WISE, Va. – UVa-Wise closes out its five out of six games played in Wise by hosting second-ranked Fairmont State Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
 
Storylines – vs. Fairmont State
The Cavaliers will face the No. 2 team in the nation, according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II rankings, Saturday afternoon when they take on the Fighting Falcons of Fairmont State.
 
In the two teams' first meeting earlier this month on Jan. 5, the Fighting Falcons routed the Cavs by an overwhelming score of 110-48. UVa-Wise was held to its lowest scoring mark of the season in that game as the 62-point loss was the worst loss of the year for the Cavs. Fairmont State used a stifling full-court press all 40 minutes of the game that forced 26 Cavalier turnovers, which led to 40 points for the host Fighting Falcons. The Cavs were outscored 52-16 in points in the paint as the Fighting Falcons controlled 20 offensive rebounds for 33 second-chance points. UVa-Wise did come out shooting hot in the first 6:10 of the game, going 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the field including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and led by three at 14-11 with 14:37 to go in the opening half.
 
The Fighting Falcons come to Wise with an 18-1 overall record and a near-perfect 12-1 mark in league play. Fairmont State is on a 12-game winning streak with its last and only loss coming on the road at then top-ranked West Liberty (88-86) back on Dec. 5. Recently, the Fighting Falcons have been playing very close contests with two of their last three games going into overtime. Shepherd University took the Fighting Falcons to overtime in Fairmont on Jan. 21 before the home team pulled away with a 101-91 victory. Fairmont State then earned an 82-76 overtime win at West Virginia Wesleyan this past Monday before squeezing out an 88-87 game at Concord University Thursday night.
 
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise's last Mountain East Conference home win was against Fairmont State during the 2013-14 season when the Cavs defeated the visiting Fighting Falcons 77-74 on Feb. 22, 2014.
 
The Cavs are looking to snap a six-game losing streak and rebound from a tough, hard-fought 85-82 loss to Shepherd Thursday night. After the game was tied up at 80-80, three turnovers in the final two minutes of play and a three-pointer by the Rams' Ryan McTavish haunted the Cavs. UVa-Wise did have a chance to tie up the game at 85-all but senior forward Matt Day was unable to get a final shot off at the buzzer.
 
Day recorded his 10th double-double of the season Thursday night with 29 points and 13 rebounds, he is top-10 nationally in double-doubles this year. With his 29-point outing Thursday, the Buckhorn, Kentucky (Buckhorn H.S.), native moved into the top 10 on UVa-Wise's all-time scoring list with 1,367 points recorded.
 
Following tomorrow afternoon's tilt the Cavs will embark on a four-game road trip starting with a 7:30 p.m. tip at Glenville State next Thursday.