WISE - - UVa-Wise fell to No. 24 Fairmont State Thursday night as the Fighting Falcons stifled the Cavs with a 106-80 win inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.

Junior guard Michal Seals led UVa-Wise with 18 points and added seven assists and four rebounds. Junior forward Eric Okenchi had 17 points and six rebounds while freshman forward Cameron Whiteside netted 14 points and junior guard Chance Sheffey had 12 points.

Fairmont State (10-3, 7-0 MEC) controlled the game early coming out with an 11-2 lead to start at the 15:59 mark. Seals and redshirt freshman guard Briggs Parris would each connect on a three-pointer to cut the Fighting Falcons lead to just three points with Fairmont State leading 11-8 with under 15 minutes to play in the opening half.

The Fighting Falcons expanded their lead to double-digits with 11:23 on the clock, 23-12. Fairmont State would continue to dominate from the floor in the first half as the team shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the field and were 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Cavs (5-7, 3-4 MEC) were outrebounded 24-10 in the first half, posting 18 defensive rebounds for Fairmont State to nine for UVa-Wise. The Cavs went 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) from the floor and connected on just 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) from three-point range.

Seals led the Cavs in scoring in the first half with eight points while Okenchi added six points and three rebounds.

Fairmont State would push the margin to 30+ points at the 15:55 mark with a 31 point lead over the Cavs, 66-35. The Fighting Falcons gained their largest lead of the night with a little over eight minutes to play with a 37 point advantage, 92-55.

The Cavs would go on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit with Fairmont State leading 94-66 with 4:53 to go. The Fighting Falcons would maintain a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the game as Fairmont State went on to win, 106-80.

Four Cavalier men scored in double-figures in the second half as Whiteside and Sheffey led the way with 12 points each. Okenchi netted 11 points and three rebounds while Seals added 10 points and five assists in the second half.

On the night, Fairmont State shot 52.7 percent (39-for-74) and recorded 47 rebounds along with 28 assists. The Fighting Falcons were led in scoring by sophomore guard Cole VonHandorf who had 19 points and eight rebounds.

UVa-Wise shot 26-for-60 (43.3 percent) from the field and grabbed 30 boards. The Cavs shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from beyond the arc and hit 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) from the foul line. UVa-Wise had 28 points in the paint and added 14 points off of turnovers.

Blake Mellinger's team will have a quick turnaround as the Cavs host Shepherd University Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. inside the Prior Center.