Wheeling, W. Va. – With four games left in the regular season, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-19, 3-15) is battling for a spot in this year's Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament. They continue that battle on Wednesday when they hit the road to battle Fairmont State at 7:30 PM. They currently sit one game behind Frostburg State for the #10 seed in the tournament field and a win would help them as they head into the big matchup on Saturday.

Last time out, they took on Glenville State and were locked in another battle that would come down to the wire. The two teams battled to a one-point game over the first 20 minutes of play and Wheeling led 48-47 heading into halftime. The Cardinals jumped out to a 57-50 lead over the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Glenville was able to battle back and tie things at 84-84 with 6:12 to go in the half. The two teams continued their battle and with a minute left, the Cardinals got a big three-pointer that made it a one point game. The two teams traded free throws and made it a three-point game with 13 seconds to go. The Cardinals drove down the court and put up a three-point shot with three seconds to go, but it wouldn't fall and the Cardinals fell 98-95.

Leading the way for Wheeling was Marcus Johnson, whom finished with 28 points on the night. He was the team's most efficient shooter from the floor, going 12-15 (80%). He also finished second on the team with nine rebounds, falling just one short of a double double. It was the fourth time in the last five games that Johnson eclipsed the 20-point mark, and it was the most points he has scored in a game since the season-opemer against Cal-U, when he also scored 28 points. Johnson is averaging 17.3 points per game and is second on the Cardinals in scoring this season. As the regular season comes to an end Johnson looks to continue to be that scoring presence for the Cardinals as they make a push for the MEC tournament.

Right behind Johnson was senior John Korte, who finished with 23 points and picked up his seventh double double of the season. He led the way with 11 rebounds and was the lone Cardinal to finish in double digit rebounds. He is close to a career milestone entering play on Wednesday, needing just 13 points to become the 49th player to reach the mark in program history. Korte is the conference's second leading scorer, averaging 20.3 points per game this season and will look for another big day to reach the milestone and get his team closer to a playoff spot. Ryan Reasbeck rounded out the night with a big day off the bench, scoring 16 points, including three three-pointers during the first half that sparked the Cardinal's offense.

Entering play on Wednesday night, the Cardinals are one game behind Frostburg State for the final spot in the MEC Tournament field. The Bobcats will battle West Liberty on Wednesday night, and a Cardinal win plus a Frostburg State loss and would lock the two teams in a tie heading into Saturday's matchup. The Cardinals have made the MEC Tournament in each of the last four years and are looking to get back there again. The Cardinals currently hold the tie breaker over Frostburg Staye, and a win on Saturday would give them the series sweep over Frostburg State. To make that matter the Cardinals will be looking for a win on Wednesday to set up the meeting on Saturday.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 51st time in program history on Wednesday as they wrap up their 2022-23 season series. Fairmont State leads that all-time series with a record of 34-16 while they also hold the series lead in games played in Fairmont, West Virginia, with a record of 18-7. The Cardinals have dropped nine straight games Fairmont State and are looking for their first win against the Falcons since January 24th, 2018, when they took down Fairmont State 88-82.

In their first meeting of this season Fairmont State would get the win in Wheeling 106-85. John Korte was the leader for the Cardinals on the day, finishing with 30 points while shooting 10-16 from the field. Brent Price and Kevin Coleman JR. finished right behind him with 12 points each as they rounded out the day.

The Details

Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM inside the Feaster Center on the campus of Fairmont State. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.