Storylines – vs. Shepherd University Rams
The Rams of Shepherd University enter into Saturday afternoon's matchup following a one-point loss, 77-76, to Concord University at home Thursday night. Shepherd broke a five-game losing streak last Saturday against Urbana with a 68-58 defeat of the Blue Knights at home. With a 7-10 Mountain East record, 11-12 overall mark, Head Coach Justin Namolik's team is tied for the seventh slot in the league with West Virginia Wesleyan. The team is shooting 44.6 percent from the field and netting 77 points on average led by junior guard Thomas Lang who is averaging 17.8 points per game. The Rams are shooting 33.9 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line to date. On average, Shepherd is posting 37.1 boards per game with senior forward Winston Burgess and freshman guard Jon Preston leading the way with 7.0 and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively. Namolik's squad is recording 11 turnovers per contest while opponents are averaging just under 10 per game. Shepherd topped the Cavaliers earlier in the season inside the Prior Center, 80-79, on a last second bucket by Lang. The Rams will follow Saturday's matchup with a pair of road games next week against West Virginia State and the University of Charleston.
About UVa-Wise
UVa-Wise will seek its first road win of the season against the Rams Saturday afternoon as the Cavs look to halt a three-game losing streak. The Cavalier men suffered a 93-66 road loss to Fairmont State Thursday night as the team struggled shooting from the floor and costly turnovers resulted in a season sweep of the Cavs by the Fighting Falcons. With the loss, UVa-Wise falls to 4-13 in Mountain East Conference play, 7-16 overall, and remain in a three-way tie with Glenville State and Wheeling Jesuit. Heading into game two of a four-game road stretch, UVa-Wise will look to improve from the line with the team shooting nearly 10 percent lower from the charity stripe (66.1 percent) than opponents, while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from behind the arc. As a team, UVa-Wise is scoring at a -2.2 margin to opponents (82.7 points per game) and tallying 39.7 rebounds per game to opponents' 41.3 boards per contest. After being outlasted at home by the Rams earlier this year, UVa-Wise will look to go 1-1 this season against Shepherd as the team attempts to secure a spot in conference postseason play. The Cavs will stay on the road next weekend with games against Urbana on Thursday and Notre Dame College next Saturday.
