HICKORY, N.C. – The UVA Wise men's basketball team (7-7, 3-3 SAC) fell 85-78 to Lenoir-Rhyne (9-5, 4-2 SAC) in its third conference road game of the season Saturday night. 

A pair of offensive droughts contributed to UVA Wise's seven-point road loss against the Bears. 

In the first half, UVA Wise went over five minutes without a bucket until freshman guard Carmelo Pacheco drilled a three-pointer to keep the game close at 28-24. 

Pacheco played in his first game since Dec. 9 Saturday having spent the last four games sidelined with an injury. The Harrisonburg, Va. native was crucial in keeping the Cavs close in the first half knocking down a pair of threes and a layup for eight points. 

UVA Wise trailed 32-29 at the break behind Pacheco and sophomore guard Zion Fruster's scoring performance. 

Fruster, who had a career game with 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists Wednesday against Mars Hill, continued his hot scoring with 13 first-half points. Fruster finished the night with a team-high 22 points behind a 4-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. 

Saturday marked the first time in Fruster's career in which he scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games. Fruster averaged 28 points, eight rebounds and went 17-for-17 at the free throw line in UVA Wise's two games this week. 

In the second half, it was junior guard Zy'Ever Wingfield who shouldered much of the scoring load in the Cavalier comeback attempt. 

Wingfield went 8-for-14 from the floor in the game for a total of 20 points in the loss. It's Wingfield's third 20-point performance of the season and second in the last three games. He also added eight rebounds, the second most in a game for him on the year. 

Still, over a five-minute stretch in the second half the Cavs only mustered two points on a layup from Fruster. In the same span, Lenoir-Rhyne went on a 16-2 run to lead 61-48 at the 8:36 mark. 

The Bears were led to their win by a pair of transfers in the scoring column. 

Junior guard Tay Smith who came over to Hickory from Brescia University (Ky.) had a game high 21-points on 9-of-16 shooting with three triples. 

However, it was fellow transfer and junior guard Jaheim Taylor that stole that show for the maroon and white. Taylor joined Lenoir-Rhyne this year after spending two seasons at Davidson-Davie Community College (N.C.). 

Taylor could not miss Saturday night as he recorded a season-high 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting with three triples and three ferocious dunks. 17 of his points came in the second half which included a 52-second stretch in which Taylor racked up seven points with ease. 

The Cavs will continue a short two-game road stint Wednesday night when they travel just down the road to Harrogate, Tenn. to face Lincoln Memorial for the first time since upsetting the Railsplitters in the SAC Tournament Semifinals last season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from Tex Turner Arena.