CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Feb. 5) – A three and a steal in the closing moments by freshman John Korte (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) propelled the Wheeling University's men's basketball team to a 71-66 upset win over No. 25 Charleston Wednesday night inside the H. Bernard Wehrle Arena.
The Cardinals move to 8-7 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play, 11-8 overall.
Junior guard Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) knocked down a trey to put the Cardinals ahead 66-63 with two minutes remaining on the clock, but Charleston answered with a three of their own to knot the game back up. On the ensuring possession, Reed drove the lane and found a wide open Korte on the wing with 30 seconds left in the game. The freshman nailed the three pointer to give Wheeling a 69-66 lead. The Golden Eagles were looking to tie the game back up, before Korte drew the ball loose in the key and knocked down two free throws on the other end to clinch the victory.
Haines led the charge for the Cardinals in the contest. Haines finished with a team high 24 points, while shooting three of four from beyond the arc. Junior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md. / Albert Einstein) added an additional 15 points to go along with seven rebounds. Korte also added 10 points in the win.
The first 10 minutes of the first half featured low scoring by both teams while only 25 points were scored. At the 10:30 mark of the first half, Wheeling saw themselves with a five point leave when Haines knocked down a trey to make the score 15-10. Minutes later, the Cardinals would stretch that lead to nine when senior guard Zach Collins (South Riding,Va./ Freedom) nailed an 18 footer to make the score 21-14.
The Golden Eagles chipped away at that nine point lead bringing it down to only two after scoring on three straight possessions making the score 21-19. Over the remaining minutes of the first half, Wheeling would maintain the lead. A three pointer by Korte at the 1:10 minute mark had the Cardinals looking at a 34-27 lead heading into the locker room.
The opening minutes of the second half featured Wheeling maintaining the halftime lead. Charleston brought the lead to only four at the 17:07 mark. Over the next minute, Haines buried two jumpers to bring the lead to nine again, 41-32. At the 11:24 mark, Wheeling would see its biggest lead of the contest as sophomore guard Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) added the three pointer making the score 50-38.
Charleston would not go down easy as they battled back across a six minute time frame to take the lead 61-60 with five minutes remaining in the game. The next three possessions featured lead changes.
The Cardinals had some help from the bench in the victory. Non-starters scored 16 points compared to Charleston who only got three points from its bench. Wheeling was 15-of-22 in the second half on field goals (68 percent).
The Golden Eagles were led offensively by senior Drew Rackley, who scored 26 points, six assists, and two rebounds. Junior forward Lamont McManus added 20 points.
The Cardinals return to face off with West Virginia State Saturday, February 8. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. inside the McDonough Center.
