FAIRMONT, W. Va. - - Cavalier men suffered a 93-66 loss at the hands of the Fighting Falcons Thursday night on the road. UVa-Wise struggled from the floor, shooting just 35.9 percent on the night and turning the ball over 17 times in the game.

Just two UVa-Wise players scored in double-figures led by redshirt freshman Briggs Parris would posted 17 points and connecting on 4-of-8 from downtown. Freshman Cameron Whiteside registered 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field while junior Chance Sheffey finished with nine points, six of which came from the foul line, and five boards. Junior Eric Okenchi posted a team-high eight rebounds while freshman Kaeleb Carter finished with seven boards.

UVa-Wise (7-16, 4-13 MEC) would take its first and only lead of the game less than three minutes in before Fairmont State (17-6, 14-3 MEC) regained the lead. A three-pointer by Parris with 15:18 to play in the opening half knotted the contest at 10 apiece.

Sophomore Jordan Pointer and Carter would get shots to fall to keep the Cavs in the game with UVa-Wise trailing 19-15 at the 11:36 mark. The Fighting Falcons would begin to heat up from the floor gaining their first double-digit advantage with less than 10 minutes left in the first half.

A shot from downtown with 6:51 on the clock would put Fairmont State ahead by 13, 33-20. Fairmont would gain its largest lead of the half with under two minutes to play, 41-27. A Whiteside three with 1:12 to play would cut the margin to single digits, but the Fighting Falcons would stay on top going into the half up 46-34 over Fairmont.

The Cavs turned the ball over 12 times to just four turnovers for Fairmont State in the first half. UVa-Wise won the rebounding battle to start, 22-17, as the team shot 41.4 percent (12-for-29) from the field, 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) from three, and 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from the charity stripe.

Fairmont opened the second half on a 9-3 run to expand its lead to 18 points, 55-37, with 18:18 on the clock. A shot by Pointer at the 12:34 mark would cut the deficit to 14 points, 66-52, but an 18-2 run would give Fairmont its largest lead of the game at 30 points, 84-54, with 8:36 to go.

The Fighting Falcons would maintain their advantage for the rest of the contest as the Cavs fell to Fairmont, 93-66. Fairmont State doubled the Cavs points inside the paint in the second half with the Fighting Falcons posting 20 points down low. Parris scored 11 of his 17 points in the closing half on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The Fighting Falcons won the battle on the boards with 33 rebounds to 19 for the Cavs. UVa-Wise limited themselves to five turnovers in the closing half with four blocks and four steals.

In the second half, the Cavs were 11-for-35 (31.4 percent) from the field, connecting on just 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc, and 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from the foul line. On the night, UVa-Wise shot 35.9 percent (23-for-64) from the field, 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) from three-point range, and 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from the free throw line.

Blake Mellinger's team returns to action Saturday on the road against Shepherd with tip scheduled for 4 p.m.