Box Score INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The UVa-Wise men's basketball team was out-rebounded 56-36 Monday night in an 85-65 Mountain East Conference road loss at West Virginia State. The Cavaliers (0-4, 0-2 MEC) never led past the 5:18 mark of the first half and were outscored 49-31 in the second half.
 
UVa-Wise only shot the ball at 30.6 percent (22-for-72) for the game, including going 5-for-7 from three-point distance (18.5 percent) against the Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-1 MEC). On the contrary, West Virginia State shot 46 percent (29-for-63) for the game and was 3-for-12 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Once again points in the paint hurt the Cavs as the Yellow Jackets outscored UVa-Wise 50-32 down low.
 
The Cavs played solid the first 15 minutes of the game and held a three-point 24-21 advantage at the 6:40 mark of the first half after a pair of free throws by senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn, Ky.). The lead would be short lived as West Virginia State got a three-pointer from Cody Morris on the very next possession to tie up the score.
 
The Yellow Jackets went on a 9-2 scoring run over the next four and a half minutes and led 33-26 with 1:39 remaining in the half. The Cavs finished the half on a 8-4 run of their own after three-pointers by junior transfer forward Gervelle Kidd (Martinsville, Va.) and redshirt freshman guard Lashain Matthews (Staunton, Va.) and a layup from sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (Sao Paulo, Brazil).
 
Down 36-34 at halftime UVa-Wise only shot 25.7 percent (9-for-35) in the first half, going 1-for-9 –for-(11.1 percent) on three-pointers. Hot-shooting West Virginia State was 17-for-32 (53.1 percent) on field goals in the opening half, including 25 percent (1-for-5) from distance.
 
The Yellow Jackets held the Cavs scoreless in the first three minutes of the second half while going on a 9-0 scoring run to open up the half. UVa-Wise cut West Virginia State's lead to six after a Sousa layup with 11:56 to go. After the Yellow Jackets made it a 10-point game once again, the Cavs chiseled the deficit to five on a jumper by Sousa with 8:27 remaining.
 
That would be the closest the Cavs would get as West Virginia State extended their lead to 18 on a layup by Robert Fomby at the 3:19 mark. The Yellow Jackets would mount their advantage to 22 with only 1:07 left before redshirt sophomore guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored a fastbreak layup to make the score 85-65 at the final buzzer.
 
After shooting nearly 90 percent from the foul line this season the Cavs uncharacteristically shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the charity stripe tonight.
 
Day led all Cavs with 18 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the early season. Redshirt freshman shooting guard Camryn Fort finished with 14 points, while Matthews had a career-high nine points and Hill earned a career-high seven points. Sousa scored six points in the contest as Kidd dished out four assists.
 
Robert Fomby led the Yellow Jackets with 26 points and 13 rebounds followed closely by 2015-15 All-MEC Second Team selection Markee Mazyck, who finished with 26 points and added eight boards. Ronald Whaley contributed 10 points for West Virginia State, while Keith Harris grabbed 10 rebounds and Brent Bauer made six assists.
 
The Cavs will remain on the road and travel to Harrogate, Tennessee, after Thanksgiving for a non-conference matchup with nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial University Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier men's basketball news, statistics, complete schedule and more.