SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio (Jan. 22) – The Wheeling University men's basketball was handed a 72-62 loss at Notre Dame Wednesday night at the Murphy Gymnasium.
 
The loss drops the Cardinals to 9-6 overall, 6-5 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Meanwhile, the Falcons improve to 3-8 in league play, 5-12 overall.
 
Junior guards Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) and Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) each finished with 15 points to lead the team. Reid added nine rebounds, while Haines posted seven. Junior forward Geron Braithwaite (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) also finished in double figures with 12 points.
 
The entire game saw constant swings in momentum. Wheeling led 7-5 four minutes through the first half. Notre Dame responded to take a 16-9 lead with a 11-2 run that included a four-point play.
 
The Cardinals answered back with an 11-4 spurt of their own to reclaim the lead at 20-19 with 10:54 to play in the first half. The Falcons took momentum back with a 12-5 run to reclaim the lead at 31-25 with just under five minutes until halftime.
 
A three by Haines reduced the deficit to four, 33-29, but Notre Dame closed the final two minutes of the half with six-straight points to carry a 39-29 lead into the locker rooms.
 
A trey by the Falcons on the first possession of the second half increased the lead to 13, 42-29. Wheeling began to chip away at the margin and eventually brought the deficit all the way down to four, 49-41, on a jumper by Braithwaite with 11:38 to play in the game.
 
Notre Dame quickly rebuilt its lead to double digits, 59-49, at the eight-minute mark of the second half. The Cardinals narrowed the gap back down to four once again, 59-55, but another Falcon run in the final five minutes of the game allowed the hosts to pull away for good. 
 
Wheeling shot 23-of-60 (38 percent), including just 8-of-28 (29 percent) from long range. Notre Dame ended the night shooting 25-of-56 (45 percent) and 9-of-22 (41 percent) from beyond-the-arc. 
 
Falcon forward Drew Scarberry, who missed the first meeting in November due to an injury, finished with a game-high 21 points to lead Notre Dame.
 
Wheeling played its second-straight game without starters Jeremiah April (Phoenix, Ariz./Joy Christian) and Emmanuel Ansong (Bordentown, N.J./Canterbury School) due to injuries.
 
The Cardinals will have an extra day to prepare for the Ohio County rivalry game. West Liberty will visit the McDonough Center on Sunday, January 26 for a tip at 4 p.m.