NEWBERRY, S. C. – The Cavalier men attempted a late rally, but where unable to pull of the comeback as UVA Wise fell in a close 78-73 decision to Newberry College Saturday afternoon inside Eleazer Arena.

Redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris poured in game-high 25 points in the loss as he connected on 7-of-13 shots from behind the arc, going 9-for-19 on the day.

With 3:02 left in the contest, senior Eric Okenchi nailed a three to tie the game. Okenchi and sophomore Cameron Whiteside managed to knot the contest three more times in the final three minutes before the Wolves took a two-point lead on a pair of free throws with 23 seconds to play. A late steal by Newberry led to two more points for the Wolves as they extended their lead and held on for a five-point, 78-73, victory.

Newberry (12-10, 8-8 SAC) took a four-point lead to start the game before back-to-back three's by Parris put UVA Wise in front, 12-10, with 12:45 on the clock. Parris and senior Chance Sheffey connected on two more shots from downtown to put the Cavaliers ahead 22-18 with 9:29 to go in the first half.

UVA Wise (5-17, 1-15 SAC) gained a two-point lead late, but a Newberry three-pointer gave the Wolves a one point advantage, 31-30 with less than three minutes to play in the opening frame. Two more shots from three-point range for Parris' gave the Cavs a two-point lead with 22 seconds to go before a late jumper for the Wolves tied the game at 36-36 heading into the half.

Parris shot 5-for-7 from downtown in the first frame to collect a team-high 15 points. Senior Tajh Eason followed with six points while Whiteside and redshirt junior Yesid Mosquera-Perea combined for nine of the Cavs 16 rebounds in the first half.

UVA Wise did not make a trip to the charity stripe to start the game while shooting 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from behind the arc.

Parris' jumper to start the second half gave the Cavs a brief advantage, but the Wolves responded with a three to pull ahead of the Cavs. Newberry stayed in front until the 11:18 mark when Sheffey regained the lead for UVA Wise on a pair of free throws, 53-52.

The game went back-and-forth with Parris' final three of the night putting the Cavs down by one, 65-64, with 4:21 to play. Clutch free throw shooting by Okenchi and a jumper by Whiteside kept UVA Wise in the hunt late in the game, but Newberry held on to secure the 78-73 win in the final seconds.

Okenchi scored seven of his 10 second half points in the final three minutes of the game while Parris also chipped in 10 points. Okenchi led the Cavs with four rebounds in the second frame while Whiteside added eight points, three boards, and a steal.

Three more Cavalier men netted double-digit points in the game with Whiteside, Okenchi, and Sheffey each totaling 12 points on the day. Whiteside provided a team-high four assists and eight rebounds while Mosquera-Perea added six boards in the loss.

UVA Wise shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) from the field, 43.5 percent (10-for-23) from three, and 75 percent (9-for-12) from the charity stripe in the contest. Newberry outscored the Cavs in the paint 38-32 while the Wolves were aided by 16 second chance points and 13 points off of 16 Cavalier turnovers.

Head coach Blake Mellinger's team returns to Wise to take on No. 2 Lincoln Memorial University Wednesday night inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center. Tip-off between the Cavs and Railsplitters is slated for 7:30 p.m.