WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 20) – The Cardinals had two game-winning attempts in the final eight seconds, but neither shot fell to allow Notre Dame to escape with a 76-75 win Saturday night at the McDonough Center.
 
The loss is the second one-point loss this week for Chris Richardson's men's basketball team, which drops to 3-9 overall. Meanwhile, the Falcons pick up an important win to improve to 5-8 this season.
 
Wheeling trailed 76-73 with 1:20 left in the game. After a layup by senior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) with 47 seconds to play, the Cardinals got a stop on the defensive side and took a timeout with eight seconds on the clock.
 
Senior guard Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) drove the lane and missed the initial attempt, before a second-chance from inside the arc by senior guard Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) also caught rim, allowing Notre Dame to hold on for the win.
 
Gentry led the team with 24 points, while Reid posted 21 points and seven rebounds. Haines, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished with 10 points.
 
Notre Dame led wire-to-wire in the contest. The Falcons led by as many as 10 in the first half, but a jumper by Gentry and a defensive stop to close out the period had the Cardinals within two, 35-33, at the break.
 
Notre Dame led by as many as 10 in the second half, but the Cardinals remained within striking distance the majority of the period. Wheeling trailed 68-60 with six minutes left in the game, when it went on a 13-6 spurt to draw within one point.
 
The Cardinals enter what will be its biggest challenge of the season. Wheeling will play four games during the final week of the regular-season, including three on the road. The brutal home stretch begins on Monday, February 22 when it travels to Institute to take on West Virginia State at 5 p.m.