WISE — The UVA Wise men finished off the regular season with a bang as the squad took down the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears by 22 points on senior day inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center on Saturday, Feb. 25.

WHAT HAPPENED

UVA Wise (17-11, 9-9 SAC) jumped out to a 8-0 lead right out the gate with the help of Patrick Shelley and Luke Lawson from beyond the arc. The Cavs kept pushing, but Lenoir-Rhyne (11-15, 6-12 SAC) retaliated and soon, the Bears got within two with the help of a three-ball from Jalen Johnson at the 8:46 mark and kept the Cavs within reach at the end of the half by three, 35-32.

After the break, Lawson led the action with a dunk with the assist from Calen Lightford. T.J. Nesmith and Johnson paced the Bears with alternating jumpers early in the half, but the Bradley Dean/Lawson duo soon took control. Dean hit three consecutive triples starting at the 17:19 mark followed by another Lawson dunk to catch the Bears off guard. Soon, the Cavs had essentially put the game to bed with 5:44 left to go as Dean let another three-pointer sink to get ahead 16. The Bears wouldn't get closer than 12 points for the rest of the contest, solidifying the 90-68 Cavs triumph.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Lawson led the Cavalier effort with a team-leading 28 points consisting 10 shots from the field and six three-pointers. Dean added 26 points of his own highlighted by four three-balls and five assists of his own. Patrick Shelley added 16 points to his stat line.

As a team, UVA Wise shot a 56.7-percent from the field and a 51.6-percent from three-point range. Lenoir-Rhyne was held to less than 47-percent in both categories.

UVA Wise finished the regular season with a 17-11 record, and a 9-9 record in the conference. The 17-11 record marks the first winning season for the program since the 2009-10 season and their first appearance in the SAC conference tournament.

UP NEXT
UVA Wise earned the No. 3 seed in the Mountain division and will face Newberry, the No. 2 seed out of the Piedmont on Wednesday, March 1 with a 7:00 PM tipoff. Stay up to date with all things UVA Wise men's basketball on our social media platforms (@UVAWiseCavs/UVAWiseScores) and our website, www.uvawisecavs.com.