INSTITUTE, W. Va. - - UVa-Wise battled in a tough road test against West Virginia State as the Yellow Jackets held on for an 87-79 win.

Redshirt freshman Briggs Parris netted a game-high 29 points, scoring 23 of his 29 points in the second half. Freshman Cameron Whiteside registered his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and added four assists. Freshman Kaeleb Carter added 12 points with three steals and a block.

Three minutes into the opening half, the Cavs (5-11, 3-8 MEC) and Yellow Jackets (9-8, 6-5 MEC) would knot the game before West Virginia State took the lead on a free throw, 6-5. UVa-Wise would go on a 5-2 run to gain a 10-8 advantage on a triple by Whiteside followed by a basket by junior forward Eric Okenchi with 14:50 on the clock.

Another three by Whiteside at the 13:19 mark would put the Cavs ahead 16-11. A 9-0 run by the Yellow Jackets would put them ahead by four with 10:47 to go in the half, 20-16. West Virginia State would continue to extend its lead, up 33-24 with 5:12 on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets would gain a double-digit lead on a three-ball with 3:23 to go, 39-29. West Virginia State would maintain the lead closing out the half on a shot from downtown to go up 44-33 heading into halftime.

UVa-Wise shot just 30 percent (9-for-30) from the field to start, connecting on just 2-of-7 from beyond the arc and posting a 68.4 percent (13-for-19) free throw percentage. The Cavs recorded 26 rebounds to 22 for West Virginia State while the Yellow Jackets shot 43.2 percent (16-for-37) from the field.

Carter would get hot early to start the second half with eight points in two minutes, putting the Cavs down by five, 48-43 with 18:06 on the clock. The Yellow Jackets would connect on back-to-back threes courtesy of Parris and Whiteside to get within three, 54-51 with 13:31 to go.

Down by six points, Parris would knock down a pair of threes to knot the game at 58-58 with just under 11 minutes in the game. West Virginia State would regain a double-digit lead before Parris connected on two more shots from downtown to cut the deficit to four as the Yellow Jackets led 69-65 at the 7:19 mark.

Whiteside would put the Cavs down by one on a tip-in followed by freshman Jordan Twyman's free throw to tie the game at 77-77 with 2:16 on the clock. UVa-Wise would try to stay in the game but the Yellow Jackets would pull away at the foul line in the final seconds as West Virginia State outlasted the Cavs, 87-79.

The Yellow Jackets outscored UVa-Wise 24-8 inside the paint in the second half. Both teams recorded 18 rebounds in the closing half with the Cavs shooting 44.1 percent (15-for-34) from the field while West Virginia State shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) in the second half.

UVa-Wise finished the night shooting 37.5 percent (26-for-64) from the field while the Yellow Jackets posted a 49.3 (33-for-67) field goal percentage. The Cavs outrebounded West Virginia State 44-40 and had 18 assists to 13 assists for the Yellow Jackets.

Blake Mellinger's team will stay on the road for a matchup against Concord University Saturday afternoon. Tip is slated for 4 p.m.