Wheeling, W. Va. – After back-to-back road contests, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team was back inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center Saturday. They hosted Concord as they continued on the stretch run towards the 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament, and fell 94-88. The Cardinals offense continued it's success, led by another big effort by junior Marcus Johnson as they moved to 5-10 overall and 2-7 in MEC play.

Johnson put up 28 points for the second game in a row and goes over the 25 point mark for the eighth time this season. He was second on the team going 3-8 (37.5%) from beyond the arc and 12-27 from the floor. He was one of four Cardinals to hit double figures on the night, with SJ Hutchinson (14), William Gabbert (13), and Kevin Coleman Jr (12) each hit the mark. It was a season-high effort for Hutchinson, who added a 50% mark from the floor, as he has made a big impact on the offense. While being the team's leading scorer, Johnson also picked up his fourth double-double of the season, leading the defensive effort with 11 rebounds on the night. The Cardinals spread the ball around effectively throughout the night, with 16 assists as a team. Trey Stoffer led the way with six of those assists while Sean Ealy added four assists to round out the night. Wheeling scored 40+ points in each half, but it wasn't enough to bring the team to victory.

It would be Johnson that started the scoring for the Cardinals with a layup as the Cardinals scored six of the first eight points. The Mountain Lions battled back to tie the game at 6-6 and as the two teams battled the score sat tied at 8-8 at the 16:56 mark of the first half. Concord would take their first lead of the day on a free throw by Javon Laidler, but the Cardinals were right back on top on a three-pointer by Johnson that made it an 11-9 affair. Concord's Jordan Wooden tied the game with a layup and kicked off what was a 7-0 run that brought the game to 18-11 as the first media timeout ticked by. Hutchinson broke the run with a three-pointer and quickly got his team back in it with another three-pointer to make it an 18-17 game. Hutchinson would play a big role in the Cardinals battling back and gave the team the lead once again with his third three in a row and the Cardinals were staked to a 24-23 lead at the 10-minute mark that began a run for the Cardinals.

They went on their biggest run of the game, scoring six straight points as they extended their lead to 27-23 with 9:06 to go in the half. Concord would hit a pair of shots to tie things up and the teams would go back and forth over the next five minutes. The Cardinals were able to keep Concord from overtaking them as the game sat tied at 31-31 at the 5:35 mark before another Cardinal run. Coleman would hit a layup to get things started and a 6-2 run for the Cardinals resulted in a 37-33 lead with 3:21 to go before the break. Concord would come back scoring eight points, including two three-pointers as they took the lead back for the first time since the 10 minute mark as they went ahead 41-37. A William Gabbert three-pointer would be the final score of the half for the Cardinals, and they would head into the locker room trailing 44-40. The Cardinals hit just over 37% of their shots in the half and would look for more efficiency as they hit the second half.

They would do just that, shooting 50% over the final 20 minutes of play as they put up 48 points during those 20 minutes. Concord's Kollin Tolbert laid in the first points of the new half, and Johnson kept his success going with a layup of his own. Wheeling used the three-pointer as they battled back with Johnson and Gabbert each hitting from beyond the arc before Trey Stoffer drove in and put in a layup to put the Cardinals back on top 54-53. However, Concord hit back-to-back buckets and by the first media timeout of the half had the advantage back at 59-58. The lead would change hands three times over the next five minutes as the Cardinals and Mountain Lions each jockeyed for position. Caleb Murray hit a layup at the 13:16 mark to tie the game at 60-60 before Johnson put Wheeling back on top with a layup. Concord would retake the lead at 67-64, but Johnson once again got his team the lead with a layup and with 10 minutes to play it was 69-68 Cardinals. 

Concord would be the one to get the last hit, scoring seven of the next nine points as they went back in front 75-71. As the Cardinals tried to keep pace with the Mountain Lions, Gabbert would score six straight points and as the five-minute media timeout passed by, it was an 80-78 game. Gabbert would go on to tie the game with a layup and the two teams traded points until the game sat at 82-82 with 3:53 to play. That would end up being as close as the Cardinals would get as they were outscored 12-6 over the final 3:51 of play as the Cardinals fell to Concord 94-88. The offense continues to show the consistency it has seen over the start of 2024, and the Cardinals look to continue to improve on the defensive side as they continue down the stretch towards the MEC Tournament.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 24th, when they host Notre Dame College with tip-off at 7:30 PM.