Wheeling, W. Va. – The 2023 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Basketball season is coming down to its final weeks, and there is a lot on the line as the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (6-20, 4-16) tries to secure their spot in the MEC tournament. They have a chance to do just that on Wednesday night when they hit the road to face Alderson Broaddus at 5:30 PM. After a big win on Saturday, the Cardinals control their own destiny as they take on the final week of the season.
The Cardinals picked up their biggest win of the season on Saturday, when they took down Frostburg State 92-81. After a fast start from the Bobcats, Wheeling came storming back to take the lead and then some. By the time they headed into the locker room, Wheeling was sitting with a 42-26 lead and were looking to extend it into the second half. However, Frostburg State wasn't ready to roll over and came storming back into the contest. They battled back throughout the second half and made it a one-point game with just over nine minutes to go. The Cardinals were able to maintain their lead, going on an 11-3 run that got them back out to a 72-63 lead. That was enough to sustain the lead for the rest of the game as they went on to win 92-81 and tie them for the #10 seed in the MEC Tournament field.
It would end up being a total team effort for the Cardinals as six different players finished in double figures on the day, while seven finished with at least eight points in the contest. Leading the way was sophomore Marcus Johnson, who led all scorers with 16 points and just missed a double double with nine rebounds. Johnson has been on fire over his last seven games and has scored at least 16 points in every game during that stretch and is averaging 21.7 points per game. Johnson has been a big role player under the net for the Cardinals and looks to continue that success in what is a big week of competition.
The Cardinals spread the wealth throughout the night, with 16 assists, and that was led by junior Trey Stoffer. Stoffer led the team with five assists while also finishing with a season-high 14 points on the night. A lot of Stoffer's success came from the free throw line, where he led the team with an impressive 83.3% Free Throw percentage (10-12). Brent Price and John Korte were part of the group honored before the game in the annual senior day ceremonies and finished with 15 and 12 points respectively, while Andrew Taylor (12) and Ryan Reasbeck (11) finished out the double-digit scorers on the afternoon.
With the MEC Tournament one week away at WesBanco Arena, the Cardinals are looking to punch their ticket to the tournament and can do that as early as tomorrow night. The Men's Basketball team will clinch the #10 seed with a win and a loss by Frostburg State to Davis & Elkins. After their win on Saturday, the Cardinals own the tiebreaker over the Bobcats after sweeping the season series. However, even if the Cardinals lose and Frostburg State loses, the Cardinals still will have a chance to clinch a playoff spot on Saturday in the final "Battle for Wheeling" of the winter sports season.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Battlers are meeting for the 28th time in program history on Wednesday as they wrap up the 2022-23 season series. Alderson Broaddus leads the all-time series with a record of 15-12, but the series is deadlocked at 6-6 when the teams meet in Philippi, West Virginia. Wheeling has won three of the last five meetings between the two teams, including two of the last three games played in the Rex Pyles Arena.
In their last meeting, the Cardinals fell in a close contest that came down to the final minutes of regulation 79-75. Marcus Johnson led the way on offense with 24 points in the game and seven rebounds on the night. Brent Price led the defensive effort with nine rebounds and just missed out on a double-double after scoring 11 points in the contest.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's contest is scheduled for 7:30 PM inside the Rex Pyles Arena on the campus of Alderson Broaddus. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
