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18 mbb boz in
62
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M 8-2
66
Winner Virginia State VSU-M 7-0
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M
8-2
62
Final
66
Virginia State VSU-M
7-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wheeling Jesuit WJU-M 25 37 62
Virginia State VSU-M 35 31 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Myers

Cardinals Comeback Fall Short Against No. 17 Trojans

ETTRICK, Va. – In one of the top Atlantic Region matchup of the first semester, a short-handed Cardinals squad's furious comeback fell just short Tuesday night. No. 17 Virginia State held on over Wheeling Jesuit, 66-62.
 
After a one 10-0 run cut the deficit to eight points, it took a second Cardinals (8-2) outburst of seven unanswered to make a two-possession contest, 61-56, at 1:17 left. Follow a Trojans (7-0) bucket, Preston Boswell converted a 3-point play with 35 ticks left and a coast-to-coast Haywood Highsmith lay in returned the margin to three points, 65-62, with 2.4 seconds, but time ran out on the comeback.
 
"We have to execute better and do a better job overall," noted WJU head coach Danny Sancomb. "We did a good job rebounding the ball, but we have to get back to work."
 
The Cardinals night against one of the other top Atlantic Region teams was made tougher being short-handed. For the second game in a row, senior Pat Moseh was out of the lineup. WJU still overcame a tough middle 20 minutes of cold shooting to nearly pull off the upset of Virginia State.
 
Boswell led all scorers with 24 points as he was 12 of 13 from the foul line. The sophomore also grabbed a career-best seven rebounds and has three assists.
 
Highsmith guided the second-half charge with a double-double in the second 20 minutes alone of 15 points and 13 rebounds. For the night, Highsmith made 7 of 16 from the floor for 20 points to go with 16 rebounds, 10 on defense, four assists and a pair of steals.
 
Drake Goddard and Brent Pegram both chipped in seven points and the two combined for 10 rebounds.
 
Virginia State saw Waymond Wright net a team-high 13 points in its win.
 
WJU started the night trading blows with Virginia State. Goddard hit a short jumper and added an NBA-length 3-pointer for a 5-3 lead. After two Jeremiah Wilson free throws for a 10-9 Cardinals advantage, the Trojans put the next seven points on the scoreboard for a 16-10 score at 11:02 and made it last the rest of evening.
 
A Wilson layup cut the margin to two, 23-21, before Virginia State scored the next three buckets and then it finished the half with the last two scores and 35-25 lead.
 
The Trojans took the difference up to as many as 16 points, 45-29, in the first five minutes of the second stanza.
 
Trailing 55-37 with 8:28 left in the contest, the Cardinals mounted their charge. Boswell started a 10-0 run with a triple and he finished it with a foul shot for a 55-47 margin. The big run, though, began two minutes later on a Highsmith offensive rebound and putback to begin the key 7-0 spurt for the late charge.
 
WJU heads into the Saturday limelight when it travels to Morgantown to play an exhibition contest at West Virginia University. The contest will tip at 2 p.m. and can be seen on AT&T Sportsnet and heard on WKKX in Wheeling.


 
 
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