Wheeling, W. Va. - With the seven-day NCAA DII Life and Balance Break in the rearview mirror, it's back to the court for the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (4-6, 2-3). They wrap up the 2023 portion of their schedule at home on Saturday when they host Franciscan University with tip-off at 2 PM. The Cardinals are looking to end 2023 on a high note before they jump back into a full slate of Mountain East Conference (MEC) games ahead of them in 2024. 

Last time out, the Cardinals battled one of the top teams in the region as they took the short drive to California, Pennsylvania to take on CAL-U. The first half was one of the best halves of basketball played by the Cardinals over the last few seasons as they put up a season-high 57 points during those first 20 minutes. The success was thanks to a strong shooting effort both from the floor and from three-point range, with the Cardinals knocking down 58.33% of their shots from the floor and 66.67% of their shots from beyond the arc. They went into halftime leading 57-42 and had the Vulcans back on their heels. However, CAL-U came out strong in the second half, scoring 52 points and slowly chipping away at the Cardinal lead. In the end, it was the Vulcans who would come out victorious, taking the lead with under two minutes to go as the Cardinals fell 94-90. 

It was a big game from the point guard position, as Sean Ealy put up a season-high 30 points in the effort. After primarily coming off the bench over the first four games of the season, Ealy was thrust into the starting Point Guard role due to injury and has thrived. Over his last six games since taking over, Ealy has averaged 17.7 points per game and has gone over the 20-point mark in three of those games. He leads the team with a 52.0 Field Goal Percentage, while also being one of the team's best free throw shooters with an 84.2% clip from the Charity Stripe. Ealy has been a big part of the team's growth so far during the 2023-2024 campaign and looks to end the year on a high note. 

The Cardinals also continued to see big efforts from both junior Marcus Johnson and sophomore Caleb Murray. Johnson has been the MEC's leading scorer this season, averaging 22.0 PPG through the first 10 games, and added 28 points in the effort on Wednesday. He is approaching a milestone mark for his collegiate career, needing just 16 points to hit the 1,000-point mark between his time at Parkland College and Wheeling University as he looks to stay hot from the floor. Murray hit four three-pointers in a game for the fifth time this season, shooting 57.1% from three-point range as he added 14 more points to his ledger. 

With the 2023 portion of their schedule ending, the Cardinals look to continue their success inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The team is 2-1 in home games so far this season, and has averaged 72 PPG on their home floor, including a big conference win over Charleston back on December 9th. Since the 2023 calendar year began, the Cardinals are 6-5 in 11 home contests during that span, while averaging 83.45 PPG during that stretch. With Saturday serving as one of just two non-conference games left on the Cardinal's schedule, they look to use it to keep their momentum going and get ready to play their best basketball in January and February. 

The Matchup 

The Cardinals and Barons will be meeting for the second time in program history on Saturday, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series at 1-0. It will also be the second time that the two teams have met inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, with the Cardinals putting up 88 points in the last meeting between the two teams. The Cardinals and Barons renew their rivalry on Saturday with Wheeling trying to stay undefeated all-time. 

Last season, the Cardinals picked up an 88-64 victory at home against Franciscan exactly one year to the date from this season's game. Marcus Johnson led the way for the Cardinals in that matchup, putting up 20 points and shooting 47.6% from the floor in the effort. The other two double digit scoring efforts for the Cardinals came from S.J. Hutchinson (18) and former Cardinal Andrew Taylor (12) to round out the winning effort. 

The Details 

Tip-off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 2 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.