WISE, Va. - UVa-Wise men's basketball returns to Wise for a short, two-game homestand beginning with Shepherd University Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
 
Storylines – vs. Shepherd University
The Cavaliers will face the visiting Rams for the second time this season, the two teams met earlier this month on Jan. 6 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The Rams won that meeting by a score of 99-94 despite a career night from senior forward Matt Day. The Buckhorn, Kentucky (Buckhorn H.S.), native scored a career-high 35 points and made a career-high 12 field goals, including going 8-for-11 from behind the arc, in the Cavs defeat at Shepherd. UVa-Wise led by as much as 11 with 10:23 to go in the second half at Shepherd but a near five-minute scoring drought and a 17-0 run by the Rams allowed the home team to escape with the victory.
 
Currently, Shepherd is eighth in the Mountain East Conference with a 5-7 league mark. Outside of their win over UVa-Wise, the Rams have gained wins over Concord University (90-83), Urbana University (100-73) and Glenville State (100-70) at home, and West Virginia State (94-81) on the road. Most recently, Shepherd took down the Pioneers by 30 points in Shepherdstown Tuesday night.
 
Guided by seventh-year head coach Justin Namolik, the Rams feature five double-figure scorers led by sophomore guard Steffen Davis at 16.1 points per game. Senior forward Ryan McTavish and sophomore forward AJ Carr are both averaging 15.8 points per game, while sophomore guard Skyler Roman (11.5 ppg) and Naim Muhammad (10.4 ppg) round out the double-digit scorers. Carr leads Shepherd in rebounds per game at 7.5 as Muhammad is averaging 4.7 assists per contest with Roman not far behind at 4.6 assists per game.
 
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise was held to its second-lowest scoring mark of the season Tuesday night in a 78-58 loss to the University of Charleston on the road at Charleston Catholic High School Athletic Complex. The Cavs got 25 points and eight rebounds from Day in the loss, while sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa had another solid game with 14 points. Redshirt sophomore guard Ricardo Hill Jr. scored a career-high 11 points in the game against the host Golden Eagles, going 4-for-6 from the field including 3-for-4 from three-point land.
 
UVa-Wise will be seeking its first MEC home win since defeating Fairmont State in Wise during the 2013-14 season on Feb. 22, 2014. Currently on a five-game slide, the Cavs will try to win their first game in the David J. Prior Convocation Center since knocking off then 14th-ranked King University (100-87) back on Dec. 20.
 
Following tomorrow night's game, the Cavs will remain in Wise and host second-ranked Fairmont State Saturday at 4 p.m.