Soles Hits for 23 Second Half Points for Cavs to Bite Cobras in Big Comeback

February 2, 2008
BOXSCORE

Bristol, Va. – Just like Punxsutawney Phil broke out of his borough to see his shadow as the sun came up, Jarred Soles busted out of the locker room to pump in 23 second half points to help UVa-Wise bit Virginia Intermont, 77-75, in a big comeback men’s hoops victory.

Soles (Yorktown, Va.) made 23 of his game-best 28 points on nine of 20 attempts including six of nine from long-range. Seth Gibson (Wytheville, Va.) hit three triples for 11 points while Travis Willis (Woodbridge, Va.) added 10 tallies.

Akeem Price paced the home Cobras (9-12/4-8 Appalachian Athletic Conference) with 21 points. Jamie Butler added 16 points.

Trailing 65-56 with eight minutes left, UVa-Wise (11-13/6-6 AAC) let Soles loose. The senior hit a three-pointer and followed with six more points in a row for the visitors to make it a 68-65 contest with 4:19 showing.

The scoreboard read 72-66 a minute later before Soles hit two more three-pointers to pull within a point, 73-72. After a Virginia Intermont three-point miss, Gibson drained his own triple before Price made two free throws for a 75-75 tie with 43 seconds. The game-winning shot went to the Cavs’ player of the night as Soles hit his sixth and biggest trey with nine ticks left for a 77-75 score. Price missed the final game-tying three-point attempt as time ran out for the UVa-Wise comeback.

The Cobras started the game as hot as the Cavs finished it. Virginia Intermont rambled out to a 17-2 lead in the opening four minutes and maintained a lead of at least eight points until enjoying a 51-35 advantage at the half.

UVa-Wise will make a return trip to Bristol on Wednesday by playing a 7:30 p.m. affair at King College.