GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The UVA Wise men’s basketball team went on an 8-0 run in the third and final overtime period as the Highland Cavaliers defeated Tusculum University 121-115 Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena in a South Atlantic Conference thriller.
UVA Wise (18-9, 15-8 SAC) got a 37 points, 10 assists and six steals from Bradley Dean, while teammate Evan Ramsey added 35 points and 14 rebounds as the Cavs complete the season-sweep over the Pioneers (6-21, 6-17 SAC). Both wins came in overtime including last month’s 86-78 victory at Wise.
Tusculum’s Bryce Jackson scored a team-high 30 points, TJ Printup poured in a career-best 24, while freshman Taj Kimber came a point shy of matching his season-best as he finished with 24 markers to go along with his team-high nine rebounds. Malachi Hale added 21 points including five 3-pointers, while freshman Denaj Kimber tallied 11 points, four assists and three steals.
The contest was a nail-biter down the stretch. The game saw 10 ties and 10 lead changes including game-tying three-pointers by both each team. Dean’s triple with three seconds left at the end of regulation erased a five-point deficit with 59 seconds remaining. In the first overtime session, with Wise up by five (98-93), Hale rallied his three-pointer with 5.6 seconds on the clock to extend the game.
There game-saving moments in the second overtime frame. With the score tied at 107-107, Dean had a chance to end it with a layup, but Printup came up with a blocked shot at the rim with three seconds to go as the game went to a third overtime.
Dean and Jackson traded buckets to start the third overtime. Anderson Cummins made a pair of free throws for UVA Wise, before Jackson made a layup to level the scored at 111-111. The Cavs came up empty on their next possession and Jackson would be fouled sending him to the free throw line. He would make both as TU led 113-111 with 2:53 on the scoreboard.
The Cavaliers went on an 8-0 spurt over a span of 1:43 including three-pointers from Cvetkovic’ and Cummins as Wise led 117-113 with 2:08 remaining. Tusculum would miss its next two shots but Dean would hit a key jumper in the paint for a 119-113 lead with 54 seconds to go. Jackson would get his 30th point with his jumper, with 33 seconds left. But Dean would draw a foul and make both of his free throw attempts with 24 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
UVA Wise started the game with a 12-2 run in the opening 3:04 and would later go up 22-14 following a Dean basket. The Pioneers would up the pace and outscored the Cavs 28-9 over a span of 10:12 to take a 42-31 lead. Tusculum would later settle for a 48-38 lead at halftime.
UVA Wise would chip away at the lead and trailed by three on three occasions including 71-68 with 7:39 left in regulation. Tusculum responded with a 12-4 spurt to up its lead to 83-72 with 3:15 remaining following five straight from Hale.
But the Cavs made a push down the stretch going on an 8-1 run to cut the TU lead to 84-80 with 1:24 remaining in regulation. Jackson would make one of two free throws to make it an 85-80 contest with 59 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Wise missed two shots, but came up with two offensive rebounds by Patrick Shelley. Shelley would hit a jumper in the paint with 30 seconds left to make it a one possession game at 85-82.
The key momentum shift in the game came when Jackson’s shot was blocked by Zy’Ever Wingfield with 27 seconds left and went out of bounds to Tusculum. But video review reversed the call saying the rebound went off of Jackson out of bounds, giving the ball back to UVA Wise.
On the possession, Dean would be fouled with 13 seconds left and his two free throws with 13 seconds left made it a one-point game at 85-84. Jackson would be fouled with seven seconds left and made his two free throws as the Pioneers led 87-84. The Cavs had plenty of time as Dean worked his way free and buried the game-tying three-pointer from top of the key to send the game into overtime.
With the win, coupled by losses from Carson-Newman and Coker, the Highland Cavaliers move into a tie for third place in the conference standings with Saturday’s regular-season finale at Catawba remaining.
Tusculum finished the game shooting 52 percent from the floor going 43-of-83 including 12-of-25 from three-point territory (48%). Wise went 41-of-88 from the floor for 47 percent and went 11-of-26 from downtown (42%) and 28-of-37 from the free throw line. UVA Wise out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 56-39 margin including 20-10 on the offensive boards resulting in 23 second-chance points for the visitors.
Wednesday’s contest is tied for the longest game in recorded history, matching the triple-overtime win in the 2011 SAC Quarterfinal game at Newberry (67-62; Mar. 2, 2011).
Tusculum will host Senior Day and its annual Play4Kel Game this Saturday when the Pioneers host Anderson University for a 4 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.
