ATHENS, W.Va. - - The Cavalier men fell in a critical matchup to the Mountain Lions of Concord University on Saturday afternoon, 90-81.

Turnovers proved to be costly for UVa-Wise (13-15, 11-11 MEC) as the Cavs committed 12 to just four total turnovers for the Mountain Lions (16-12, 12-10 MEC). Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor on the night with UVa-Wise winning the rebounding battle, 44-42. The Cavs improved first half shooting tremendously, going 13-for-29 (44.8 percent) in the opening half while Concord hit 20-of-42 (47.6 percent) shots from the floor.

The Cavs would take a 4-2 lead early in the ball game and would not regain the lead until the second half. Concord's Tommy Bolte would give the Mountain Lions a 5-4 lead at 18:22 as the Mountain Lions sustained the advantage for the remainder of the half.

Concord would take a 41-22 lead at the 6:21 mark of the first half behind a jumper by Bolte. The Cavs continued to battle to get within eight points, 50-42, behind a layup by sophomore point guard Michal Seals before heading into the half.

Redshirt senior forward Taiwo Badmus led the Cavs in scoring in the first half with 14 points followed by sophomore guard Chance Sheffey who put up 11 points in the first half but found himself in foul trouble early with two heading into the second half.

Concord's Bolte led all scorers with 15 points in the opening half while B.J. Hamlett had 11 points with nine points coming from beyond the arc.

The Cavs were hindered by turnovers early in the game, committing eight turnovers compared to just one turnover for the Mountain Lions. Concord collected 14 points off of turnovers and added 15 points off the bench.

A 3-pointer by Michal Seals placed the Cavs within three to start the second half, 50-47. UVa-Wise would take a brief 56-55 lead with just over 16 minutes to play courtesy of an old-fashioned three-point play by Seals.

The Mountain Lions would regain the lead shortly after that as the two teams continued to trade baskets with the Cavs only down two points, 64-62, with 13:25 on the clock. Sheffey's jumper just 30 seconds later would tie the game up at 64-64.

UVa-Wise continued to stay within five points for the next several minutes but were unable to catchup to Concord as the Mountain Lions extended their lead to 10 points, 88-78, with two minutes left in regulation. Concord would earn its season-sweep of the Cavs by a final score of 90-81.

Cavs stayed consistent from the floor in both halfs, shooting 43.2 percent (16-for-37) in the second half while the Mountain Lions connected on 39.4 percent (13-for-33) of their shots from the field.

Concord's Bolte lead all scorers with 32 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Hamlet followed with 21 points while Darian Peterson had 14 for the Mountain Lions.

Badmus finished with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Seals posted 19 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and two steals on the night. Sheffey netted 17 points while sophomore forward Yesid Mosquera-Perea posted 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Next up, the Cavalier men will look to turn things around and make a run in the Mountain East Conference tournament next week. Going into the tournament UVa-Wise will be the #7 seed and will matchup up against #10 seed Glenville State College on Wednesday, Feb. 28 with tip scheduled for 6 p.m. in Charleston, W. Va.