Wheeling, W. Va. - It is one of the oldest and most heated rivalries in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), and on Saturday the 2022 edition of the rivalry begins. The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-12, 4-7) heads on the road to face West Liberty tomorrow with tip-off at 4 PM. The Cardinals are looking to get back into the win column after falling on the road against Notre Dame College, and they will have to try and do it against the #15 team in the country.
Early on in Wheeling's battle with Notre Dame College, the offense was going shot for shot with the Falcons and went into halftime trailing by just one point. As a team, they were shooting 41% from the floor, and the second half has played well for the team as of late. However, they were only able to manage 29 second-half points compared to 46 for Notre Dame, and the Cardinals ended up dropping the game 82-64, falling to 4-7 in MEC play.
It was a big night on the floor for senior Jordan Reid, who was just one point shy of his season-high scoring 26 points on the night. He shot a team-best 57.1% from the floor and finished third on the team with five rebounds. Reid has been one of the offensive leaders for the Cardinals this season, and if Wheeling wants to rebound, they are going to be looking for another big game from Reid. In his career, Reid is averaging 21 points per game against the Hilltoppers in four games and has been under the 20-point mark just once in those four games.
Reid was one of two Cardinals to hit double digits in the game, with the other being senior Brent Price. Price played 28 minutes off the bench for the Cardinals and finished the night with 10 points while going 2-5 from three-point range. Senior Jay Gentry led the team with five assists and finished the night tied with junior John Korte for the team lead with six rebounds. Wheeling has dropped three of their last four games and is hoping to turn things around as we reach the end of January.
As the MEC playoff race draws nearer there is still a lot left to be decided in terms of the conference standings. Entering play on Saturday, Wheeling sits in a three-way tie for seventh in the conference with Concord and Frostburg State. With the top six teams in the conference getting an automatic bye to WesBanco Arena, this is a crucial point in the season for the Cardinals. If they are able to string some wins together, they could find themselves on the fast track to WesBanco. However, if they slip up, they could be facing a play-in game to make it to the big stage.
The Matchup
Wheeling and West Liberty have matched up more than any other opponent in the MEC, playing 60 games dating back to the 1999 season. During that time, Wheeling has a record of 21-39 against the Hilltoppers and is looking for their first win against West Liberty since February 24th, 2018. When the game is played in West Liberty, West Virginia, things have gone worse for the Cardinals as they are just 7-21 on top of the hill.
Their last game came on February 27th of last year, in a game that Wheeling lost 107-88 inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. Senior Jarett Haines led the way in that game with 28 points and overall, the Cardinals had four players finish the afternoon in double digits. Even though the Cardinals tallied 49 second-half points, it ended up not being enough as they fell to the Hilltoppers on their home floor.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 PM on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
