Box Score WISE, Va. – Playing its fifth game of the season against a ranked opponent, UVa-Wise men's basketball was tripped up at home by No. 24 Wheeling Jesuit University 96-77 Monday night in the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
 
Despite starting the game on fire with hot shooting, the Cavaliers (3-13, 1-9 MEC) were unable to control a six and a half minute scoring drought late in the first half that really changed the momentum of the contest. The Cardinals (16-1, 9-1 MEC) used a 53-point second half and a 52-22 scoring advantage in points in the paint to top UVa-Wise at home.
 
Wheeling Jesuit's benched outscored UVa-Wise's by 29 points and earned a 19-8 margin on second-chance points.
 
The Cavs opened up the first half shooting the ball at 62.5 percent (10-for-16) that included 66.7 percent (6-for-9) from distance. The tremendous start was sparked by sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) and senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn, Ky.), who had a combined 24 points in the first nine minutes and 45 seconds of the game. Sousa started the game going 5-for-5 from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, while Day hit two three-pointers.
 
UVa-Wise led by nine points at 28-19 with 10:15 remaining in the opening half after a three-pointer by Sousa. However, that would be the largest lead of the night for the Cavs as they saw their lead quickly evaporate over the next five minutes of play. Sousa's three would be the last points UVa-Wise scored for the next six and a half minutes as the Cardinals went on a 16-0 run and built a seven-point 35-28 lead.
 
After being fouled on a three-point attempt, Day sunk three free-throws with 3:41 left in the half to give the Cavs their first points since the 10:15 mark. The Cardinals took a 10-point 43-33 lead into the break, ending the half on a 25-4 scoring run.
 
The Cavs shot the ball at 39 percent (11-for-28) in the opening half and were 6-for-15 (40 percent) from downtown. Wheeling Jesuit went 13-for-32 (41 percent) from the field in the first half and was 3-for-10 (30 percent) from outside.
 
The Cardinals led for the rest of the game but the Cavs fought their way back to trim the advantage down to five at 52-47 after another three free-throws by Day with 15:34 to go. From there the Cardinals extended their lead to 14 (63-49) on a conventional three-point play by Wheeling Jesuit's Eric Siefert with 13:21 remaining.
 
A three-pointer by redshirt freshman Lashain Matthews (Staunton, Va.) with 9:05 to go cut the deficit down to eight at 74-66, but that would be the closest UVa-Wise would get of Wheeling Jesuit.
 
Wheeling Jesuit led by as much as 22 down the stretch before junior transfer forward Gervelle Kidd (Martinsville, Va.) made the last shot of the game, a three-pointer from the top of the key with 12 seconds left to make a it a 19-point victory for the visiting Cardinals.
 
UVa-Wise finished the game shooting the ball at 37 percent (22-for-60), including 41 percent (11-for-27) from distance. The Cavs shot 82 percent (22-for-27) from the free-throw line but were 17-for-18 (94 percent) in the second half.
 
The Cardinals shot 61 percent (23-for-38) in the second half and finished at 51 percent (36-for-70) for the game. Wheeling Jesuit was 6-for-23 (26 percent) from downtown and 67 percent (18-for-27) from the foul line for the night.
 
Sousa led all Cavs with a game-high 30 points, only one point shy of his career-high, and seven rebounds. The sophomore went 10-for-13 from the field and was 6-for-9 from downtown. Day scored 22 points in the loss and made a career-high tying 12 free-throws. Kidd had a team-high eight rebounds and contributed 10 points, while redshirt sophomore guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) dished out five assists and sophomore guard Philip Owens II (Virginia Beach, Va.) added four more.
 
Justin Fritts led the Cardinals with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three-point range, and registered 10 assists to go along with six boards. Wheeling Jesuit's Pat Moseh earned a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Siefert finished with 15 points and six boards for the Cardinals while Haywood Highsmith scored 13.
 
"They (Wheeling Jesuit) started to kill us, one in transition and two in the paint", UVa-Wise men's basketball Head Coach Blake Mellinger commented after the game. "Not necessarily a lot of feeding the ball into the post but just driving the ball. We didn't do a very good job at all, or at least the last 30 minutes of the game, of guarding the transition."
 
"I thought our starters went in and gave us a good lift but then we just didn't get what we needed out of our bench tonight. I think that's where you saw those runs come", added Mellinger. "Sousa's going to be a really good player for us, he's just so young so you're going to see him be up and down. The more constancy we get out of him, the better off we're going to be and I think you'll start to see that as time goes on."
 
The Cavs will now have a two-day break before wrapping up their homestand Thursday night when they welcome Concord University to Wise for a 7:30 p.m. tip.