Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – UVa-Wise men's basketball saw its 2015-16 season come to a close Tuesday night in the first round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament at sixth-seeded Notre Dame College. The 11th-seeded Cavaliers (4-25, 2-20 MEC) were defeated 102-84 by the Falcons (19-10, 12-10 MEC) in a sharp-shooting affair.
 
With minimal turnovers by both teams, the host Falcons shot an outstanding 61 percent (19-for-31) in the second half after holding a 10-point halftime lead to top the visiting Cavs. UVa-Wise shot 55 percent (16-for-29) in the second half but it wasn't enough as the Cavs were outrebounded 40-23 in the game.
 
Notre Dame College's two All-MEC First Team selections, Tyree Gaiter and Will Vorhees, each recorded 30-point games and the Falcons outscored UVa-Wise 20-0 in points off the bench.
 
UVa-Wise started the game with a left wing three-pointer by sophomore guard Philip Owens II (Virginia Beach, Va.) to take a very early 3-0 lead as it took the Falcons nearly two minutes to score. Both teams would go back and forth before Notre Dame College built an 18-14 lead with 10:50 to go in the half.
 
The Falcons would outscore the Cavs 14-7 over a four minute and 15 second stretch to mount an eight-point 32-24 lead with 6:28 remaining in the half. A three-pointer by Notre Dame College's Gaiter put the Falcons up 10 at 37-27 before a three by sophomore forward Dimitri Sousa (São Paulo, Brazil) cut the deficit to five with 3:17 to go in the opening half. That would be as close as UVa-Wise would get in the half as Notre Dame College outscored the Cavs 25-16 in the final nine and a half minutes to take a 10-point 46-36 lead into the locker room.
 
The Cavs shot 44 percent (15-for-34) from the field in the opening half and went 6-for-16 (38 percent) from beyond the arc. The Falcons were 18-for-35 (51 percent) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play and were also 6-for-16 from distance.
 
A quick 9-4 run to start the second half got the Cavs within five at 50-45 but the Falcons responded with a 6-0 run of their own to push their lead to 11 with 16:04 to go. A layup and three by Sousa cut -the Falcons' lead back down to six at 56-50 but Notre Dame College pushed its advantage to 14 after an 8-0 run over the next minute and 15 seconds.
 
The Falcons extended their lead to 16 at 72-56 after a three-pointer by Kyauta Taylor with 11:02 remaining. However, UVa-Wise came storming back with a 15-4 scoring run over the next three and a half minutes that was capped by an Owens II three. The run made it a five-point game at 76-71 with 7:29 left.
 
It would be the closest the Cavs would get for the rest of the game as Notre Dame College responded by outscoring UVa-Wise 12-2 over the next three and a half minutes. A pair of Gaiter free throws gave the host Falcons a 18-point 97-79 lead with only 1:42 left in the contest and both teams scored five points down the stretch to make the final score 102-84.
 
All told, UVa-Wise shot 49 percent (31-for-63) in the contest and finished 13-for-30 (43 percent) from three-point range. Notre Dame College shot 56 percent (37-for-66) for the game and connected on 12-of-27 shots from deep. Both teams shot the three ball very well in the second half, the Cavs going 7-for-14 from distance and the Falcons going 6-for-11.
 
Senior forward Matt Day (Buckhorn, Ky.) scored the Cavs' final five points of the game, knocking down a three-pointer and two free throws. Day finished his remarkable UVa-Wise career leading the Cavs with 29 points on 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Twenty-four of Day's 29 points came in the second half.
 
Owens II finished with 27 points and five assists after earning 17 points in the first half. Sousa scored 20 points of his own, while redshirt sophomore guard Ricardo Hill Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) dished out a career-high 10 assists and tied his career-high in rebounds with eight.
 
Gaiter and Vorhees led the Falcons with 32 and 31 points, respectively, while Taylor added 15 and Ryan Hickoff earned 11. Scoring 20 points in the first half, Gaiter nearly had a triple-double on the night as he made 12 assists and grabbed nine rebounds. Ja'Sean Lewis got a game-high 10 rebounds for Notre Dame College.
 
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