Wheeling, W. Va. - After taking a hard-fought loss last time out, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (4-11, 3-6) is out looking to bounce back on Saturday when they host Frostburg State at 4 PM. It is a big match-up for the Cardinals in terms of standings, as both teams are sitting in a tie for ninth place in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) standings entering play Saturday.
Last time out, Wheeling nearly battled back in the second half before falling to #18 Fairmont State 95-84 on Wednesday. The Cardinals continued their string of strong second-half performances, scoring 48 second-half points, and taking a 58-55 lead with 13 minutes to play. However, the lead would not last as the Falcons battled back to retake the lead and went on to win the game by 11 points. Wheeling had a good day from the floor, making 46.8% of their shots, but once again the comeback effort was just too little too late for the Cardinals.
Even though their top scorer Jarett Haines was held to just six points in the game, the Cardinals saw two players step up in his place. Sophomore Andrew Taylor and freshman Tre Massey each scored a season-best 19 points in the game and were two of the four Cardinal players to finish in double digits on the day. Taylor was the most efficient shooter for the Cardinals on the day, making nearly 60% of his shots, while Massey finished the day with two big three-pointers to go along with a 66.6 shooting percentage from the field. It gave the Cardinals some confidence that even when their top scorers are down, they have players who can step up.
However, just because he was limited on the scoreboard doesn't mean he didn't make an impact in the game. Haines finished tied for the team lead in steals (2) second in rebounds (7), and second in assists (3). Junior John Korte was close to a triple-double, scoring 13 points with six assists and nine rebounds in the game. Senior Jordan Reid rounded out Wheeling's double digit scoring efforts with 13 points on the day with two assists and four rebounds on the night.
For Wheeling, the outcome of Saturday's game could go a long way in determining where their future in the MEC playoffs may lie. A win puts them all alone in eighth place in the conference standings and gives them momentum heading into two tough contests against Notre Dame and West Liberty. However, a loss drops them below Frostburg State, and forces them to have to pick up the pieces against two tough opponents. Wheeling is hoping to ride their momentum from the second half of Wednesday's game and get off to a fast start against the Bobcats.
The Matchup
The matchup between the Cardinals is a fairly new rivalry, with the first meeting between the two teams coming during the 2019-2020 season. All-time, these teams have met up four times with Wheeling winning each of the four games. At home, they are averaging 82 points per game against the Bobcats, and their average margin of victory over the Bobcats during the series is 12 points. Their last meeting came in Buckhannon, West Virginia last February in a game Wheeling won 90-75.
In that game, Jordan Reid and Jarett Haines each had 20+ point efforts as Wheeling battled their way to victory. Wheeling had a 44-35 lead at halftime, and never surrendered that lead the rest of the way as they added 46 more points in the second half. Reid finished the night with 27 points while Haines added 22 points in the winning effort.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats HERE.
