WISE - - Cavalier men earned another huge win at home against Shepherd University, 70-63, on Saturday afternoon. UVa-Wise took out the fourth-ranked team in the Mountain East Conference behind a second-consecutive 30-point game by redshirt senior forward Taiwo Badmus as he netted a game-high 31 points in the win.
UVa-Wise shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27) from the floor in the first half with Badmus hitting 50 percent from the floor with 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Yesid Mosquera-Perea had eight points, going 3-for-5 from the field in the first half and 2-for-4 from the beyond the arc.
Cavs went up 18-13 behind a 3-pointer by Badmus with 11:51 on the clock. Shepherd would tie the game up at 19 apiece with 7:44 left to go in the first. Down by four points with 3:59 on the clock, sophomore guard Chance Sheffey would hit a three to get the Cavs within one-point, 28-27.
Another 3-pointer by Mosquera-Perea put the score at 33-32 with Shepherd ahead going into halftime. The Rams went 14-for-29 (48.3 percent) from the field in the first half, struggling from beyond the arc hitting only 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) shots.
Sheffey would knock down another 3-pointer to start the second half, putting the Cavs ahead 35-33. Mosquera-Perea would complete a four-point play to give UVa-Wise a 10-point lead, 49-39, at the 13:52 mark.
The Rams and UVa-Wise tied the game up again at 54 apiece with 6:15 on the clock. A quick 9-0 run would put the Cavs ahead 63-54 with a little less than four minutes to go. UVa-Wise would maintain the lead to earn the 70-63 victory over the Rams.
The Cavs shot 48.1 percent in the second half while the Rams shot 44.8 percent from the field. Shepherd continued to struggle from downtown, going 2-for-8 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.UVa-Wise went 25-for-54 (46.3 percent) from the floor in the game while Shepherd hit 27-of-58 (46.6 percent) shots in the loss.
Badmus finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds while Mosquera-Perea had 17 points and six rebounds.
The Cavalier men will host Urbana University and Notre Dame College next week to close out the team's four-game home stand.
