WISE – Sophomore Cameron Whiteside recorded another career night with a career-high 37 points on a career-high 14 field goals as the Cavaliers fell to the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University, 81-64, inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center. The 6-foot-4 guard also tied his career-high five made three-pointers and grabbed nine boards in the loss.

Down to seven active players due to illness and injuries, UVA Wise (5-10, 1-8 SAC) took an early lead with back-to-back three-pointers by Whiteside and redshirt junior Yesid Mosquera-Perea with a little over 17 minutes to play in the opening frame. The Bears gained a seven point advantage on a 9-0 run, 16-9, with 14:33 to go.

A Lenoir-Rhyne (8-6, 4-5 SAC) three pushed the Bears lead to double-digits with 10 minutes on the clock as the team maintained the lead throughout the half. Whiteside cut the margin to 13 points on a shot from downtown as the Cavs went into the half down 35-22.

Whiteside posted a game-high 16 points in the first half on 5-of-10 shooting, 2-for-4 from three, and went 4-for-5 at the charity stripe. Mosquera-Perea and senior Chance Sheffey also chipped in with four and two points, respectively.

UVA Wise shot 25 percent (6-for-24) from the field, 20 percent (3-for-15) from three, and 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from the charity stripe. Lenoir-Rhyne won the rebounding battle in the first half 25-11 and had three steals and seven turnovers.

The Bears pushed their advantage to 17 points before Mosquera-Perea and Whiteside connected on two more from three point range to dig into Lenoir-Rhyne's lead, 42-28, with 18:17 to play.

With the Bears up by 18, the Cavs scored six straight points to get within 12 points on a bucket by freshman Izeah Parker, 56-44, at the 11:27 mark. Lenoir-Rhyne gained their largest lead of the night with 5:45 to go, up 75-48 over the Cavs. The Bears stayed ahead by double-digits, taking the game 81-64.

Whiteside poured in 21 points in the second frame, scoring 20+ points in the second half in back-to-back games. Parker and Sheffey each chipped in seven points while Mosquera-Perea had six points in the closing half. UVA shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the field, 50 percent (7-for-14) from behind the arc, and went 1-for-4 at the foul line in the second half.

The Cavs shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the floor, 34.5 percent (10-for-29) from three, and went 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from the free throw line in the loss. Both Whiteside and Sheffey played a career high 40 minutes as Sheffey registered nine points and a team-high five assists. Mosquera-Perea finished with 10 points and three boards while Parker notched seven points and four rebounds.

Head coach Blake Mellinger's team will return to action Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. tip against the Cobras of Coker University inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.