BUCKHANNON, W. Va. - - UVa-Wise dropped its second road conference game of the season to the Bobcats of West Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday night, 81-69.

Junior forward Eric Okenchi led all scorers with a season and career-high 24 points with 11 rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Michal Seals netted 16 points alongside six assists and two rebounds. Freshman guard Briggs Parris had nine points while junior guard Chance Sheffey recorded seven points and five rebounds for UVa-Wise.

UVa-Wise (4-5, 2-3 MEC) piled on the points early, going up on the Bobcats 17-2 with 15:31 on the clock on a three-pointer by freshman forward Kaeleb Carter. A jumper by West Virginia Wesleyan's Dusan Vicentic would put the Bobcats within five points before a three by Parris put the Cavs back up by 13 points, 20-7 at the 12:01 mark.

The Bobcats (4-4, 2-3 MEC) would knock down back-to-back shots from downtown to cut the Cavs lead to nine points, 22-13, with 9:36 to go in the first half. West Virginia Wesleyan would chip away at the Cavs lead with the Bobcats down by two with under two minutes to play, 31-29.

Okenchi would put the Cavs ahead by four with a quick basket at the close of the half with UVa-Wise leading 33-29.

Okenchi was the top scorer at the half with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and six rebounds. Seals and Parris each added six points while Seals recorded four assists and a steal to start. The Cavs were 14-for-33 (42.4 percent) from the field, 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

Freshman forward Josh Thomas would put UVa-Wise up six as he knocked down a pair of free throws with a little over 18 minutes left in the game. West Virginia Wesleyan would stay in the game as the Bobcats took the lead for the first time on a free throw shot with 12:38 to play, 47-46.

UVa-Wise would go ahead of the Bobcats once again but a three by West Virginia Wesleyan would knot the game at 56-56 with a little over nine minutes on the clock.

An 8-0 run by West Virginia Wesleyan would give them a six point advantage, 64-58, late in the half. The Bobcats would begin to pull away in the final minutes of the game, gaining a double-digit lead before going on to win 81-69 over the Cavs.

In the second half, UVa-Wise shot just 37 percent (10-for-27) from the field, 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from downtown.

The Cavs were 24-for-60 (40 percent) from the floor on the night while the Bobcats shot 42.9 percent (24-for-56) from the field.

Blake Mellinger's team will return home for a 2 p.m. matchup against the Glenville State Pioneers Saturday afternoon inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.