Wheeling, W. Va. – After opening their season on the road last weekend, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (1-2, 0-0) returned home on Tuesday for their Home Opener. They battled non-conference opponent D'Youville and picked up their first win of the season, 73-58. After playing a tightly congested first half, the Cardinals defense stepped up big in the second half allowing just 24 points to seal the victory.

Both teams came out strong in the first half as they traded points for the first four minutes of the game. Brent Price got his big day started with a three and Andrew Taylor added three of his own as the teams sat tied at 7-7. John Korte added a layup and a pair of free throws as the Cardinals went on a short 4-0 run to take an 11-7 advantage with 15:14 to go in the half. After two points from the Saints, the Cardinals added another 4-0 run as they started to pull away at 15-9. Dozie Enyosiobi hit a jumper to extend the Cardinals lead to seven, but D'Youville continued to fight and would make it a 20-15 game at the 11:44 mark. He fight continued as the Saints got back to within two points, making it 21-19 at the 10 minute mark of the first half.

The Cardinals maintained a two-point lead for the next five minutes before D'Youville tied the game at 30-30 at the 5:14 mark. D'Youville had a chance to take the lead, but a missed three-pointer would end up in the hands of Price. Price took that rebound and drove down the court to make the layup and give Wheeling the lead back. That would spark a 9-0 run for the Cardinals over the next five minutes that expanded their lead to 39-32. Price hit a three-pointer during the run and Enyosiobi added a pair of free throws as the Cardinals took control.

D'Youvulle added two more before the half, but the teams broke for the locker room with the Cardinals leading 39-34. It was the first time This season that the Cardinals have let it halftime and they looked to use that to their advantage in the second half.
Just as he did in the first half, price got the offense going in the second half with a layup that made 841-34. The same back and forth battle that happened in the first half continued in the first part of the second half with D'Youville staying within eight points of the Cardinals. It wouldn't be until 15 minutes showed on the clock that wheeling took their first 10-point lead of the day when Korte Hit a lay up then made it 50 - 40 in favor of the Cardinals. Wheeling would open the game up after an S.J. Hutchinson three-pointer that sparked a 8-1 run that opened it to 58-43 with just under 12 minutes to play. The two teams traded baskets and entered the final 10 minutes of play with Wheeling leading 60-45.