Storylines – vs. Shepherd University
Justin Namolik's Rams enter into the 2018-19 Mountain East Conference Tournament as the seventh-seed after finishing their regular season with a 13-15 overall record and a 9-13 record in league play. Shepherd is coming off of a three-game losing streak with their most recent loss at Fairmont State, 89-78, after falling to Charleston, 74-69, and Glenville State, 79-65. The Rams posted a 2-0 record against the Cavaliers this season with a one-point 80-79 road win before topping UVa-Wise at home, 84-77. Namolik's squad is led in scoring this season by junior Thomas Lang who is averaging 18.3 points per game and ranks eighth in the conference in scoring. Lang is also recording the highest free throw percentage in the conference at 92.5 percent and is eighth in the league and ninth in the nation for three-point field goals per game (3.57). The team's top rebounder is senior Winston Burgess whose seven boards per game rank him seventh in the league. Burgess also holds the third highest field goal percentage in the league at 62.7 percent. Picked seventh in the MEC Preseason Poll, the Rams have made an appearance in the conference tournament for six consecutive seasons ending last season with a 74-65 loss to Charleston in their quarterfinal game.

About UVa-Wise
Men's basketball earned the 10th seed in the 2018-19 Mountain East Conference Tournament following the conclusion of Saturday's games. UVa-Wise will face No. 7 seed Shepherd University Wednesday at 6 p.m. inside the WesBanco Arena. Blake Mellinger's team was selected 11th in the MEC Preseason Poll and finished with a 9-19 overall record and went 6-16 in league play. UVa-Wise went 0-2 against the Rams this season with a one-point 80-79 loss at home and an 84-77 road loss last month. After picking up their first two road wins of the season against Urbana and Notre Dame, the Cavs returned home with back-to-back losses against Charleston and Concord to close out the regular season. Three Cavalier men are averaging double-figures this year led by redshirt freshman Briggs Parris who is posting 16.2 points per game. Fellow freshman Cameron Whiteside (13.2 ppg) and junior Eric Okenchi (12.0) are also averaging double-digit points. Parris has continued to be effective for the Cavs from behind the arc with the 6-foot-4 guard ranking seventh in both total three-point field goals made (100) and three-point field goals per game (3.57) in Division II individual statistics. The team returns to the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive season after finishing last year's run with an 89-83 overtime win against Glenville State in the first round before falling to last season's tournament champions Wheeling Jesuit, 72-58.