Mountain East Conference Tournament First Round: No. 8 Seed West Virginia Wesleyan (11-17, 8-14 MEC) vs. No. 9 Seed Wheeling Jesuit (8-20, 7-15 MEC)
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FIRST MEETING VERSUS WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (11/17/18) BOX SCORE | RECAP
The Cardinals were defeated at home by West Virginia Wesleyan, 78-60, in the conference-opener in November. The Bobcats shot 56 percent from the field while Wheeling Jesuit converted just 35 percent of its field goals. WJU went nine for 28 from three-point range in the loss. The Cardinals had three players score in double-digits, including freshman guard Franck Kamgain with a team-high 15 points. WVWC had four players score in double-figures, including Dusan Vicentic with a game-high 18 points.
SECOND MEETING VERSUS WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (2/23/19) BOX SCORE | RECAP
The Cardinals won on the road against West Virginia Wesleyan, 75-66, when they met in February. WJU shot 56 percent from the field and an even 50 percent from three-point range in the win. The Cardinals scored 40 points in the paint and out-rebounded Wesleyan 32-23. WVWC converted just 13 of 33 three-point field goal attempts in the loss. Freshman forward Tariq Woody tallied five rebounds and four assists to go along with a team-high 25 points. Freshman forward DeAndre Robinson shot a perfect five of five from beyond the arc on his way to 21 points. Wesleyan's Clay Todd led his team in scoring with 25 points.
FINISHING STRONG
The Cardinals went 6-4 in their last 10 games of the regular season, including a pair of three-game win streaks. Wheeling Jesuit shot 54.5 percent from the field, averaged 86.8 points per game and posted a positive-23 rebounding margin in the six wins.
SIXTH MAN
Freshman forward Emmanuel Ansong has come off the bench on multiple occasions to deliver electrifying dunks and show-stopping blocks. He scored 12 points, made three blocks and was one rebound away from a double-double in 19 minutes on the court last week versus Urbana. In the final game of the regular season against West Liberty he posted 13 points and 10 boards for a double-double in 17 minutes spent on the floor.
QUICK HITS
- West Virginia Wesleyan ranks last in the MEC in scoring offense (69.6 points per game). However, the Bobcats are holding opponents to a league-best 73.3 points per game.
- Robinson and Ansong were both not in the lineup when the teams met the first time around in November.
- Wheeling Jesuit's 54.5 percent field goal percentage during their winning streaks was better than Charleston, which led the league shooting 52.5 percent.
UP NEXT
The winner will draw top-seed and regular-season champion West Liberty in a quarterfinal matchup inside WesBanco Arena on Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m.
