Brett Morris scored 28 points and Glenville State advanced to the Mountain East Conference men's basketball quarterfinals with an 84-66 victory over UVa.-Wise on Wednesday night at the Civic Center.
The senior put together an efficient showing, making 11 of his 14 attempts from the field to go with nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks.
"We really tried to focus on coming out of the gates strong, it was something we struggled with," Morris said. "We feel like if we come out strong we can compete with a lot of teams. Today we were focused and brought a lot of energy."
The seventh-seeded Pioneers (12-15) wasted no time extending the lead they built early on to pull away in the closing minutes.
UVa.-Wise (9-20) was able to get the deficit down to 10 points early in the second half but was never able to get the momentum it needed in order to make a meaningful dent in the Glenville State lead. A 10-0 run late in the game that stretched over a period of time in which the Cavaliers went more than four minutes without making a shot from the field helped to put GSC up by as many as 26 points in the final minutes.
"I was really proud of how our guys fought today," Glenville State coach Stephen Dye said. "We had been struggling to finish games as of late.
"All the credit goes to these guys. They really competed out there and made them work for it."
The Pioneers were able to grow a big lead toward the end of the first half despite going the final five minutes of the half without making a field goal. Even after struggling toward the end of the half, Glenville State still ended the first 20 minutes shooting 51.9 percent from the field.
Morris was joined in double figures by Jalon Plummer and Terry Davis Jr., who came off the bench and provided GSC with a spark. Davis finished with 17 points and Plummer scored 11.
Taiwo Badmus finished with a double-double, scoring 25 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, to lead UVa.-Wise. Michal Seals added 16 points.
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.