WISE, Va. — Kam Roberts poured in 23 points to lead the UVA Wise men’s basketball team to a 79-66 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Tusculum Wednesday night at the Prior Center.
The Highland Cavaliers (13-4, 6-3 SAC) have won four of their last five outings, while the Pioneers (7-8, 3-6 SAC) suffer it’s third straight road loss.
Yoro Diallo helped the Cavs with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Patrick Shelley and Evan Ramsey contributed a dozen points each.
Tusculum freshman Jordan Attia led the visitors with 13 points, while Wesley Johnson and Amari Allen finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UVA Wise ended the night shooting 30-of-64 from the floor (46.9%) and 14-of-17 from the free throw line (82.4%). TU was held to 31.3 percent shooting rom the floor including 8-of-30 from three-point territory. The Pioneers also shot 16-of-22 from the charity stripe (72.7%).
The Cavaliers closed out the last four minutes of the opening half with a 14-4 run as Wise took a 40-28 lead into the locker room.
Tusculum trimmed the deficit with an early 8-0 run in the second half to trail 42-38 with 16:58 left in the game. Back-to-back triples from Attia and Allen sparked the TU spurt.
Later in the half, Allen hit another three-pointer as Tusculum got to within three at 48-45 with 14:29 to go.
But the Cavs answered with a 16-7 run to stretch their advantage to 64-52 with 8:19 on the clock.
With Wise ahead 68-55 with 6:13 remaining, Tusculum responded with a 7-1 run sparked by a Bryce Jackson three-pointer as the Pioneers trailed 71-64 with 2:41 remaining.
UVA Wise would outscore TU 8-2 down the stretch to seal the victory.
Tusculum returns home on Saturday to host 21st-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne for a 4 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.
