Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the month of January, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (2-12, 0-8) will spend a lot of time on their home floor, with four of their next five games coming at home. The Cardinals continue that home stretch on Wednesday night when they host Fairmont State with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 PM. The Cardinals are looking to put together a full 40-minute game, after having strong starts in each of the last two games.
The Cardinals offense was on full display early in their last game as they took on Concord on Saturday. The Cardinals scored 35 points over the game's first 20 minutes and complemented it with a strong defensive game. It was a back-and-forth battle through the first 10 minutes of play, with the Cardinals leading 18-16 at the game's 10-minute mark. The Cardinals stretched their lead with a 9-2 run and went into halftime leading the Mountain Lions 35-25. However, Concord got things going in the second half, scoring 56 points, and bringing this game down to the wire. Wheeling had a strong offensive showing of their own, with 41 second half points, but trailed 79-76 with two seconds showing on the clock. Concord would hit their final two free throws and the Cardinals fell 81-76.
Leading the way on both sides of the ball for the Cardinals was sophomore Marcus Johnson, who picked up his first double-double of the season. He tied for the team lead with 20 points and set a new season high with 14 rebounds to claim the double double. After being held to just four points in the previous game, Johnson got back on track with his fifth 20-point game of the 2022-23 season. It helped raise his scoring average back up to 16.6 points per game, putting him second on the team behind John Korte's 17.0 points per game mark. As the Cardinals continue to try and improve their rebounding, Johnson will be a big piece of that success down the stretch.
The Cardinal's other 20-point scorer was senior Brent Price who, after missing a few games with an illness, has come back strong this past week. He averaged 18.0 points per game during the 2023 part of the schedule and 14.6 points per game during the season. He has also been the Cardinal's assist leader this season, with 41, as he not only scores but finds his open teammates. John Korte rounded out the Cardinal's top scorers, putting up 16 points in the game while leading the team with an average of 17.0 points per game.
As January gets into full swing, the Cardinals look to take advantage of a heavy home schedule during the month as they battle back into the Mountain East Conference (MEC) tournament race. Of their six remaining games this month, four of those come at home, a place where the Cardinals have played well in recent years. The Cardinals are 8-11 in 19 home contests over the past two seasons and hope to build on that success. They still sit just one game back of a share of the #10 seed in the MEC Tournament field and, with 14 games remaining, they have plenty of opportunities to battle back into the conference tournament picture.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons will be meeting for the 50th time in program history, with Fairmont State leading the all-time series with a record of 33-16. The Cardinals have had more success at home, going 9-14 in 23 meetings and are averaging 78.7 points per game during that span. However, Wheeling is trying to break an eight-game losing streak to the Falcons, dating back to the 2017-18 season, when they split the season series with the Falcons.
In their last meeting, the Cardinals fell to Fairmont State at home 75-68 during the second to last week of the regular season. Former Cardinal Jordan Reid led the way in that game with 22 points and was one of two players to finish with a double-double with 13 rebounds. John Korte added 11 points and 13 rebounds to grab a double-double while Brent Price finished with 14 points to round out the night.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 pm inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
