WISE – UVA Wise weathered an early storm and wore down fourth-ranked Anderson Saturday afternoon, methodically chipping away a double-digit lead to take the lead for good with 3:09 to go as they shocked the formerly undefeated Trojans 73-67 on the Quillen Court.
The win marks the highest-ranked team that the Highland Cavaliers have defeated in the Prior Center in the program's NCAA Division II era.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 73, #4 Anderson 67
Records: UVA Wise (14-4, 7-3 South Atlantic Conference); Anderson (15-1, 9-1 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | David J. Prior Convocation Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game started with
Patrick Shelley scoring a three-pointer for the Cavaliers at the 18:44 mark, assisted by
Kam Roberts. The Trojans responded with a fast-paced offense, highlighted by Kadyn Dawkins' three-pointer at 17:37, leveling the score at 5-5. Anderson then took advantage of a Cavalier scoring drought to widen the gap with an 11-4 run to take a 30-20 lead with 5:41 left. Despite the Cavs' efforts, Anderson finished the half with a 36-27 lead.
- The Cavs began to chip away at the lead in the second half, cutting the lead to five points on three occasions before a
Yoro Diallo free throw narrowed the deficit to 47-49 with 12:08 remaining. After AU built the lead back to five, the Cavs then went on a 7-0 run and grabbed their first lead of the game with free throws by Diallo with 8:38 left. The Trojans then went back out to the 61-55 lead with less than five minutes remaining, only to see UVA Wise go on a 12-2 run to go up by four points with 1:55 left. Anderson cut the lead to one twice, but four points by
Cy Hardy and a block by
Kolier Pruett sealed the 73-67 win as the UVA Wise students stormed the court in celebration.
GETTING WISE
- UVA Wise had five players in double-digit scoring, led by
Patrick Shelley's 17 points, including 3-5 shooting from behind the arc.
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Yoro Diallo scored 14 points, including 8-10 at the free throw line, and added in a game-high ten rebounds.
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Evan Ramsey just missed a double-double as he had 15 points and nine rebounds.
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Cy Hardy scored eleven points off of 5-6 shooting from the field. He also dished out a tem-high six assists.
- The highest-ranked team the Cavs have defeated in Wise was on Jan. 12, 2013 when they upset the top-ranked (NAIA) University of the Cumberlands 69-54 in the Prior Center. Today's win was the highest-ranked home win of the program's NCAA era.
UP NEXT
The Cavs will seek to continue their momentum as they travel to Harrogate, Tennessee, for a key South Atlantic Conference matchup against Lincoln Memorial Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
