WISE - - Carson-Newman sophomore Braelyn Wykle scored a game-high 30 points but it was her involvement in a controversial play with nine seconds to play that told the story in the No. 12 Eagles' 92-89 victory over UVA Wise Wednesday.

Leading 86-84, Carson-Newman (11-1, 11-1 SAC) called timeout with nine ticks remaining looking to make foul shots to secure the win. The ball was inbounded to Wykle in the front court who then stepped back court, but a foul was whistled against Caitlyn Ross leading to two foul shots for the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year candidate. Wykle made both charity shots to make it a two-possession game effectively ending the contest.

UVA Wise (10-3, 9-3 SAC) would get a 3-pointer by Mackenzie King to make it a one-point contest with under two seconds to play only to see Wykle make two more free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers would be unable to get off a shot before the final horn providing the final margin of three.

The lost opportunity to tie or win the game down the stretch was heartbreaking for Jamie Cluesman's crew who had battled back from a 14-point second half deficit.

Redshirt senior Kalee Johnson and Ross spurred the comeback effort. Johnson scored a career-best 28 points while grabbing 12 rebounds in the game while Ross notched the second triple double of her career. The sophomore netted 24 points, tied a career-high with 14 assists and corralled 10 rebounds.

UVA Wise began its comeback bid with 6:57 to play in the third quarter when Ross found Ada Stanley inside for a deuce. The bucket was the start of a 9-to-2 scoring spurt for the hosts that cut the lead to 55-49 following a pair of foul shots by Johnson.

Ross would eventually tie the game at 61 with 3:24 remaining in the period when she canned one of her two made triples on the evening.

The Eagles would run the lead back to seven with a 9-to-2 scoring run of their own and would go to the fourth quarter leading 70-65.

For much of the fourth quarter, the Carson-Newman lead would hover between one and two possessions. The guests seemingly put the game away with a jumper by Harli Smith with 3:31 to play that ran the score to 84-77.

UVA Wise had one more run up its sleeve. Ross canned her second 3-pointer of the game to make it a four-point game and after a defensive stop Nia Vanzant scored off a Ross assist to cut the lead to two with 76 seconds to play.

Carson-Newman's Lindsay Taylor drilled two free throws to run the lead back to four only to see Vanzant answer with a bucket.

UVA Wise would get a stop on the next defensive possession but would be unable to board the miss which set up the end of game sequence.

The Eagles built their early advantage by taking advantage of Cavalier foul trouble. Stanley played just five minutes in the first half while reserve forward Meg Crawford logged just two minutes as each player was assessed a pair of fouls.

With Stanley and Crawford on the bench, Carson-Newman scored 32 points in the paint, led by Taylor who had a first half double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The forward finished the game with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Skylar Boshears finished with 12 points while Smith added 11 for the Eagles as the visitors placed four players in double figure scoring.

Johnson and Ross were joined in double figure scoring by Vanzant with 13 points and King who chipped in 11. UVA Wise won the battle of the boards 49-to-34 but would be unable to overcome 50 percent shooting by Carson-Newman. The Eagles committed just 10 turnovers in the game while making 18-of-22 foul shots.

The win keeps Carson-Newman in first place in the league standings while UVA Wise drops two full games behind in the conference standings.

UVA Wise will return to play Saturday when the team visits Queens University of Charlotte. Tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m.