WISE – UVA Wise (8-12, 4-8 SAC) dropped its fourth consecutive game after an intense 71-70 loss to Emory & Henry (5-15, 2-10 SAC) Wednesday night.
Emory & Henry snapped its second longest losing streak in a decade by picking up its first win since Dec. 16 to get off an eight-game skid.
In a game that struggled to dazzle the eye offensively, the Wasps came back from an eight-point deficit to catch UVA Wise in the final minutes and pull out a win.
Emory & Henry opened the night scoring the game's first eight points before the Cavs finally got on the scoreboard. The Wasps' 8-0 lead in the opening minutes would serve as their largest lead of the game. A game in which neither team ever led by double digits.
Despite the early deficit, the Cavs quickly got back in the game by taking a 13-12 lead at the 13:51 mark thanks to a bucket from junior guard Zy'Ever Wingfield.
Wingfield took the floor after missing the last two games with an injury. He came back with a splash by dropping a game-high 20 points and adding eight rebounds.
The two teams took a 32-32 tie into the locker room as offense was hard to come by.
Defense continued to play a key role in the second half as both teams went on numerous scoring droughts.
The most impactful scoring drought came from the Cavs in the waning minutes of the contest.
At the 4:18 mark, sophomore guard Calen Lightford banked in a three-pointer that gave UVA Wise a 63-56 lead. It would be the Cavs last made bucket from the floor in the game.
Lightford put on another show-stopping performance for his fifth consecutive game. His 18 points matched a season-high that he put up just four days ago against Catawba. In the last five games, Lightford is averaging 15.4 points per night. He's gone 22-for-40 (55 percent) from downtown in that stretch and has made 20 triples in the last four games.
However, UVA Wise would only get seven more points from the free throw line in the final four minutes to cap off its night at 70 points.
At the same time, Emory & Henry mounted its slow but steady comeback.
Sophomore guard Jacob Dar was huge for the Wasps in the final minutes. Dar finished the night with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double and made the biggest plays of the game on offense down the stretch.
The standout play was an offensive rebound and and-one put back with just 49 seconds remaining. The extra free throw gave Emory & Henry a 68-67 lead, its first lead of the game since its opening bucket at the 19:47 mark in the second half.
One possession later, the Cavs were forced to foul Dar again and he split the pair of foul shots to make it 69-67 with 0:25 left on the clock.
On the ensuing possession, senior guard Ben Bryson was fouled on a drive to the basket. UVA Wise's best free throw shooter with two shots to tie the game, but Bryson missed the first free throw. Prior to Wednesday night, Bryson had only missed two free throws all season.
Bryson made the second free throw to cut the lead to one.
Emory & Henry made two free throws on the other end to go up 71-68 with only 4 seconds left. Upon the Cavalier inbound, Wingfield was intentionally fouled in an attempt to avoid giving the Cavs an opportunity to tie the game with a three-pointer.
Wingfield made both free throws to make it 71-70.
On the following inbound play, Wingfield knocked the ball away for a moment.
With the clock ticking, a loose ball battle was waged until the final buzzer sounded before UVA Wise could grab the ball.
The Wasps finished the night getting out shot by the Cavs in all three categories (field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage) but had four scorers in double figures and 20 offensive rebounds that led to the win.
Junior guard Jalen Leftwich was the best player on the floor for the Wasps, finishing the night with 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double, while adding a game-high eight assists.
UVA Wise will head to Mars Hill Saturday with hopes of ending its four-game losing streak. The Cavs will tip off against the Lions on Feb. 3 at 4 p.m.
