Storylines – vs. Catawba College
Currently ranked third in the South Atlantic Conference, Catawba College comes to Wise with a 13-6 overall mark and are 8-5 in the South Atlantic Conference. Head coach Rob Perron's team is coming off of a two-game win streak, picking up a pair of SAC victories at home against Tusculum and in overtime on the road at Newberry this past week. The team won six of their first seven league matchups before suffering a four game losing skid that was snapped against the Pioneers last Saturday. Senior Devin Cooper provides Catawba with a team-leading 19.4 points per game (sixth in the SAC) while four others are also averaging double-figure scoring in senior Marcell Haskett (16.8 ppg), senior Daquan Lilly (11.4 ppg), junior Larry McLeod (10.9 ppg), and senior Malik Constantine (10.3 ppg). Lilly's team-high 7.6 rebounds per game rank him fifth in the conference while Cooper's team-leading 4.1 assists per game place him fourth among league leaders. As a team, Catawba is averaging 88.8 points per game (second in the SAC), 40.8 rebounds per game (third in the SAC) and 7.2 steals per game (fifth in the SAC). Coach Perron's team will conclude their three-game road tilt Wednesday at Wingate for a 7:30 p.m. tip against the Bulldogs.
About UVA Wise
Back home after two weeks on the road, UVA Wise will attempt to snap its losing streak as the team opens up the month of February against Catawba College inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center. The Cavaliers fell in their final game of three-straight road contests to the Lions of Mars Hill Wednesday night, 82-74. In the loss, three Cavalier men posted double-digit points in sophomore
Cameron Whiteside (26 points), senior
Tajh Eason (15 points), and redshirt junior
Yesid Mosquera-Perea (10 points). Against the Lions, UVA Wise shot 41.3 percent from the field, 76.2 percent from the charity stripe, and just 25 percent from behind the arc. Whiteside's 20.2 points per game this season place him third in the South Atlantic Conference while ranking second in the league in field goals per game (7.2), and seventh in the conference with his team-leading 7.1 rebounds per contest. Redshirt sophomore
Briggs Parris and senior
Chance Sheffey also find themselves in the top-five among SAC leaders with Parris' three three-point field goals per game (third in the SAC) and Sheffey's team-best 5.2 assists per game (third in the SAC). In the league, UVA Wise ranks fourth in free throw percentage (75.1 percent) and assists per game (15.5), third in three-point field goal percentage defense (31.4 percent), and sixth in defensive rebounds per game (26.7). Following Saturday's contest, the Cavalier men will return to the Prior Center to face Tusculum University Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
