WHEELING, W.Va. – With all the excitement of a home regional, the air was let out of the Cardinals men's basketball sails as its final-seconds push fell short. Mercyhurst clung to a one-point victory, 66-65, for the Atlantic Region First Round upset of Wheeling Jesuit.
At 6.3 seconds left, WJU's Pat Moseh weaved his way down the court and sliced through the lane to put one a potential game-winning shot, but was called for a charge as he released the ball when the Mercyhurst defender slid under him.
"It was a hard-fought game. Mercyhurst played really hard and is a well-coached team," said WJU head coach Danny Sancomb. "(It came down to) taking care of the basketball. We didn't do a good enough job to win the game. If we had started to play 10 minutes earlier, I feel the outcome would have been different."
The Cardinals committed 19 turnovers, their most since making the same amount on Dec. 16 cover 22 games. The team also made only 9 of 16 free throws and connected on 2 of 12 attempts from 3-point range.
With the defeat, WJU completed the season 28-4, co-Mountain East Conference regular season champions and earned the University's first No. 1 ranking ever in the National Association of Basketball Coaches rankings.
"I am proud of this team. They gave all they could have given this season," added Sancomb.
Kyle Ritz knocked down 10 of 12 attempts for a game-best 21 points and grabbed five rebounds. His 15th-point made him the newest Cardinals 1,000-career point member.
"We have a lot of talent coming back next year and look to be competitive next year, too," Ritz said.
Senior point guard Eric Siefert finished his career with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting for the game. He also pulled down six boards and had two assists.
"I wanted to leave the program better than when I got here. I know we are headed in the right direction," stressed Siefert.
"I can't say enough about Eric, (Justin) Fritts and Tim (Goff). The leadership those three continue to lead this program is invaluable," noted the Cardinals coach.
Haywood Highsmith made 7 of 9 tries for 14 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
Damon Jones paced the Lakers with 19 points, while Kayode Ajenifuja had 14.
The Cardinals started quickly as they ran out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes complements all by Ritz's four buckets.
Mercyhurst tied the game for the first time, 23-23, with 8:08 left in the first half and it held a 34-33 intermission lead.
WJU regained the early second-half lead and held a margin of as many as six points, 46-40, on a Highsmith dunk with 12:15 remaining. The Cardinals, though, were unable to get their separation and it came back to bite them in the end.
A Drake Goddard layup tied the game, 57-57, for the Cardinals with 6:16 left. The Lakers took advantage of a home offensive foul and a pair of turnovers and pushed ahead, 64-59, at 2:11 remaining.
Trailing 64-59, WJU received two Fritts free throws, a Siefert driving layup and a Highsmith layup for a 65-64 advantage with 44.8 seconds on the clock.
Moseh blocked Mercyhurst's last-second shot on the next defensive trip, but Ajenifuja grabbed the ball and put back what would be the game-winner, 66-65.
-GoCards-
