WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. (Feb. 29) – The Wheeling University men's basketball team was dealt a 90-76 loss by No. 13 West Liberty Saturday evening inside the ASRC.
The Cardinals wrap-up the regular-season 14-12 overall, 11-11 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. Wheeling will be the No. 5 seed in the upcoming MEC Tournament and will take on West Virginia State on Friday, March 6 in a quarterfinal matchup at 8:15 p.m. inside the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers, who are ranked No. 13 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top-25 poll, finish 24-4 overall, 19-3 in league play.
Junior guard
Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) led Wheeling in scoring with 25 points. Junior guard
Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) added 14 points, while sophomore forward
Emmanuel Ansong (Bordentown, N.J./Canterbury School) nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Haines and Reid each knocked down their first shots of the game to help Wheeling open with a 4-0 lead two minutes into the contest. West Liberty responded with 10-unanswered to collect a 10-4 lead by the 15:34-mark of the first half. The Hilltoppers led by as many as seven twice, before a 11-2 spurt by the Cardinals gave them a 23-21 lead with 6:41 left until halftime. Both teams traded the lead, before six-straight points to end the half by West Liberty allowed the hosts to take a 39-30 lead into the locker rooms.
The Hilltoppers controlled the second half. West Liberty's pressure frustrated the Cardinals and helped the Hilltoppers open up a 63-39 lead with 13:27 to play in the game. Wheeling found itself at the free-throw line for most of its second half possessions and managed to draw all the way back to within 12, 85-73, with just over two minutes remaining on the clock, but West Liberty did not allow the Cardinals any closer.
Wheeling finished the game shooting 25-of-58 (43 percent), but were just 2-of-12 (17 percent) from long range. West Liberty, which made only one of its first 10 three-point attempts, shot 32-of-66 (49 percent) for the game.
The Cardinals were 24-of-33 (73 percent) at the charity stripe, with 29 second half attempts. West Liberty was 20-of-26 (77 percent) at the line.
Wheeling will make the short drive downtown to the WesBanco Arena on Friday, March 6 for its MEC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 seed West Virginia State at 8:15 p.m.
