WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 17) – A second-half rally propelled the Cardinals to a crucial 89-85 win over Frostburg State Wednesday night inside the McDonough Center.
The win improves the Wheeling University men's basketball team to 3-8 overall, while the Bobcats also sit at 3-8 following the loss.
Four Cardinals scored in double-figures, led by senior guard
Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle). Haines scored a season-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and added six assists, four rebounds and three steals. Haines knocked down 5-of-7 from beyond-the-arc in the win.
Sophomore
John Korte (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) established a career-high with 19 points, including a perfect 11-for-11 at the charity stripe, with seven rebounds. Senior guard
Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, while junior guard
Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) chipped in 10 points.
The score was tied at 10-10 five minutes into the game. Frostburg State made the first run of the evening with an 11-2 spurt to open up a 21-12 lead at the 11:44-mark of the first half.
The Bobcats led 28-17 when the Cardinals made their first run of the game. Wheeling out-scored Frostburg State 22-11 over the next several minutes to take its first lead of the game at 39-38 with 2:21 remaining in the first half. Despite the run, the Bobcats knocked down two three pointers in the final minute to head into the locker rooms with a 44-40 lead.
Frostburg State led by as many as nine, 52-43, with 17:41 to play in the game. Despite the Cardinals going on a run to pull within two at 63-61 with just over 11 minutes on the clock, the Bobcats remaining on top. Wheeling finally managed to take its first lead of the second half with 5:47 left in the contest on a basket-and-one by Reid that made the score 78-77.
The Bobcats reclaimed the lead at 81-78 with 4:55 left in the game, when Frostburg State burned its final timeout of the game. The Cardinals immediately answered back with another basket-and-one, this time by Korte, to knot the score at 81-81.
Wheeling managed to make enough plays down the stretch to win the game. The Cardinals led 85-85 with 24 seconds left in the game and the shot-clock winding down when junior
Brent Price (Wheeling, W.Va./Central) buried a pull-up jumper to give the Cardinals a three-point lead.
Frostburg State nearly had a chance to tie the game on a drive to the basket and a foul, but the layup attempt rimmed out and the Bobcats failed to convert either free-throw attempt. Reid sealed the game on the other end with a free throw to complete the four-point win for the Cards.
Both teams shot the ball well from the field. Wheeling finished 29 of 62 (47 percent), while Frostburg State shot 32 of 62 (52 percent) on the night.
The Cardinals feasted at the free-throw line. Wheeling shot 24 of 33 (73 percent), compared to the 9-of-13 (69 percent) posted by the Bobcats.
Agyei Edwards of Frostburg State carried his team. He finished with a game-high 33 points and made 6-of-10 from long range.
The Cardinals will return to the McDonough Center court on Saturday, February 20 for a pivotal Mountain East Conference North Division matchup with Notre Dame (Ohio) at 4:30 p.m.
