Buckhannon, W. Va. – During the 2022-2023 season, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (3-4, 1-2) didn't pick up their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) win. On Saturday, they did it in just their third conference game as they took down West Virginia Wesleyan 102-92. The Cardinals improved to 3-4 overall with the win and 1-2 in conference play as the offense led the way with three players scoring 19 or more points in the win.

Right from the get-go, the game showed that offense was going to lead the way as it took just three minutes for the first 19 points of the game to be scored. Marcus Johnson got the scoring started for the Cardinals with a layup and William Gabbert added a three-pointer two possessions later as the Cardinals went up 5-4. The lead changed hands when a West Virginia Wesleyan dunk that made it 8-7, but the Bobcat lead wouldn't last long as Gabbert was back at it from three-point range as he put Wheeling up 12-10. The Cardinals maintained their advantage through the 15-minute media timeout and another Gabbert three would give them their biggest lead at 19-14 with 14:42 to play in the first. 

Wheeling would maintain that lead over the next five minutes, and as the 10-minute media timeout passed, Wheeling remained in front 30-26. One of the keys to the Cardinal's offensive outburst in the first half was their success from three-point range. Wheeling shot 57.1% from three in the first half, as they reached their highest first half total of the season with 51 points. After that 10-minute media timeout, both teams went on a three-minute scoring drought, where a Caleb Murray three-pointer accounted for the only score. Kevin Coleman Jr. added a layup to make it 35-26, but as the final media timeout approached, the Cardinals lead was cut to three. It would be a slim lead for the Cardinals throughout the final five minutes, Fallou Koite would hit a three with just over a minute to go and West Virginia Wesleyan adds one right before halftime as Wheeling headed into the locker room leading 51-49.

As they came out for the new half, West Virginia Wesleyan would tie the game with a layup and the two teams went back and forth for the first two and a half minutes. The Bobcats would take their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half on a three-pointer, but Marcus Johnson answered with a three-point play of his own as Wheeling went up 60-58 with 15:50 to play. It would be that play that allowed the Cardinals to open things up as they went on a 10-0 run and opened the scoring to go ahead 67-58. Johnson would account for six of those 10 points on the run, including a 4-4 mark from the free throw line, and it would be the biggest lead for either team so far. With the advantage on their side, the Cardinals maintained their lead and as the 10-minute media timeout approached, Wheeling was ahead 73-66.

Over the final 10 minutes of play, there were several times that the Bobcats cut the Cardinal lead to five points or less. With 7:11 to go in the game, West Virginia Wesleyan had cut the Cardinal lead to 79-73With 7:11 to go in the game, West Virginia Wesleyan had cut the Cardinal lead to 79-75, before a Johnson layup got the Cardinals back on track. Caleb Murray added a big three-pointer heading into the final media timeout and added a layup as the Cardinals went up 86-79 with 4:11 to play. However, it would be the Cardinal's work at the free throw line that would seal the deal. They went to the charity stripe 16 times in the final three minutes of play, hitting the mark 14 of those times. Sean Ealy and Marcus Johnson accounted for 10 of those 16 attempts, with Johnson going 5-6 and Ealy going 3-4 down the stretch. Caleb Murray and William Gabbert accounted for the other four free throws to close things out as the Cardinals walked away with a 102-92 victory for their first MEC win.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Sean Ealy, who set a new season-high with 20 points in the effort. The junior transfer shot 63.6% from the floor in the day as the Cardinal's most efficient shooter and added a 6-8 mark from the free throw line to round out a strong performance. Right behind him we're a pair of Cardinals in William Gabbert and Marcus Johnson, who each finished with 19 points on the night. Gabbert set a new career-high in the effort and tied for the team lead going 3-8 from three-point range. He tied with teammate Caleb Murray, who was the final double digit scorer with 17 points. Johnson picked up the first double-double of the season for the Cardinals with 12 rebounds and was one assist away from a triple-double with nine assists.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 6th, when they take on West Virginia State at 5:30 PM.