INSTITUTE, W.Va. (Jan. 12) – The Wheeling Jesuit University men's basketball team went into halftime with the lead, but came up short to West Virginia State 102-89 in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) battle over the weekend.

The Cardinals fall to 1-13 overall, 0-8 in the MEC with the loss. The Yellow Jackets improve to 3-5 in the MEC, 6-8 overall with the win.

Junior center Jeremiah April (Phoenix, Ariz./Joy Christian) scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Freshman forward DeAndre Robinson (Monroeville, Ala./Monroe County) made seven of 11 shots from the field and drained two three pointers to lead the Cardinals with 16 points.

Wheeling Jesuit was aggressive out of the gates, drawing four shooting fouls on the way to an 11-2 advantage in the opening five minutes of the contest. The Cardinals kept the Yellow Jackets on their heels and grabbed their largest lead of the game, 23-11, when freshman guard Emmanuel Ansong (Bordentown, N.J./Canterbury School) drove to the basket for a layup with 12 minutes left in the first half.

West Virginia State nullified Wheeling Jesuit's lead by scoring 12 unanswered points in the following two and a half minutes, tying the game at 23-23. A back-and-forth shooting contest ensued for the remainder of the first half, which ended with the Cardinals leading 42-40.

Wheeling Jesuit kept the score close for the first four minutes of the second half. Jeremiah Moore of the Yellow Jackets then erupted for eight consecutive points to contribute to a 14-2 run.  West Virginia State kept its momentum going for the remainder of the game to win by a comfortable 13 point margin. 

The Cardinals continue their MEC schedule when they face Concord on Thursday, January 17 at the McDonough Center. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.