WHEELING, W.Va. (Nov. 24) – The Cardinals were defeated 85-79 by Virginia State in a non-conference game Saturday evening inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Wheeling Jesuit University men's basketball team drops to 0-5 overall, while the Trojans improve to 4-2 this season.
 
Freshman guard Franck Kamgain (Kansas City, Mo./DME Sports Academy) led the team with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Brendan Hoban (Watertown, Mass./Millbrook School) finished with 16 points, while freshman forward Tariq Woody (Canton, Mich./Novi) added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
After trailing for the first five minutes of the game, Wheeling Jesuit took its first lead at 13-12 following a Hoban trey with 14:17 left in the first half. The next six minutes saw both teams trade baskets, before a layup by sophomore Jeremiah Brooks (Springfield, Va./Bishop Ireton) reclaimed the lead for the Cardinals at 21-20 with 8:18 remaining until halftime.
 
Virginia State took control of the first half over the next seven minutes, out-scoring the Cardinals 23-to-13 to take a 43-34 lead with just over a minute left in the first half. WJU managed to cut into the deficit with a pair of baskets in the final 60 seconds, but entered halftime trailing 44-38.
 
The Trojans built their largest lead of the evening with a 19-8 run over the first nine minutes of the second half to establish a 63-46 lead with 10:28 to play in the game. 
 
Back-to-back buckets by senior Miguel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavier) and a three-pointer by Kamgain quickly drew the Cardinals back within single digits at 63-54 with just under nine minutes left, but Virginia State notched six-unanswered to rebuild its lead to 15 at the seven-minute mark.
 
Wheeling Jesuit hovered around an eight-point deficit for the next five minutes, before a layup-and-one by Kamgain helped pull the Cardinals within five, 79-74, with 1:13 left in the game. 
 
Following a Trojan basket, Kamgain drained a three with 42 seconds on the clock to inch to within four, 81-77. Wheeling Jesuit was only able to connect on one of its final four attempts in on the night, allowing Virginia State to close out the win.
 
The Cardinals finished the evening shooting 28 of 66 (42 percent), but were only 14 of 22 (64 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
Virginia State's Cyonte Melvin led the Trojans with 20 points, while senior Jahmere Howze added 17.
 
Wheeling Jesuit returns to Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Wednesday, November 28 when it hosts Notre Dame (Ohio) for a contest at 7:30 p.m.