WISE – Men's basketball dropped its second home game of the campaign against Lenoir-Rhyne University Wednesday night in a 98-63 decision.
Lenoir-Rhyne sustained a double-digit lead midway through the first half and did not relinquish it as the Cavs struggled to climb from behind.
Junior guard Cameron Whiteside led UVA Wise (0-6, 0-6) with 20 points while shooting 57 percent from the field and added eight rebounds. Redshirt junior Briggs Parris also scored in double-figures for the Cavs as he netted 11 points in the loss.
The two teams battled early with the game tied for the third time at 14-14 with 12:23 to go in the first half.
Lenoir-Rhyne (4-1, 4-1 SAC) pulled away to its first double-digit advantage of the night with under eight minutes to go, up 26-15.
A 14-2 run by the Bears extended their lead to 43-19 with 3:20 to go in the opening frame.
UVA Wise trailed 52-29 at halftime as Whiteside led the Cavs with 13 points into the break.
The Cavs shot 41.4 percent (12-for-29) from the field to start while the Bears went 20-for-31 (64.5 percent) from the floor in the first half.
Parris's jumper in the paint opened the second half scoring for UVA Wise, down 59-31 at the 17:30 mark.
The Bears took their largest lead of the contest with a little over four minutes to play, holding a 40-point advantage, as Lenoir-Rhyne went on to claim the 98-63 victory.
UVA Wise finished the night shooting 37.5 percent (24-for-64) from the field and just 17.6 percent (6-for-34) from three.
Lenoir-Rhyne ended the game shooting 58 percent (40-for-69) from the floor and 40 percent (11-for-27) from behind the arc.
Lenoir-Rhyne's Darius Simmons recorded a game-high 21 points while two more Bears registered double-digit points.
UVA Wise sophomore Izeah Parker pulled down six boards while fellow sophomore Jakhari Taylor scored his first career points, knocking down a trio of shots at the foul line.
Head coach Blake Mellinger's team will return to action Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off against No. 12/15 Queens (N.C.) inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
