PHILLIPI, W.Va. (Feb. 24) – A basket by Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) in the closing seconds of overtime helped seal a 99-98 win for the Cardinals at Alderson Broaddus Wednesday night.
 
The Wheeling University men's basketball team keeps its playoff hopes alive and improves to 4-10 overall. The Cardinals will travel to Maryland tomorrow night for a pivotal matchup with Frostburg State (4-10) at 7:30 p.m. inside the Bobcat Arena. Meanwhile, the Battlers drop to 6-8 on the season.
 
Alderson Broaddus took a 98-97 lead with 1:08 to play in overtime. After a missed shot, senior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) collected an offensive board to allow Haines a shot at winning the game. Haines drove the lane and sunk an off-balance runner to put the Cardinals ahead.
 

On the game's final possession, the quick hands of junior guard Brent Price (Wheeling, W.Va./Central Catholic) poked the ball loose from an AB player in the backcourt, allowing the Cardinals to escape with the road victory.
 
Reid had a career-game. He established career highs with both 39 points and 12 rebounds. The Maryland native converted 13 of 18 from the field and knocked down 13 of 16 at the free-throw line to lead the Cardinals.
 
Haines also turned in a splendid performance with a season-high 26 points, while sophomore John Korte (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) also finished in double-figures with 12 points.
 
The first half saw numerous lead changes and tie scores. Alderson Broaddus led 39-37 at the two-minute mark, when the Cardinals closed the half with nine-straight points to take a 46-39 lead into the locker rooms.
 
Wheeling seemed to be on its way when it established an 82-68 lead on a basket-and-one by Reid with 5:17 left in regulation. Alderson Broaddus got hot from long range and battled all the way back to a tie score at 89-89 on a layup with six seconds left in the game to send the contest into overtime.
 
Neither team led by more than two points in the overtime period. Reid and Haines accounted for eight of the team's 10 points in the extra session.
 
The Cardinals shot a very respectable 35 of 74 (47 percent) from the field, but the Battlers ended the night converting 39 of 64 (61 percent) of their attempts. The difference came at the charity stripe, where Wheeling was 21 of 25 (84 percent) and Alderson Broaddus made only 9-of-16 (56 percent).
 
Wheeling will be back at it tomorrow night, Thursday, February 25 when it travels to Frostburg State for a MEC contest with huge playoff implications at 7:30 p.m.