JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – UVA Wise men's basketball dropped a 78-69 decision against Carson-Newman University Wednesday night. Four Cavaliers scored in double-figures against the Eagles led by sophomore Cameron Whiteside who had a game-high 18 points in the loss.
Carson-Newman (7-10, 4-7 SAC) held the lead for much of the contest, going up by as many as 11 points in the second half as UVA Wise (5-11, 1-10 SAC) struggled to come from behind.
After tying the game twice in the first five minutes, the Eagles took a three point lead, 10-7, with 14:50 left in the first half. Whiteside's steal with less than six minutes to play led to two points for the sophomore guard as he put the Cavs back in front 25-24.
Redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris capped off a 10-0 run for UVA Wise with 4:32 to play in the first frame as the Cavs led the Eagles 28-24. The two teams knotted the game with just over two minutes to play as Carson-Newman closed out the half on a 6-2 run to take a 36-32 lead into the half.
The half saw four ties and six lead changes while the Cavs posted 12 points in the paint and seven points off of turnovers. Whiteside was the only player to post double-figures in the first frame with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and a game-high four steals. Redshirt junior Yesid Mosquera-Perea collected a game-high eight boards to open the game.
UVA Wise managed to cut Carson-Newman's advantage to one point three times in the first three minutes of the second half before a Parris three-pointer tied the game for the fifth time, 43-43, with 16:22 to play. The Eagles responded scoring nine-straight points to extend their lead with 12:19 on the clock. Carson-Newman pulled ahead by 11 points, 59-48, for its largest lead of the game with a little over 10 minutes to go.
Senior Chance Sheffey and freshman Izeah Parker combined for a 5-0 run for the Cavs to put UVA Wise down by two points, 64-62, with 5:29 left. Carson-Newman was able to hold on to the lead as the Eagles picked up their fourth league win.
Sheffey finished the second half with 10 points and added three assists. Senior Tajh Eason posted eight points while Whiteside and Parker each added six points to close out the half.
Sheffey ended the game with 17 points, tying his season-high five field goals, and a team-high five assists while going a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. Eason added a season-high 11 points off the bench, connecting on a trio of shots from downtown, while Parker had 10 points in the loss.
Mosquera-Perea grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while the Cavs collected a total of 28 boards to 45 for the Eagles. UVA Wise recorded eight steals while Carson-Newman tallied 15 turnovers to nine for the Cavs.
UVA Wise shot 36.9 percent from the field, 26.9 percent from three, and 73.7 percent from the free throw line on the night.
Head coach Blake Mellinger's team will take on Anderson University Saturday for game two of a three-game road tilt. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. inside Abney Athletic Center.
