BOONE, NC – The UVA Wise men's basketball team's comeback effort fell short Saturday evening as they fell to Lees-McRae 87-82 in the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Challenge.
The games in the Challenge were moved to the Appalachian State campus due to damage to the Lees-McRae campus due to the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: Lees-McRae 87, UVA Wise 82
Records: UVA Wise (0-1); Lees-McRae (1-0)
Location: Boone, NC
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The lead see-sawed early on with the Cavs pulling ahead 14-10 from baskets by
Max Lidman and
Bradley Dean. At that point the Bobcat offense caught fire and the Cavs went just as cold as Lees-McRae went on a 22-2 run over the next 8:13 to lead 32-16. They extended the lead to 42-19 before three-pointers by Dean and
Lav Cvetkovic' cut the lead to 44-25 at the half.
- The lead hovered around 14-16 points throughout the second half until the Cavs chipped away at the lead from the free throw line. A Cvetkovic' three-pointer with 8:33 cut the lead back to single digits. After the teams traded a few baskets a layup by
Zy'Ever Wingfield made the score 62-57. The teams again traded baskets until the 2:23 mark when a a
Patrick Shelley three-pointer cut the Bobcat lead to 75-72. The Bobcats would then extend the lead back to seven with 27 seconds remaining in the game.
Anderson Cummins would again cut the lead to three with eight seconds remaining, but the Bobcats scored with four seconds left and held on for the 87-82 win.
- Cvetkovic' led the Cavs in scoring with 17 points.
Evan Ramsey scored 16 points, Dean 15, and Shelley had a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
- Shelley also led the team in assists with five, while Wingfield had four steals to lead the Cavs.
- Ja'Quavian Florence led Lees-McRae with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
UVA Wise will take on local rival King University Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in their final game in the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge. The Tornado fell to Carson-Newman 92-80 in the Challenge's other game on Saturday.
