but held a 21-17 advantage on the boards. Wheeling Jesuit shot 46.9 percent (15-of-32) in the opening half and went 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
UVa-Wise outscored the Cardinals 8-2 in the opening minute and a half minutes of the second half to take a six-point, 48-42 lead after a Sousa layup. Wheeling Jesuit outpaced the Cavs 13-5 over the next four minutes of play as the Cardinals got a tip-in from Dominique Tham to go up by two at 55-53.
 
A 3-pointer by freshman forward Yesid Mosquera-Perea (Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia) around the 10-minute mark of the second half electrified the crowd and started a UVa-Wise run that gave the Cavs their largest lead of the contest. Capped by a layup from freshman forward Tajh Eason (Newport News, Va.), UVa-Wise outscored Wheeling Jesuit 11-3 over a three and a half minute period to build a nine-point, 74-65 advantage with just over seven minutes remaining. The Cardinals quickly came back to make it a two-point game at 76-74 with just under five minutes to go after a ferocious dunk by Wheeling Jesuit's Pat Moseh.
 
The Cavs found themselves up by one at 82-81 with 2:16 left as neither team made a field goal for the remainder of the game. In an eerily similar situation to the game at Wheeling Jesuit in January, UVa-Wise got the ball back with just over 30 seconds remaining following a Cardinals turnover. Still leading by one at 82-81, Eason fought for an offensive rebound following a Badmus missed 3-pointer and was fouled with exactly nine seconds on the clock. In the double bonus, Eason hit his second free throw to give the Cavs a two-point advantage at 83-81. Following a Cardinals timeout, Wheeling Jesuit's Jarin Hilson drove to the rack but his layup went off the rim and the defensive rebound was controlled by Eason to give UVa-Wise the victory.
 
Despite being outscored in points in the paint 46-34, the Cavs were only -1 in the rebound margin. Quite different than the 88-81 overtime loss in Wheeling back on Jan. 16 in which UVa-Wise was outrebounded 49-30. The Cavs shot the ball at 49.1 percent (27-of-55) for the game and went 8-for-24 (33 percent) from outside after shooting 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field in the second half. The Cardinals were equally as impressive in the second half, going 17-for-30 (56.7 percent) from the floor and finishing 8-of-20 (40 percent) from deep. One of the biggest differences was UVa-Wise's 21 made free throws, compared to Wheeling Jesuit going 9-for-17 at the charity stripe.
 
Sousa led three Cavs in double figures with a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds. Badmus collected his 11th double-double of the season with 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Seals earned 21 points and dished out five assists. Sheffey finished with seven points and Mosquera-Perea notched seven off the bench. In 18 minutes as a reserve, Eason grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and scored five points.
 
Four different Cardinals scored in double figures led by Kyle Ritz' 16 points and seven boards. Moseh and Highsmith each posted 14 points and seven rebounds as Hilson tallied 14 points and handed out a game-high eight assists.
 
The Cavs will wrap up their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon when they take on second-ranked West Liberty University at 4 p.m. 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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