WISE – It was a tale of two halves in UVA Wise's (3-3) 75-73 loss to Wingate (4-1) in the SAC opener Saturday afternoon.
In the first half, the Cavs took a three point lead into the break despite only shooting 3-for-12 from beyond the arc.
The Cavalier defense made up for a frustrating first half offensively by limiting senior guard Donnell Nixon II to just two points in the half. The Preseason All-SAC Second Team selection took just four shots and only played 13 minutes due to some foul trouble and a flurry of stifling Cavalier defenders.
In the second half, Nixon was a completely different player.
He caught fire near the 10-minute mark, making just his second shot of the game on a layup to tie the game at 51-51 with 10:47 to go. From there, Dixon would score 11 points to finish with 13 in the half and 15 for the game to lead all scorers.
The timing of numerous runs played a factor in UVA Wise's struggles offensively. While the Cavs went cold scoring, Wingate heated up at the other end of the floor.
Over a near eight-minute stretch in the middle portion of the half, Wingate outscored the Cavs 25-7 to take an 11-point lead under the six-minute mark.
Still, UVA Wise found a way to claw back into the game.
With three pointers not falling, the Cavalier guards focused on getting to the rim and making layups or drawing fouls.
Down 73-67 with 1:22 to play, redshirt sophomore forward Joe'l Pettiford grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed free throw and converted the layup. A stop defensively led to a layup from sophomore guard Zion Fruster to make it just a two-point game, 73-71, with just 15 seconds left.
The Cavs fouled Nixon and he left the door open for UVA Wise missing the second of two free throws. Head coach Blake Mellinger called his timeout immediately after Pettiford secured his 10th rebound of the night, a season-high mark.
Fruster converted a layup again just seven seconds later to pull the Cavs within one point.
Then, senior guard Tyrese Barbour got fouled with 3.4 second left. Barber had played a combined five minutes through the first four games for the Bulldogs prior to Saturday night where he played 13 minutes in an effort to take over for numerous Bulldog injuries.
Barber, who had not taken a free throw since last season, missed the first of two shots. He made the second shot putting Wingate up two.
With no timeouts remaining, the Cavs were forced to go the full length of the floor in 3.4 seconds.
Fruster inbounded to junior guard Zy'Ever Wingfield and got the ball right back streaking towards half court.
UVA Wise's leading scorer rose over his Bulldog defender and fired a shot that would've given the Cavs their first win in a conference-opener since joining the SAC in 2019.
Instead, the ball just barely rimmed out off the left side as the horn sounded. Wingate 75, UVA Wise 73.
Mellinger pointed to Wingate's 15 offensive rebounds and subsequent 19 second chance points as one of the main factors in the loss. UVA Wise had just seven offensive rebounds for four second chance points in the game.
The Cavs now revert back to the non-conference, getting ready to face Carolina University in the final matchup of a seven-game home stand to start the season. Tip off is set for Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.
