WHEELING, W.Va. (Jan. 15) – The Cardinals used a strong second half to surge to a 75-61 win over Frostburg State Wednesday night inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Wheeling University men's basketball team wins its third game in-a-row and improves to 9-4 overall, 6-3 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Meanwhile, the Bobcats fall to 3-6 in league play, 6-9 overall this season.
 
Junior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) registered his first double-double as a Cardinal with 20 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. He also contributed five assists and three steals. Junior guard Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) led the team with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, while sophomore forward Emmanuel Ansong (Bordentown, N.J./Canterbury School) finished with 12 points and five boards.
 
Frostburg State opened up a 7-1 lead through the first three minutes of the game. Wheeling answered back with 11-straight points, capped off by an Ansong dunk, to take a 12-7 lead and force a Bobcat timeout.
 
The Cardinals led by as many as six points, including a 21-15 lead with 8:39 to play in the first half. Frostburg State went on to out-score Wheeling 16-10 down the stretch to send the game into halftime tied up at 31-31.
 
Wheeling held a 40-37 edge five minutes into the second half, before going on a 9-2 spurt to open up a 49-39 lead with 11 minutes left in the contest. Frostburg State managed to get back to within six with consecutive baskets, but the Cardinals eventually stretched their lead to 14, 65-51, on a baseline jam by Ansong with 4:54 to play in the game.
 
Wheeling never looked back and pushed its lead to as many as 17 in the closing minutes to earn the team's ninth win this season.
 
The Cardinals held a 46-to-31 advantage on the glass and collected 18 offensive rebounds. Wheeling finished the game with 16 second-chance points, compared to the five posted by Frostburg State.
 
Wheeling ended the night shooting 26-of-61 (42 percent), including 13-of-24 (54 percent) from the field in the second half.
 
The Bobcats were led by a game-high 35 points from Daniel Alexander.
 
Wheeling and Frostburg State were meeting for the first time since the 1975-76 season. Former Head Coach Paul Baker's Cardinals defeated the Bobcats 106-78 that season. Wheeling has now won eight of the 11 all-time meetings with Frostburg State. The Bobcats are in their first season as members of the MEC and NCAA Division II.
 
Wheeling will have one of its biggest tests of the season when it goes on the road to take on Fairmont State on Saturday, January 18 at 4 p.m.