Box Score WISE, Va. – Despite a tied score at halftime, UVa-Wise men's basketball was outscored by 14 in the second half and dropped a 91-77 decision to Notre Dame College inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center Thursday night.
 
The host Cavalier (3-22, 1-18 MEC) and visiting Falcons (17-8, 11-8 MEC) were all knotted up at 33 apiece at the break but strong rebounding and scoring runs propelled Notre Dame College over UVa-Wise in the final 20 minutes of play. The Cavs were outrebounded 53-34 in the affair as the Falcons grabbed 19 on the offensive end, which led to 18 second-chance points.
 
The Cavs grabbed a quick 8-5 lead early in the first half after a layup by senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn, Ky.) but the Falcons quickly responded with a 5-0 run to take a 10-8 lead with 14:30 remaining in the opening half. UVa-Wise took another three-point lead at 14-11 after a pair of free-throws by Day but a 12-3 run by the Falcons over the next three minutes gave the visiting team a six-point advantage.
 
Down by six at 33-27 with 1:41 remaining in the first half, the Cavs went on a 6-0 run capped by a three-pointer by junior transfer forward Gervelle Kidd (Martinsville, Va.) to tie up the score heading into the locker room.
 
UVa-Wise only shot 37 percent (11-for-30) in the first half but was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Notre Dame College was actually a little worse from the field in the opening half, going 12-for-34 (35 percent) but outrebounding the Cavs 26-16.
 
A 15-5 scoring run by the Falcons in the first four minutes of the second half put the visiting team up by 10 at 48-38 with 16:06 to go. The Cavs slowly but surely chiseled away at the Falcons' advantage and got the lead down to four after a layup by sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) with 8:30 remaining.
 
A quick 8-2 run by Notre Dame College over the next minute and a half extended their lead to 10 again at 67-57. Two made foul shots by Day with 6:23 left made it a six-point game at 67-61 but that would be the closest the Cavs would get for the rest of the night.
 
The Falcons ballooned their advantage to as much as 16 with 90 seconds remaining before Notre Dame College made free-throws down the stretch to seal the deal, despite three three-pointers by UVa-Wise in the final 1:17.
 
All told, UVa-Wise shot the ball at 39 percent (25-for-65) for the game and made 12 shots from beyond the arc in 35 attempts (34 percent). Notre Dame College went 30-for-70 (43 percent) from the field, including 10-for-27 (37 percent) from distance.
 
The Cavs were outscored 21-8 in fast break points and 38-24 in points in the paint.
 
Day led the Cavs with his 13th double-double of the season with 30 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Sousa finished with 20 points and eight boards, while Kidd scored 17. Sophomore guard Philip Owens II (Virginia Beach, Va.) had a nice game, dishing out a game-high eight assists and collecting four rebounds.
 
The Falcons were led by returning All-MEC selection Tyree Gaiter, who finished with 30 points, five assists and five rebounds. Notre Dame College's Kyauta Taylor earned 21 points and nine boards as Will Vorhees contributed 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ja'Sean Lewis was the second Falcon with a double-double, collecting 11 caroms and scoring 12 points.
 
The Cavs will continue their three-game homestand Saturday when they get a visit from Urbana University, tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. from inside the Prior Center.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier men's basketball news, statistics, complete schedule and more.