Storylines – vs. Tusculum University
Head Coach J.T. Burton's Pioneers will host UVA Wise Wednesday night with Tusculum currently holding a 2-1 mark in South Atlantic Conference play, 7-4 overall. The Pioneers have posted league wins this season against Lenoir-Rhyne, 70-58, and a four-point victory at Newberry earlier this month, 65-51. Tusculum was selected to finish sixth in this year's preseason coaches' poll after posting a 16-13 overall mark, 12-8 in SAC play in the 2018-19 season, with sophomore guard Trenton Gibson named to the preseason all-SAC second team. Gibson finished last season averaging 13.1 points per game and 3.6 assists per contest on his way to being recognized as the SAC Freshman of the Year. This season, Gibson is recording 13.4 points per game while shooting 79 percent from the foul line and leads the Pioneers with 4.2 assists per game. The sophomore guard follows senior Tariq Jenkins in the scoring category as Jenkins is averaging a team-high 14.7 ppg while shooting 46 percent from the floor.  Tusculum is averaging 42.9 rebounds per game led by junior Brandon Mitchell and his 7.6 boards per contest. This is the Pioneers first home contest of December as Tusculum will look to wrap up 2019 on the road Saturday at Queens (N.C.).

About UVA Wise
The Cavaliers dropped their home contest against the Wolves of Newberry Saturday afternoon, 73-67, while redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris netted a game-high 20 points in the loss on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Against Newberry, sophomore Cameron Whiteside added 19 points for his eighth-straight double-figure scoring game. Whiteside currently leads his squad with 18.8 points per game (tied for fifth in the SAC) and is shooting over 50 percent from the field so far this campaign. From behind the arc, Parris continues to lead the conference averaging 3.6 made three-pointers a game while shooting a team-high 41.6 percent from downtown. Senior Eric Okenchi serves as the top rebounder for the Cavs averaging 6.4 boards per contest followed by Whiteside who is collecting six rebonds per game. As a team, UVA Wise sits at fifth in the SAC in defensive rebounds per game (27.9), fourth in free throw percentage (75.5 percent), and second in assists per game (17.8). Senior Chance Sheffey remains atop the league standings with his 5.7 assists per game and ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage (94.4 percent) as freshman Drew Greene claims the top spot in the category shooting 95.5 percent from the charity stripe. Head Coach Blake Mellinger's team will close out the 2019 portion of their schedule at home inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center Thursday, December 19, as the Cavs face Ohio University - Chillicothe for Kids Day with tip slated for 12 p.m.