SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio - - Men's basketball used a fighting effort to upend the Falcons on Notre Dame's Senior Day, 92-87, inside Murphy Gymnasium. UVa-Wise outlasted Notre Dame in a challenging atmosphere Saturday afternoon with five Cavalier men scoring in double figures en route to back-to-back road victories for the Cavs.

Redshirt freshman Briggs Parris led the way for the Cavs with 21 points on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown, 7-for-12 from the field, followed by freshman Cameron Whiteside who had 20 points. Junior Chance Sheffey finished with 13 points off the bench while fellow junior Eric Okenchi and senior Rahji Langford each netted 10 points apiece. Carter and Whiteside each had a team-high seven rebounds while junior guard Michal Seals and Whiteside each posted a team-high five assists in the win.

UVa-Wise (9-17, 6-14 MEC) took an early 7-2 lead with under three minutes played in the opening half on a three ball by Whiteside. Notre Dame (19-7, 15-5 MEC)  later gained the lead on a 9-0 run to go ahead 13-9 with 13:58 to play in the half.

Parris would get fouled on a three-pointer and connect on all three shots from the charity stripe to knot the game at 15-15 with 12:22 on the clock. After the Falcons took back the lead, Sheffey knocked down a shot from downtown to go up 24-22 over Notre Dame.

The teams would tie the game twice more before the Cavs took their largest lead of the first half, 40-33, with 3:33 to play. The Falcons chipped away at the Cavs lead heading into the half as UVa-Wise held a 42-40 advantage over Notre Dame at the break.

Sheffey and Whiteside each scored in double figures for the Cavs with 13 and 11 points, respectively, to start the game. Carter led the team with five rebounds in the opening half with UVa-Wise posting 16 boards to 19 for the Falcons.

The Cavs shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-for-13) from three-point range, and 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from the charity stripe.

Notre Dame opened the second half with an 11-4 run to take a 51-46 advantage over the Cavs with 16:35 on the clock. The Falcons kept the lead going up by seven points at the 14:15 mark, 57-50.

Whiteside cut Notre Dame's lead at the free throw line before a steal and a bucket by the freshman assisted by Seals put the Cavs down two points, 57-55, with just over 13 minutes to play.

An 8-2 run topped off by a Tajh Eason three ball put the Cavs on top 63-59 over the Falcons. Notre Dame's Will Vorhees connected on four free throws over the course of a minute and a half to put the Falcons within two, 65-63, at the seven minute mark.

The Falcons' Drew Scarberry cut UVa-Wise's lead to just one point, 67-66, with 5:33 to go but UVa-Wise would respond on the other end of the floor with a shot from downtown by Parris putting UVa-Wise up 70-66 with a little over five minutes left in the game.

Clutch three-point shooting by Parris gave the Cavs their largest lead of the second half going ahead of the Falcons by eight points, 81-73, as the redshirt freshman knocked down three consecutive three's in just over a minute.

 UVa-Wise did what they needed to do at the free throw line down the stretch with Carter, Seals, Eason, and Langford hitting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final 43 seconds of the game.

A Falcons' three put Notre Dame down by one point, 86-85, with less than thirty seconds to play as Langford gave the Cavs a three-point lead with two shots at the foul line.

Notre Dame's Vorhees' layup with 10 seconds in the game put the Falcons down one point once more, 88-87, as Eason knocked down a pair of free throws on the other end of the court for another three-point advantage for UVa-Wise, 90-87. Two more shots at the line by Langford with two seconds to go secured the 92-87 road victory for the Cavs.

Parris put up a 16-point effort in the second half on 6-of-9 shooting, 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Whiteside followed with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists in the closing half.

The Cavs shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the field, 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from three-point range, and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the charity stripe. Notre Dame posted a 45.2 percent (14-for-31) field goal percentage, shooting 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from downtown, and 77.8 percent (14-for-18) from the free throw line to end the game.

UVa-Wise netted 24 points in the post to 16 for the Falcons in the closing half. The Cavs had 13 points off seven Notre Dame turnovers while the Falcons were assisted with 21 points from the bench to 10 bench points for the Cavs.

On the night, UVa-Wise shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the field, 9-for-25 (36 percent) from behind the arc, and 77.8 percent (21-for-27) from the foul line. Notre Dame went 29-for-63 (46 percent) from the floor, 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) from three, and 19-for-25 (76 percent) from the line.

Each team finished with 17 assists and six steals while the Falcons narrowly won the rebounding battle, 37-35.

In the win, Parris netted his 100th career three-pointer and is now just 14 away from tying the individual season record for made three-point field goals. 

Blake Mellinger's team returns to Wise for their final two matchups of the regular season hosting Charleston Wednesday night and Concord Saturday afternoon inside the Prior Center. Tip against the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.