Wheeling, W. Va. – After spending the first four games of the 2023-2024 season on the road, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (2-3, 0-1) came home for the first time on Tuesday night. They hosted Salem in non-conference action, and opened their home slate with a 75-62 victory over the Tigers. The win sent the Cardinals into the Thanksgiving break with a big win as they prepare for the rest of their first half conference schedule.

Early on it was all Wheeling as the Cardinals put up the first five points of the half. The big men gut the things started with Marcus Johnson hitting a pair of free throws and Kevin Coleman Jr. hit a dunk to put the Cardinals out in front. They pushed their lead to as much as 7-2 through the first five minutes, but a pair of Tiger shots put them right back in it at 7-7 with 13 minutes to go in the half. After the score came tied at 9-9, Salem got the slight advantage with a three-pointer to push the lead to 13-9. That advantage would hold into the second media timeout as Salem with Staked to a 15-12 lead. It was just the beginning of what would be a back and forth first half with both teams trying to lobby for the advantage..

The three-point advantage for the Tigers would hold until the 7:34 Mark of the half when the Cardinals got a big three from Sean Ealy to make it 20-17. On the next possession the Cardinals would respond with a jumper by Marcus Johnson that cut the score to 20-19. The Cardinals would take back the lead just before the final media time out of the half after Johnson added both a three-pointer and a layup to give Wheeling the 25-23 advantage. However, Salem would go on to score six unanswered points as they took a 29-26 advantage with three minutes remaining. The lead would change hands three times over those final 3 minutes but is the teens broke for the locker room it was Salem that was sitting in front 35-34 after a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining.

The Cardinals had shown signs of strong defensive play throughout the first half, and would be that defense that help them seal the victory. After Salem came out hot in the new half pushing their lead to 41-36, that Cardinal defense went to work. The unit allowed just three Tiger points over the next four minutes as they're offense worked back into the game. Johnson, who already had a big first half, came through on the defensive end with several steals during that time. He picked up four steals in the second half, and help the team battle back to make it 44-43 with 14 minutes remaining. Coleman briefly got the Cardinals back in front with a layup and, after a Salem response, Johnson put them in front again with another layup to make it 47-46. A short 7-0 run we get the Cardinals ahead and they headed to the final 10 minutes with a 52-49 advantage.

After being in so many close games a year ago, the Cardinals were looking to close things out on their home court as they head into the break. Salem would get as close as 54-52 with just over 8 minutes to go before Caleb Murray hit a layup and Ealy added a free throw to get the advantage back to six Points. The Cardinals held that six-point advantage through the final media time out leading 60-54 before they put the game away. It would be Johnson that help them do just that with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer that gave Wheeling their biggest lead of the night at 65-56 with 3:46 to play. That was enough to seal the victory as the Cardinals defense allowed just six more points over those final 3 minutes as head coach Chris Richardson was able to go to his bench for the final minute. The Cardinals picked up the 75-62 Victory as they move to 2-3 on the season.

Leading the way on both sides of the ball was Marcus Johnson, who finished with 29 points and eight rebounds on the night. It marked the second straight game where Johnson eclipse the 25 point mark as he continues averaging 20 plus points per game. He was the only cardinal to finish in double digits on the day, with Sean Ealy (9) and Caleb Murray (8) Finished behind him to round out the Cardinal offensive effort. Kevin Coleman Jr. Finished second on the team with seven rebounds on the night while Johnson led the passing game with five assists. With four consecutive MEC contests before the team heads into their Christmas break schedule, the Cardinals are looking to use this win as momentum to close out the conference portion of their 2023 schedule.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team Returns to action on Wednesday, November 29th, when they host Davis & Elkins with tip off at 7:30;PM