Box Score WHEELING, W.Va. – UVa-Wise men's basketball came up just short against the No. 2 team in the nation Thursday night in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Cavaliers (3-20, 1-16 MEC) were defeated by just five points, 92-87, by host and second-ranked Wheeling Jesuit University (23-1, 16-1 MEC). Wheeling Jesuit improved its national-best win streak to 18 games and remained undefeated at home (9-0).
 
The game was a tale of two half's for the Cavs as UVa-Wise only shot 30 percent (9-for-30) in the first half and went 1-for-14 (seven percent) from beyond the arc. In the second half, the Cavs shot the ball at an impressive 65 percent clip (22-for-34), including 62 percent (8-for-13) from downtown, and outscored the Cardinals by 13 points (63-50). UVa-Wise was perfect at the free-throw line in the second half (11-for-11) and only missed one foul shot all game for 94 percent (16-for-17).
 
Contrarily, Wheeling Jesuit was steady in both half's, shooting the ball at 50 percent (17-for-34) in the opening half before going 16-for-33 (49 percent) in the second. The host Cardinals made 12 three-pointers in the win on 44 percent shooting from distance.
 
Eighteen turnovers by the Cavs led to 20 points for the Cardinals but UVa-Wise forced 15 turnovers themselves to earn 23 points off of miscues. The Cavs gave up 14 offensive rebounds compared to claiming 11, which led to a 17-8 margin in second-chance points in favor of Wheeling Jesuit.
 
Down by 18 points (42-24) at halftime and 20 at the 19:46 mark of the second half, the Cavs clawed, scratched and fought their way back late in the game but could not complete the comeback against the Mountain East Conference leading Cardinals.
 
Only four Cavs scored in the first 20 minutes of play and only two made a field goal. Sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) and senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn, Ky.) were the only players for UVa-Wise that hit field goals in the first half as Sousa scored 13 points and Day had six. In fact, only four Cavs made field goals the entire game and only five players scored during the full 40 minutes of play.
 
The Cavs opened up the second half with a 16-4 scoring run to cut the Cardinals' lead down to six at 46-40 with 15:33 remaining. The host Cardinals would go on to outscore the Cavs 23-12 over the next eight and a half minutes to build a 17-point advantage with 7:03 to go in the game.
 
UVa-Wise then began its comeback as the Cavs outscored the Cardinals 18-6 over the next four minutes to trail by just five at 75-70 with 3:51 left. Back-to-back three-pointers by junior transfer forward Gervelle Kidd (Martinsville, Va.) and sophomore guard Philip Owens II (Virginia Beach, Va.) made it only a two-point game at the 1:50 mark. However, Wheeling Jesuit quickly responded and extended its lead back to five after a three by senior guard Eric Siefert.
 
Following a missed three-pointer by Owens II, the Cardinals' Kyle Ritz hit a pair of free-throws to make it a seven-point game with only 58 seconds remaining. The Cavs would get no closer than six for the rest of the contest, despite a pair of Day free-throws and later a layup by Owens II keeping UVa-Wise in the game. Day hit a three-pointer as time expired to make it a two possession final score.
 
All told, UVa-Wise only missed two shots in the final six minutes of the contest and went 6-for-8 from downtown during that stretch.
 
The Cavs were led by Owens II with 26 points and four assists, 24 of those coming in the second half on 9-for-12 shooting. Day finished with 24 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Sousa scored 20 points and collected six boards. Kidd went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc to claim 12 points.
 
The Cardinals were led by Siefert with 21 points and five rebounds. Siefert was just one of five Wheeling Jesuit players to score in double figures as Justin Fritts had 17 and Haywood Highsmith finished with 16 and six rebounds. Kyle Ritz earned 11 points, six boards and had four assists for the Cardinals as Malik Grandy scored 10.
 
The Cavs now visit nearby third-ranked West Liberty Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off to finish off their four-game road trip.
 
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