After Slow Start, Cavs Pull Away from Cobras

January 27, 2007
Game Stats

Wise, VA – Virginia Intermont College played a strong opening nine minutes before the UVA-Wise men’s basketball team warmed up to pull away an 85-74 victory Saturday afternoon.

The Highland Cavaliers claimed their seventh win to go to 7-16 overall and 4-8 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The Cobras drop to 3-20 and 2-10 in the conference.

Junior Jarred Soles ( Yorktown, VA) hit eight of 14 and four treys for a game-high 26 points. Seth Gibson ( Wytheville, VA) hit for 18 points of his own. Zydrunas Rackauskas scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to go with seven boards and three assists. Justin Sorensen ( Suffolk, VA) added 10 tallies and five rebounds. Point guard Joey Blackwell ( Kingsport, TN) dished out seven assists and scored eight points.

Michael Scorsome was all of the Virginia Intermont offense with 24 points. Chris Babbitt and Adam Mefford added nine points.

Tied 4-4, the Cobras scored the next eight points to make it 12-4 at 16:34. The visitors enjoyed a short lived 12-point advantage, 23-11, before the Cavs woke up for the day.

Soles hit a jumper and three-pointer back-to-back to cut the difference to five points, 23-18, before Sorensen tied the game at 28-28 with 4:54 left in the first half. Festus Amartiefio laid in a driving layup at 3:08 to give UVA-Wise its first lead, 32-31, and would never trailed again. Soles sank three free throws to make it 38-33 at intermission.

Gibson sank a trey and jumper and Soles a three-pointer of his own to open a 46-35 lead with the opening eight points of the second half.

Virginia Intermont cut the lead to four points, 54-50, with 11:13 left but could get no closer. UVA-Wise pushed it back to double figures, 62-52, two minutes later and led by as many as 16 points, 73-57, before the 85-74 final.

The Cavs will stay at home to host King College Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.