Wheeling, W. Va. - After a wild affair on Wednesday night, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (8-15, 7-10) hits the road on Saturday to battle Glenville State at 3 PM. It is a game that looms large in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoff race, as Wheeling could move into the key number six seed in the conference.
Last time out, the Cardinals were in an offensive battle with Concord, and they came out on top in the end 82-80 thanks to two clutch free throws from senior Jarett Haines. The Cardinals and Mountain Lions went back and forth throughout the night, with the lead changing hands four times over the final 10 minutes of play. Haines came to the free throw line with three seconds left on the game clock and nailed both shots to give Wheeling the win. The win improved Wheeling to 8-15 overall and 7-10 in MEC play.
Haines led the way on the evening with 28 points, while grabbing five rebounds and three assists for his second-best offensive output of the season. Since he came back from injury, Haines has been looking more and more like himself on the court. He has scored 20 or more points in each of his last two games and has been extremely clutch from the free throw line. He made seven of his nine shots from the Charity stripe against Concord as he continues to get hot at the right time.
Aside from Haines, Wheeling had three other players finish in double digits with John Korte (16), Brent Price (13), and Andrew Taylor (12) each reaching the double-digit mark. Korte stepped up with his biggest scoring effort of the season and just missed out on a double-double with eight rebounds on the night. Taylor and Price each played big for the Cardinals with Price leading the way with five assists and Taylor picking up a double-double with 13 rebounds. Even without their leading scorer Jordan Reid in the game, Wheeling was able to pick up their teammate and put points on the board.
The win moves Wheeling to eighth in the MEC Men's Basketball standings, putting them one game behind Alderson Broaddus and Concord for the sixth spot in the standings. With Concord taking on West Liberty and Alderson Broaddus battling Fairmont State, a Wheeling win could move them as high as sixth place in the conference by the end of the weekend. With that first round bye in reach, Wheeling is looking to control their own destiny on the road to WesBanco Arena.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the 34th time in team history on Saturday, and the second time this season. Wheeling has the advantage so far with a record of 21-13 and won the game earlier this season 92-83. However, the Cardinals have had a much harder time when playing in Glenville, West Virginia where they have gone just 8-10 in 18 games played. Wheeling has lost two of the last three games in Glenville and are looking for a bounce back this weekend.
In the first meeting between these two teams, Wheeling pulled out the 92-83 win for their first win of the 2022 portion of their schedule. It was a big night for Jordan Reid and Jarett Haines as they scored 27 and 24 points respectively. After trailing at halftime, Wheeling used a 55-point second half to secure the win. They shot 50% from the floor on the day, but put together a 63% mark from the floor in the second half.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 3 PM on the campus of Glenville State. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
