BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (Feb. 3) – Four players scored in double-figures to help propel the Cardinals to an 85-77 win at West Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday night inside the Rockefeller Gymnasium.
 
The Wheeling University men's basketball team improves to 1-4 overall. The victory gives Head Coach Chris Richardson the first of his head coaching career. Meanwhile, the Bobcats drop to 0-9 on the season.
 
Senior Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) led all scorers with 21 points and seven assists. Haines converted 7-of-13 from the field, including a pair of treys.
 
Junior guard Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) knocked down four three-point shots and scored a season-high 19 points, while redshirt-freshman guard Toren Portee (Hackensack, N.J./Believe Prep) finished with 14.
 
Junior guard Brent Price (Wheeling, W.Va./Central Catholic) made his Cardinal debut and scored 12 points to go with four rebounds and a steal.
 
The Cardinals, who were playing for the first-time in two weeks, got off to a strong start with the help of a pair of treys by junior guard Jordan Beale (Durham, N.C./Voyager Academy) to take a 12-5 lead four minutes into the contest. 
 
West Virginia Wesleyan clawed back multiple times, but Wheeling remained on top. The Cards led 31-28 with just over three minutes left in the first half and closed the period out with an 11-4 run to take a 42-32 advantage into halftime.
 
The Cardinals saw their lead shrink to 49-45 five minutes into the second half. Wheeling answered with 14-straight points, including three treys, to take a 63-45 lead with 11 minutes left in the game.
 
Wheeling appeared to be well on its way to the win when it led 70-55 with 6:30 remaining on the clock. West Virginia Wesleyan tightened the game up with a 12-2 run that made the score 72-67 with just under three minutes to play.
 
The Cardinals managed to hold off the Bobcat push and converted 10 of 12 free-throw attempts in the final two minutes to secure the first victory for Richardson.
 
Wheeling shot 27 of 52 (52 percent) as a team and made 12 of 25 (48 percent) from long range. West Virginia Wesleyan finished the evening shooting 29 of 69 (42 percent), but was just 8-of-31 (26 percent) from beyond-the-arc.
 
The Bobcats were led by Ross Young, who posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, February 6 when they host Davis & Elkins at the McDonough Center in a contest at 4:30 p.m.