Box Score SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Despite a career night from senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn, Ky.) and 17 made three-pointers the UVa-Wise men's basketball team was tripped up 99-94 on the road Wednesday night by Shepherd University.
 
Day earned a career-high in points (35), field goals (12) and three-pointers made (8) on his way to collecting a team-high eight rebounds. The senior made eight of 11 shots from distance but his standout performance was not enough as the Cavaliers (2-10, 0-6 MEC) were edged in the latter part of the second half by the host Rams (7-5, 2-4 MEC).
 
Coming off of the Cavs worst loss of the season Monday night at Fairmont State, UVa-Wise showed much more energy in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, but gave up an 11-point second half lead.
 
UVa-Wise took an early six-point advantage (13-7) with 16:01 to go in the first half after a three-point jumper by sophomore guard Philip Owens II (Virginia Beach, Va.). Over the next nine minutes the Rams went on a 22-5 scoring run to take an 11-point 29-18 lead with 7:04 to go in the half.
 
Shepherd led by as much as 12 points in the first half but a 7-2 run to the close the half got the visiting Cavs to within five at the break (42-37).
 
The Cavs shot 43.8 percent (14-for-32) in the opening half including 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from downtown. Day had 16 points and five rebounds at the break, he was 3-for-3 on three-pointers in the half.
 
The Rams went 18-for-35 (51.4 percent) in the first half and were 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
UVa-Wise began the second half by scoring eight straight points that included two three-pointers from transfer junior forward Gervelle Kidd (Martinsville, Va.), taking a 45-42 lead after just one minute of play. Despite the Rams coming back to take a four-point lead (54-50) at the 14:53 mark, the Cavs continued to make shots and went on a 23-8 run over the next four and a half minutes.
 
Leading by 11 (72-63), their largest advantage of the night, with 10:23 to go the Cavs would not score for nearly five minutes of play. The Rams went on a 17-0 run to regain the lead at 79-73.
 
From then on Shepherd would not give up the lead again and led by as much as seven down the stretch. The Cavs climbed back within two with three minutes to go after another three-pointer by Kidd.
 
A pair of jumpers by the Rams and a free throw after continual missed shots by the Cavs, gave Shepherd a seven-point lead with 45 seconds remaining. A couple of Day three-pointers and two free throws by sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (Sao Paulo, Brazil) in the final seconds kept the Cavs in the game but the Rams made all but two foul shots to hold on for the victory.
 
All told UVa-Wise shot 50 percent the game (33-for-66) including 45.9 percent (17-for-37) from long range. Shepherd was 34-for-71 (47.9 percent) from the field and 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from distance. The Rams made 25 of 32 free throws.
 
Once again the Cavs were outrebounded 44 to 31 as the Rams collected 15 offensive boards, scoring 16 points off of those second chances. UVa-Wise committed 13 turnovers that led to 20 points for Shepherd. The Rams outscored the Cavs 44-28 in the paint and 21-14 in points off the bench.
 
The Cavs' 17 three-point field goals tied a Butcher Center record for most shots made from distance in a game by one team and is one shy of the program record 18, set two and a half weeks ago against King University (Dec. 20).
 
Both Kidd and Sousa tallied 14 points in the game as Sousa registered a career-high six assists. Owens II made a game-high seven assists to go along with 13 points, while redshirt freshman guard Camryn Fort (Fayetteville, N.C.) added 12 points of his own despite fouling out.
 
The Rams were led by AJ Carr and Ryan McTavish, who each scored 23 points. Steffen Davis recorded 21 points for Shepherd while Naim Muhammad scored 19 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
The Cavs will have a short break before traveling again to complete their four-game road trip to begin 2016. UVa-Wise takes on Urbana University in Ohio Sunday at 4 p.m.
 
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