ELKINS, W.Va. (Dec. 4) – A last-second attempt did not fall, as the Wheeling University men's basketball team was clipped 74-73 at Davis & Elkins in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) game Wednesday night at the McConnell Center.
 
The loss sends the Cardinals to 2-1 in league play, 5-2 overall. Wheeling has lost the past two games by one possession in the final seconds. Meanwhile, the Senators improve to 4-4 overall, 2-1 in the MEC.
 
D&E took a 74-70 lead with just over a minute left in the game. Sophomore forward Emmanuel Ansong (Bordentown, N.J./Canterbury School) responded with a basket-and-one to slice the lead to one with 48 seconds to play.
 
After the Cardinals got a stop on the defensive end, Wheeling took a timeout with 10 seconds left to draw up a play. Sophomore guard Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) got the ball at the top of the arc, but could not get a clean look away, allowing the Senators to sneak off with the win.
 
Ansong led Wheeling with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Gentry added 19 points and five boards. Junior Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) finished with 16 points, with classmate Jordan Reid chipped in 11 in the loss.
 
The Cardinals led for the final 15 minutes of the first half, including a 23-15 advantage with 6:34 until halftime. D&E out-scored Wheeling 18-11 down the stretch and only trailed 34-33 heading into the break.
 
The Senators took the lead at 36-34 two minutes into the second half and led by as many as nine, 68-59, with 4:06 left in the game. Wheeling rallied with a 11-2 run to draw back within two at 72-70 with 1:26 remaining in the contest.
 
Donte Doleman led the Senators with 24 points on the night, while playing nearly the entire game.
 
Wheeling will look to get back on track on Saturday, December 7 when it travels to take on West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon at 4 p.m.