WISE – Four Cavalier men posted double-digit points Saturday afternoon as Catawba College outlasted UVA Wise in a one-point, 67-66, victory for the Indians. Redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris had a game-high 21 points in the loss.
Senior Chance Sheffey knocked down a pair of free throws from the charity stripe to put UVA Wise up 66-65 with under 20 seconds left in the game, but two shots from the foul line by Catawba's Marcell Haskett with seven seconds to play put the Indians back on top as they held on to edge the Cavs, 67-66.
The game went back and forth in the early minutes before UVA Wise pulled ahead by seven, 21-14, with 11:13 left in the opening frame. Back-to-back shots from downtown by Parris extended the advantage for UVA Wise to 13 points, 29-16, with a little over seven minutes to play in the frame.
Catawba continued to chip away at the lead, trailing UVA Wise 37-31 into the half. The Cavs posted 16 points in the paint in the first half while Catawba had 12 to start the game with each team recording 18 boards in the first half.
UVA shot 50 percent (14-for-28) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from three, and went 4-for-5 (80 percent) from the foul line to open the contest.
The Cavaliers were scoreless through the first six minutes as Catawba took the lead, until a Parris' three stopped the scoring drought with UVA Wise trailing 43-40 at the 13:31 mark.
The Indians extended the lead and pulled ahead by eight points midway through the second half, 52-44. A three-point play by senior Eric Okenchi tied the game for the third time in the frame, 59-59, with just over five minutes left. The visitors regained the advantage before a pair of free throws for sophomore Cameron Whiteside knotted the contest once more, 63-63, with 2:31 to go, but Catawba managed to get back in front late and held on for the one-point win.
Both team posted 12 points in the paint in the closing half while UVA Wise was aided with eight points off the bench as Catawba posted seven second-chance points.
The Cavs shot 28 percent (7-for-25) from the floor, 9.1 percent (1-for-11) from behind the arc, 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the free throw line in the second half.
Parris led the team with his 21 points while Whiteside posted 16 points and team-high seven boards. Sheffey added 11 points while Okenchi registered 12 points and five rebounds off the bench. Freshman Izeah Parker and redshirt junior Yesid Mosquera-Perea each collected six boards in the loss as the team totaled 36 boards to 42 for the Indians.
On the night, UVA Wise shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the field, 25 percent (6-for-24) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (18-for-27) from the free throw line. UVA Wise outscored Catawba in the paint 28-24 while both teams netted 10 points off of turnovers in the contest.
Head coach Blake Mellinger's squad will return to action at the David J. Prior Convocation Center Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against the Pioneers of Tusculum University.
