WISE, Va. --- Luke Lawson scored 30 points to go along with his five blocked shots to lead the UVA Wise men's basketball team to an 83-74 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Tusculum University Wednesday night at the Prior Convocation Center.
The Cavaliers (14-9, 7-7 SAC) split the season series with Tusculum and end a nine-game losing streak at the hands of the Pioneers (10-10, 6-7 SAC). TU suffers its third consecutive loss and fifth in the last six games.
Lawson went 9-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point territory as he recorded his third 30-point game of the season. He also went 8-of-10 from the free throw line while posting two assists and two steals.
Bradley Dean, the SAC's leading scorer, added to his total as he finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Tusculum's Justin Mitchell matched a season-best 18 points off the bench as he connected on his first four shots with three of them coming from beyond the arch. Junior forward Inady Legiste accounted for 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. Kobe Funderburk had a season-best 11 points which including three treys, while KJ Crump had eight points and two assists.
The Cavs shot 49.1 percent for the game as they went 27-of-55 from the field and 11-of-25 from three-point land (44%). UVA Wise fired 18-of-21 at the charity stripe and out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 37-32 margin.
Tusculum ended the game shooting 40.3 percent while also going 11-of-33 from downtown and 9-of-15 at the free throw line.
UVA Wise overcame a seven-point deficit (59-52) in the second half as the Cavaliers went on a 13-0 run over a 3:08 span to take a 65-59 with 11:16 remaining. Included in that run were three-point plays by Lawson and Dean along with a three-pointer by Kervens Yacinthe.
Tusculum responded with a 6-0 run including a three-point play by TU's Jacob Hobbs as the Pioneers trailed 65-64 with 5:58 to go.
But the Cavaliers put together a 9-0 run as Lawson made two of three free throws as UVA Wise took its largest lead of the night at 76-66 with 3:14 remaining.
Tusculum made one final push to score five in a row as James West IV made a three-pointer and Mitchell converted a layup to trail 76-71 with 2:15 left.
Lawson seized the moment with a triple from the corner to make it 79-71 with 1:56 remaining. TU countered with a three-point play by Legiste to bring it back to a five-point deficit (79-74 with 1:36 on the clock.
But the Cavs made four free throws in the final minute and TU missed its last three shots as the Pioneers lost to UVA Wise for the first time since Dec. 4, 2000.
In the first half, UVA Wise led by seven points on four separate occasions including 24-17 at the 10:19 mark. TU used a 12-2 run to go up on top 29-26 following a Mitchell three-point play.
Wise would regain the advantage and went up by six (41-35) with 2:11 remaining. But Tusculum scored the final six points of the half including a jumper by Funderburk just before the horn as the game was deadlocked 41-41 at the intermission.
UVA Wise has posted a 10-win improvement over last year and go to 10-3 at the Prior Center this year including a four-game home winning streak.
Tusculum will play its next three games at home beginning with Saturday's 4 p.m. contest against Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Bears snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 108-105 double-overtime win at Wingate.
