The Cavs are geared up for their first game against southwest Virginia rival Emory & Henry Wednesday evening.
Things will be done somewhat differently than normal in Emory on Wednesday. For conference doubleheaders this season, the Wasps are having their men's team play first at 5:30 p.m. followed by their women's matchup taking place right after around 7:30 p.m. This is an equitability effort to allow the women's teams to play second during conference doubleheaders. Both games will be broadcast live and covered by the UVA Wise Athletic Communications Department. Live coverage begins at 5 p.m. with Brendan Schabath and Steve Curran on WLSD 92.5 FM, AM 1220 or wlsdradio.com.
UVA WISE NEWS AND NOTES
>> The Cavs enter Wednesday's rivalry matchup after having picked up their first SAC win of the season Saturday, 79-69, over Newberry. Turnovers tell the whole story in UVA Wise's victory over the Wolves from the weekend. The Cavs forced 17 turnovers in the game, 15 of which were steals. 15 steals is tied for the second most in a game in program history and is the most in a game since the program record of 16 steals was set back in 2017. Many of those steals led to transition buckets for the Cavs as they scored 19 fast break points and 30 points off turnovers while only turning the ball over nine times themselves. Sophomore guard Zion Fruster was the biggest contributor in that category with a career-high 7 steals, coupled with a new career-high scoring mark of 24 points. Sophomore guard Patrick Shelley also added a career-best 5 steals in the game.
On the offensive side, senior guard Ben Bryson and freshman guard Carmelo Pacheco also reached new career highs. Bryson dished out 7 assists while Pacheco scored 21 points which included going 5-for-7 from downtown.
With the win, the Cavs have a chance to get back to .500 in conference play Wednesday, and the rivalry game is a favorable matchup on paper for UVA Wise. The Cavs enter the contest ranking in the top 10 nationally in assists per game (19.3), effective field goal percent (59.4 percent) and three pointers per game (11.1). All marks are top two in the SAC. UVA Wise is also the conference leader in overall field goal percentage at 50.3 percent.
After his big night Saturday, Fruster headlines as one of the conference leaders in a number of categories. He's top 5 in assists (32), field goals (56), points (151) and ranks second in the conference in steals (22) and steals per game (2.4). Shelley is top 5 in the league in A:TO ratio (2.2), assists (35) and steals (17) while Pacheco is now ranked fourth in three-point percentage (44.2 percent). The Cavs are 17-22 all-time against Emory & Henry but 3-1 since both teams joined the South Atlantic Conference and undefeated when playing at Emory in that span.
ABOUT THE EMORY & HENRY WASPS
>> The Wasps have a quick turnaround heading into Wednesday's mid-week matinee after taking down Southern Wesleyan 73-53 at the Spectrum Center, home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, on Monday night.
Emory & Henry's win over Southern Wesleyan moves them to 3-6 overall on the season, but still sitting 0-2 in conference play with losses to Coker (114-103) and Lenoir-Rhyne (75-65). Despite a rough start to the season and being picked ninth overall in the SAC Preseason Poll, the Wasps have a pair of Preseason All-Conference selections that are performing well this year. Junior guard/forward Gabe Brown was named to the First Team Preseason All-Conference and he currently leads the Wasps in scoring at 13.7 points per game. Brown has scored in double figures in 7/9 games this season, highlighted by a 28-point performance against Coker.
A Third Team All-Conference selection, junior forward Jake Moynihan, is just behind Brown at 13.6 points per game. His best game so far was a 24-point, 8-rebound outing in a 95-88 win over Bluefield State back on Nov. 22.
While Emory & Henry ranks third in the SAC at 86.8 points per game, defense has been hard to come by for the Wasps. Emory & Henry currently ranks in the bottom three of the league in points per game allowed (89.8, 12th), opponent field goal percentage (47.2 percent, 11th) and opponent three point percentage (38.7 percent, 12th). They also turn the ball over at the highest rate in the conference, giving it up a whopping 19.2 times per game.
Emory & Henry's biggest asset is its rebounding. The Wasps are second in the SAC with an average of 42.1 rebounds per game and lead the league by grabbing an average of 15.9 offensive rebounds each outing. Their rebounding margin of 6.0 is second only to Carson-Newman in the conference. However, the Wasps are allowing more offensive rebounds to their opponents than anyone in the conference. Opposing teams have averaged 13.6 offensive rebounds per game this season.
