WISE – Four Cavaliers scored in double figures Saturday afternoon led by junior Cameron Whiteside's game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the campaign as UVA Wise defeated Wingate 104-99 inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center. Whiteside added a team-high six assists and recorded a block in the win.
Junior Kaeleb Carter finished with 19 points as he went a perfect 6-for-6 at the line in the game and notched four rebounds and a block. Freshman Bradley Dean netted a season-high 18 points on a season-high 7-of-9 shooting, 4-for-4 from downtown, and tallied four rebounds and three assists. Redshirt junior Briggs Parris added 14 points shooting 50 percent on the night while dishing out four assists.
Back-to-back three's by Dean and Carter allowed UVA Wise to jump out to a 6-0 lead with 18:46 on the clock. Dean connected on two more shots from downtown to extend the margin to nearly double-digits as the Cavs led 12-3 at the 17:23 mark.
Tied at 19 apiece, another spurt by Dean pulled UVA Wise ahead by five with a little under 13 minutes left in the half. Down by as many as seven, Wingate climbed back to a one-point advantage, 36-35, with 7:07 to go in the half.
UVA Wise gained an eight-point lead late in the half as the Bulldogs cut the margin back to just one point going into the break down, 51-50.
Wingate's Miguel Priest totaled 14 first half points on 5-of-9 shooting while adding five rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the floor in the frame while going 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) at the stripe.
Dean led the Cavs at intermission with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while draining 4-of-4 from behind the arc. Whiteside and sophomore Izeah Parker combined for 10 of the Cavs 20 first half rebounds. The Cavs shot 53.1 percent from the field (17-for-32) and knocked down 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) three-point shots.
Back-to-back three's by Parris pushed the Cavs to a 61-53 lead over Wingate with 15:30 to play. The Bulldogs continued to close the gap, knotting the contest at 73-73 with 10:24 to go. A pair of trips to the foul line for Whiteside followed by a three by freshman Isaiah McAmis widened UVA Wise's lead to 10 points, 89-79, at the 5:30 mark.
The Bulldogs continued to battle, trailing by just two after a pair of Miguel Priest free throws, 93-91, with 3:17 on the clock. UVA Wise capitalized at the line going 8-for-8 at the stripe over the final three minutes as the Cavs went on to earn the 104-99 home victory.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures in the final frame as Wingate shot 36.4 percent from the field, 35 percent from three, and 94.7 percent from the free throw line.
Whiteside netted 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half while tallying eight rebounds and a block. Carter notched 11 closing half points, going a perfect 6-for-6 at the line. UVA Wise closed out the frame shooting 56 percent (14-for-25) from the field, 40 percent (4-for-10) from three, and 95.5 percent (21-for-22) from the charity stripe.
On the night, Wingate shot 43.9 percent (29-for-66) from the floor while the Cavs shot 54.4 percent from the field in the game. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Francis Sio's 23 points while the guard went 14-for-14 at the line.
Wingate finished with 26 rebounds compared to 41 for UVA Wise while the Cavs added 23 assists and three blocks.
Head coach Blake Mellinger's team will be back on the court Monday, February 22 as the Cavs travel to Mars Hill, North Carolina to take on the Lions in an 8 p.m. tip-off.
