BUCKHANNON, W.Va. - - The Cavalier men ended their losing streak as they took on West Virginia Wesleyan (2-17, 2-11 MEC) on the road on Wednesday night. The Cavaliers (7-12, 5-8 MEC) defeated the Bobcats, 61-50, to earn their first victory of 2018.
The Cavaliers got off to a slow start as Wesleyan took a 7-5 lead at the 12:23 mark. Down three points, Ricardo Hill Jr. hit a three to tie the game up at 13 apiece with 5:36 left in the half. The Cavs took a four-point advantage heading into halftime with the scoreboard reading 22-18.
UVa-Wise continued to struggle with shooting in the first half, going just 9-for-27 (33.3 percent) while the Bobcats also had trouble scoring, hitting only 8-of-28 shots in the opening half. Both teams shot 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the first.
The Cavaliers improved shooting in the second half, making 9-of-18 (50 percent) shots from the field and hitting 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) shots from downtown. A three-point basket by sophomore forward Yesid Mosquera-Perea would extend the Cavs lead to seven points, 25-18, to open the second half.
Another three-pointer by Hill put the Cavaliers up by 12 points, 45-33, with 10:44 on the clock. The Bobcats attempted to chip away at the lead and were able to get within seven points, 48-41, with 5:40 to go. A final three-point shot by Badmus and made shots at the foul line for the Cavaliers helped to secure the road victory.
The Bobcats went 22-for-53 (41.5 percent) in the loss, led by Kam Cooper who had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
The Cavs finished shooting 18-for-45 (40 percent) on the night and making 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from the free throw line. UVa-Wise won the rebound battle 31-28, led by Badmus who finished with nine rebounds in the win. Seals' followed Badmus with the sophomore point guard collecting seven rebounds on the night.
Badmus led all scorers with 32 points while Hill scored a season-high 13 points. Mosquera-Perea went 5-for-9 from the field to get 11 points in the win.
The Cavaliers will return home to host Glenville State on Saturday with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
