Mountain East Conference Tournament Quarterfinal: No. 1 Seed West Liberty (24-3, 20-2 MEC) vs. No. 9 Seed Wheeling Jesuit (9-20, 7-15 MEC)
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FIRST MEETING VERSUS WEST LIBERTY (1/26/19) | BOX SCORE
The Cardinals were defeated 118-74 at West Liberty inside the ASRC. Freshman guard Steve Cannady and freshman forward DeAndre Robinson both scored in double-figures. Dalton Balon was the standout performer for the Hilltoppers with a game-high 23 points. West Liberty's Brady Arnold also had a solid game with 16 points and six steals. The Hilltoppers shot 60 percent from the field and 59 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Cardinals shot 41 percent from close range and 35 percent from distance. West Liberty out-rebounded Wheeling Jesuit 41-28 in the decisive victory.
SECOND MEETING VERSUS WEST LIBERTY (3/2/19) | BOX SCORE
Wheeling Jesuit was more competitive in the second contest of the season against West Liberty, but the Cardinals still came up short 96-85 at home. The regular season finale was close throughout the opening period before the game slipped away from Wheeling Jesuit in the second half. Freshman forwards Tariq Woody and Emmanuel Ansong both registered double-doubles in the loss. Woody had a team-high 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Ansong posted 13 points and 10 boards. WLU's Will Yoakum finished with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting to lead the Hilltoppers. The Hilltoppers came up with 26 points off of 17 Cardinal turnovers. Wheeling Jesuit for its part converted 17 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.
THANK YOU, NEXT
The Cardinals advanced to the quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament with a runaway victory over West Virginia Wesleyan, 66-48. Freshman DeAndre Robinson owned the boards with a game-high 15 rebounds. He also managed to lead Wheeling Jesuit in scoring with 12 points. WVWC never led in the game.
GETTING MIGGY WIT IT
Senior guard Miguel Rodriguez connected on three shots from beyond the arc and converted a trio of free throws to match a team-high with 12 points versus WVWC. Wheeling Jesuit is 5-3 this season when Rodriguez scores in double-figures and has won each of its past four games when he has done so.
QUICK HITS
- The 48 points allowed versus WVWC was a season-best performance.
- The Hilltoppers average a league-best 103.3 points per game. However, they give up 89.9 points per game which is the second-highest average in the MEC.
- Tariq Woody currently ranks third in all of Division II with a 66.5 percent field-goal percentage.
- Freshman guard Franck Kamgain's 58 steals this season puts him at 37th in Division II.
- The Cardinals are 4-1 all-time in the MEC Quarterfinal round. The lone loss came in 2014 to Charleston, 91-85.
- The last time Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty met in the MEC Tournament was 2017, when the Hilltoppers eliminated the Cardinals 105-95 in the semifinal round.
- Wheeling Jesuit had the last laugh that season. The very next week, WJU eliminated West Liberty in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 96-95 in overtime.
- West Liberty's Dalton Bolon (21.7 ppg.) was limited to 12 points in the teams' matchup last week on 5-of-11 shooting.
UP NEXT
The winner will draw the winner of the No. 4 Charleston / No. 5 Concord game in a semifinal matchup inside WesBanco Arena on Saturday, March 9 at 6 p.m.
