Coming out of the half, the Cardinals were trailing 53-41 and needed a spark coming out of the locker room. Kevin Coleman Jr. would get things started with a pair of free throws, and Alex Smith and Sean Ealy each added jumpers to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 10. Smith was back at it with his lone three-pointer of the night and with 16:33 to play it was cut to a seven-point game at 57-50. The back and forth continued through the media timeout and as the first media timeout hit it was sitting at an eight point game. Coming out of the break, Smith hit a pair of free throws and Sean Ealy hit a three-pointer to get them as close as 65-60. The five-point deficit remained through the 10-minute mark and the Cardinals found themselves trailing 71-66.
 

Ealy would then get the Cardinals going with four straight points and Wheeling would made it a one-point game at 71-70. West Virginia State had a run of their own as a three-pointer by Kalil Camara started the run and the Yellow Jackets led 78-70 with 7:59 to play. It was the Cardinal's turn to punch back and Marcus Johnson would get things started with a free throw. It would kick off a 10-3 run that once again brought it to a one-point game at 81-80 with 5:18 to play. However, it was West Virginia State who would hit the final run of the night, going on an 11-4 run over the next four minutes of play. The Yellow Jackets would build a 92-84 lead and the final few Cardinal baskets came on a three-pointer from William Gabbert and a jump shot from Ealy as the Cardinals fell 96-89.
 

The first half saw the Cardinals put together a 40-point effort as the offense continues to click on all cylinders. Ealy hit the first shot of the night in the first minute, but it was West Virginia State who would get out in front. The Yellow Jackets built a 13-5 lead over the first four minutes of play before Johnson hit a three to make it a five-point game. Coleman Jr. added a layup to make it 13-10, before both defenses hit their stride. The two teams combined for just four points over the next three minutes before West Virginia State broke the spell to make it 17-10. Tee Harris would hit a pair of free throws to get the Cardinals on the board and a three-pointer from Caleb Murray would get the Cardinals to within 20-16 with 10:57 to play.
 

Johnson would get the Cardinals closer with two free throws and a jumper that made it 22-20 as the Cardinals looked for their first lead since the game's first minute. The Yellow Jackets would be the ones to hit a run, pushing their lead to 31-22 with 6:49 left on the clock. Smith broke the run with a jumper and the Cardinals would keep it close, trailing 36-30 with 4:32 to play in the half. The Cardinals offense would put up 11 points over the final four and a half minutes, with three different players hitting threes on the run. A Johnson three-pointer with 1:33 on the board made it a 49-41 game, but the Yellow Jackets hit the final two shots for West Virginia State to head into the locker room with a 53-41 advantage. That led to a 48-point second half for the Cardinals as the run fell short.
 

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Marcus Johnson, who finished with a team-high 26 points on the night. He had an efficient night shooting, going 50% from the floor, including a team-high four three-pointers on the night as he eclipsed the 25-point mark for the third time this season. Sean Ealy was the other Cardinal to finish with 20+ points on the night, scoring 21, while Alex Smith added a career-high 11 and Kevin Coleman Jr. added 10 points on the night. Coleman would lead the defense with eight rebounds on the night while Johnson added seven assists to lead the night. The Cardinals were efficient on the night, shooting 54.1% from the floor and 50% from three-point range.
 

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, December 9th, when they host Charleston at 4 PM.