Box Score WISE, Va. – West Virginia Wesleyan senior forward Tanner McGrew scored a game-high 37 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the visiting Bobcats topped UVa-Wise men's basketball 84-62 Thursday night in the David J. Prior Convocation Center. Not only did returning First-Team All-Mountain East Conference player McGrew dominate the post but West Virginia Wesleyan freshman guard Fred Brondsted went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc, scoring 23 points in the contest.
 
The Bobcats (5-2, 2-1 MEC) outscored UVa-Wise 40 to 14 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 46-27. With the loss the Cavaliers drop to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in MEC play.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan hit 10 three-pointers and only missed eight (55.6 percent) while connecting on 32-of-62 shots from the field (51.6 percent) in the game. Conversely, the Cavs had the same number of field goals as a team (17-for-47) as McGrew had by himself (17-for-31). Shooting at 36.2 percent for the game, UVa-Wise went 6-for-20 from behind the arc (30 percent) and shot 66.7 percent from the foul line despite getting 33 attempts at the charity stripe (22-for-33).
 
Being within one or two possessions much of the first 10 minutes of the opening half, the Cavs never led in the game. A layup by West Virginia Wesleyan's Brondsted with nine minutes to go in the first half put the Bobcats ahead by double-digits for the first time at 11. Up by as much as 14 in the opening half, West Virginia Wesleyan took a 13-point 42-29 lead into the break.
 
The Bobcats' McGrew had a double-double by halftime with 12 points and 14 rebounds while Brondsted had four three-point field goals in the first half. West Virginia Wesleyan shot 54.8 percent in the half (17-for-31) and were 6-for-11 from downtown (54.5 percent).
 
UVa-Wise shot only 30 percent (6-for-20) in the opening half including just 1-for-8 on three-point attempts (12.5 percent). Senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn H.S.) earned eight first-half points and five boards as junior forward Gervelle Kidd (Martinsville, Va.) tallied seven points in the half.
 
A pair of free throws from West Virginia Wesleyan senior guard Garrett Grantham gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the night at 24 points (61-37) with 13:18 remaining. A ferocious comeback was ignited by sophomore guard Phillip Owens II (Virginia Beach, Va.) as the Cavs went on a 19-3 scoring run over the next five minutes.
 
Owens scored 12 of the Cavs' 19 points during the run that was capped by a layup from sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The run cut the Bobcats' advantage to just eight (64-56) with 8:25 to go.
 
A pair of Day free throws after a McGrew layup narrowed West Virginia Wesleyan's lead to eight again with 7:34 remaining. However, a missed opportunity defensively that included a near shot-clock violation by the Bobcats and three offensive rebounds led to a West Virginia Wesleyan three-point basket. The long-distance shot sparked a 13-0 Bobcat scoring run over the next four minutes, giving West Virginia Wesleyan a 21-point 79-58 advantage with just 3:22 remaining.
 
The Cavs would score only four more points in the final three and a half minutes off of two free throws and a layup by freshman forward Zach McDaniel (Bowling Green, Ky.). The Bobcats made five free throws down the stretch to earn the 22-point win.
 
Owen led all Cavs with 14 points and Day had nearly his fourth double-double of the early season with 12 points and eight rebounds. Kidd scored 11 points and dished out three assists as Sousa and redshirt freshman guard Lashain Matthews (Staunton, Va.) each added nine of their own. Matthews made his first career start as a Cav.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan senior guard Soren Dossing contributed nine points for the Bobcats, while junior guard Mo Berchie totaled seven points and Grantham earned eight boards.
 
The Cavs wrap up their three-game homestand Saturday when UVa-Wise hosts Glenville State for a 4 p.m. tip-off. Following Saturday's game the Cavs will have an eight-day break from competition after playing four games in seven days.
 
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