WISE, Va. – UVa-Wise men's basketball finishes up its three-game homestand Thursday inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center with a senior night matchup against West Virginia State at 7:30 p.m.
 
Storylines – vs. West Virginia State University
The Cavaliers take on the Yellow Jackets for the second time this season, having faced West Virginia State back on Nov. 23 in Institute, West Virginia. That night the host Yellow Jackets got the best of the visiting Cavs, winning the contest 85-65. UVa-Wise was outrebounded 56-36 in that affair and only shot 31 percent (22-for-72) from the field, including going 5-for-27 from three-point distance. The game was only the Cavs fourth contest of the season and second in Mountain East Conference play as the Yellow Jackets also dominated the Cavs down low, outscoring UVa-Wise 50-32 in points in the paint. Down by only two (36-34) at halftime, the Cavs were held scoreless in the first three minutes of the second half while the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 scoring run to open up the half. From there the Cavs would get no closer than five points for the rest of the night. Senior forward Matt Day led the Cavs in that game with one of his 14 double-doubles this season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
 
West Virginia State sits in 10th place in the MEC standings with a 4-16 league record, just three games ahead of UVa-Wise. The Yellow Jackets are led by senior forward Markee Mazyck, a 2014-15 All-MEC Second Team selection, who is averaging 19.8 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. West Virginia State has lost 10 of its last 11 games and is currently on five-game skid.
 
The Yellow Jackets no longer have the services of junior guard Robert Fomby who led the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and was one of the top scorers (15.2 ppg) before being dismissed by the team. Fomby had a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds in the Cavs' first meeting with West Virginia State this season.
 
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise is on a season-worst 13-game losing streak after being edged by Urbana University, 91-87, in overtime this past Saturday inside the Prior Center. Despite holding a five-point 76-71 lead with a minute and a half to play, the Cavs were not able to hold on as the Blue Knights hit a three-pointer with 29 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. Urbana did not miss a shot in the extra five minutes of play, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field to defeat the Cavs.
 
Thursday night's game will be featured as senior night for UVa-Wise with starting forward Matt Day being honored prior to tip-off. The Buckhorn, Kentucky (Buckhorn H.S.), native has scored 1,530 points in his career at UVa-Wise and is seventh all-time in school history, only 55 points away from reaching sixth place on the list. Day leads the Cavs this season, averaging a double-double at 21.6 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per contest. He ranks 11th nationally in double-doubles recorded this season (14) and is top ten in the nation in rebounds per game.
 
Following tomorrow night's contest, the Cavs will wrap up the regular season with a trip to Concord University Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off with the Mountain Lions.