South Euclid, OH. – After picking up a big win over Frostburg State last time out, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-12, 4-7) was looking to keep their momentum going against Notre Dame on Wednesday. They battled throughout the night, but in the end, it wasn't enough as Wheeling fell 82-64. It was a big day for senior Jordan Reid, who scored 26 points but it wasn't enough to keep their momentum going.

Reid was one of only two double-digit scorers for the Cardinals on the night and was the only Cardinal to score over 10 points. Reid set a new season-high in points while shooting a team-best 57.1% from the floor. Reid has been a leader for Wheeling all season long and continues to climb Wheeling's all-time scoring list, and now sits 34^th all-time with 1,118 career points. The only other double-digit scorer on the night for Wheeling was Brent Price, who was playing in his first game back since early December. Price finished the night with 10 points and shot a team-best 40% from three-point range. Senior Jay Gentry led the passing game with three assists while trying with John Korte for the team lead with six rebounds.

It took a while for both offenses to get going at the start of the game, with neither team scoring for the first minute and a half of play. Senior Jarett Haines would break that drought with a lay-up at the 18:20 mark of the first half, and the back and forth would begin. Over the first three minutes of play, the defense continued to roll as the two teams combined for four points. Wheeling would get the first true advantage of the game when Trey Stoffer hit a three to begin a 9-0 run that had the Cardinals ahead 12-7. A three-pointer by Haines made it 15-9, but the Falcons were battling back and brought it to a one-point game with 12:58 to play in the first half. Brent Price hit a three to create some separation and with 10 minutes left, Wheeling led 21-16.

But then, Notre Dame got their offense going, rattling off 10 consecutive points to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point advantage. The Falcons led 28-23 with four minutes left in the half, and Wheeling was looking to battle back before halftime. Reid hit back-to-back jumpers and Price added a lay-up to put Wheeling back out in front for the first time since the 12 minute mark in the game. The two teams traded the lead three times over the final three minutes of play, but Notre Dame would get the final blow when Obinna Ugwuakazi made a layup that sent Notre Dame into halftime leading 36-35. Wheeling shot 41% from the floor during that first half and was looking to keep the scoring going in the second half.

Since the calendar turned to 2022, the second half has been a big half for the Cardinals, and coming out of halftime it looked like that would again be the case. Reid hit two free throws to give Wheeling a 37-36 lead, and Wheeling was looking to take off. However, it would end up being Notre Dame that saw the offense get hot, going on an 8-2 run that put them ahead 44-39 with 16 minutes to play. Unfortunately, that would be the last lead change of the half as the Cardinals scored just 29 points over the final 20 minutes of play. Defense played a big role early in the second half, as from the 16-minute mark to the eight-minute mark the teams combined for 21 points and the score sat at 56-48 in favor of the Falcons.

Over the final eight minutes, Reid sealed the deal on his strong day, scoring 10 of his team's 14 points to bring his game total to 27 points. But as Wheeling's scoring stopped, Notre Dame's scoring grew. They scored 26 points over those final eight minutes and never led by less than 10 points over those eight minutes. When all was said and done, Wheeling fell 82-64 and dropped to 4-7 in conference play. This is a big stretch of games for Wheeling as they take on some of the top teams in the conference. They are looking to brush this one off and bounce back in a big rivalry game this weekend against West Liberty.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team is back in action on Saturday, January 22^nd, when they take on West Liberty at 4 PM.