WISE – Men's basketball suffered a 78-68 loss Wednesday night to the Tusculum Pioneers inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center. In the game, senior Chance Sheffey netted his 1,000th career point to become the 36th men's basketball player to accomplish the feat since becoming a four-year institution.
Four Cavalier men scored in double-figures led by sophomore Cameron Whiteside who netted a team-high 21 points connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the floor. Redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris added 11 points while redshirt junior Yesid Mosquera-Perea recorded 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
Tusculum (14-9, 9-6 SAC) took an early lead before UVA Wise (5-16, 1-14 SAC) came from behind to tie the game at 6-6 on a shot by Mosquera-Perea with 14:48 on the clock in the opening frame. The Pioneers quickly pulled ahead by double-digits, gaining a 19-8 advantage with just under 11 minutes to play in the half.
Freshman Izeah Parker's jumper in the paint with 7:27 to go cut the deficit to seven points, 23-16. The Pioneers extended the margin back to double-digits to head into the break with their largest lead of the half, 41-26.
Mosquera-Perea tallied a team-high eight points to start on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Whiteside followed with seven points in the first frame while Parker provided a team-high six boards. UVA Wise turned the ball over nine times to start the contest to just four turnovers for Tusculum while the Pioneers won the rebounding in the first half, 17-14.
UVA Wise opened the second half with a 7-3 run as the Cavs got within 11 points, 44-33, with 18:13 on the clock. The Pioneers continued to control the lead, gaining their largest advantage of the night, 62-41, with under 13 minutes to play.
The Cavs managed cro chip away at the Pioneers lead with the help of an 8-2 run to put UVA Wise down by 10 points, 70-60. Parris, Whiteside, and Sheffey combined for the Cavs final 18 points as the Pioneers held off the Cavs for a 78-68 win.
UVA Wise netted 20 points in the paint to 10 for Tusculum while the Cavaliers capitalized with nine points off of eight turnovers for the Pioneers in the second half.
The Cavs outscored Tusculum in the second frame 42-37 while UVA Wise shot 50 percent (14-for-28) from the floor. Sheffey notched all 13 of his points in the closing half while Whiteside tallied 14 to close out the game.
Parker collected a career-high 10 rebounds alongside six points and two blocks in the contest while senior Eric Okenchi registered eight boards.
On the night, UVA Wise posted 36 points in the paint to 32 for Tusculum while the Pioneers outrebounded the Cavs 39-33. UVA Wise shot 45.1 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from three, and 63 percent from the free throw line.
Head coach Blake Mellinger's team will return to action on the road this weekend as the Cavalier men take on the Wolves of Newberry College at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
