Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-11, 2-8) came out hot on Wednesday night as they took on Notre Dame College inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. However, the hot start wouldn't be enough as the Cardinals fell to Notre Dame College 80-71 in a game that was defined by two different halves. The Cardinals spread the ball around throughout the day, with nine different players getting in on the scoring as the team looks to continue to battle through the end of January.
In the first half, the Cardinals offense and defense were clicking on all cylinders, with the team allowing just 30 points and the offense hitting 64% of their shots. Alex Smith would get things started with a jumper and the Cardinals would end up scoring seven of the first nine points of the contest. Sith added the first five points of the game and Kevin Coleman Jr and William Gabbert each added shots as Wheeling made it an 11-6 game at the 16-minute mark. Their would be just one more layup before the media timeout and at the 13:50 mark the Falcons made it an 11-10 game. As the teams went back and forth, Kobe Tigney would hit a layup that made it 15-12 and sent the Cardinals on a 6-2 run that made it a 19-14 Cardinal lead with 10 minutes to play in the half.
After Notre Dame College broke the run with a layup, SJ Hutchinson came off the bench and once again provided a spark to his team. He hit a three-pointer at the 8:46 mark and added another jumper that made it a 24-16 Cardinal advantage. However, that was just the beginning for the junior as he added a free throw at the 7:20 mark and a three-pointer just before the final media timeout that made it a 28-21 advantage. It was an 11-point spread for Hutchinson during the run and he helped the Cardinals hold the lead. Following the break, the Cardinals would hit another run, this time a 5-2 advantage that made it a 33-25 game with 2:47 to play in the half. Notre Dame College would cut poi the Cardinal lead to five points with under a minute to play before Trey Stoffer hit a big three to send the Cardinal's in the locker room with a 38-30 advantage.
As the second half started, Notre Dame College would get the scoring started with a layup from Joshua Dames and Wheeling responded with a William Gabbert layup. The Falcons would be the next team to hit a run as Dames hit a big three that sent his team on a 7-2 run that made it a 42-39 Cardinal advantage. Stoffer would break the run with a layup and Gabbert added a three as the Cardinals pushed their lead to 47-41. A three-pointer by Notre Dame College would make it a three-point game before Tigney responded with a layup. It would be the third Cardinal run of the day, this time an 8-3 swing, as a Hutchinson three-pointer made it a 55-47 Cardinal advantage. However, the Falcons responded with a 9-5 run of their own and with 10 minutes to go it was just a 59-56 Cardinal advantage.
Wheeling continued to hold off the Falcons over the next three minutes until the Falcons tied the game at 62-62 with 7:14 to go. Sean Ealy would keep the Cardinals in front with a jumper and a pair of free throws before a jumper by Dames would make it a 68-66 Falcon advantage. It was Ealy once again who got the Cardinals back out in front with a three-pointer at the 4:14 mark to make it 69-68 Cardinals, but a layup from RJ Ogom put the Falcons back out in front 70-69. That would start a 10-0 run for the Falcons that made it a 78-69 Falcon lead and would eventually seal the game. The Cardinals would get a pair of free throws from Stoffer to round out the day as the Cardinals ended up dropping the game 80-71.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior Sean Ealy, who came off the bench for the Cardinals and put up 19 points on the day. He finished 8-14 (57.1%) from the floor and hit some of the biggest shots of the day for the Cardinals. He was one of three Cardinals to hit double digits on the day as SJ Hutchinson (14) and Trey Stoffer (11) each hit the mark. Hutchinson continued his hot start to 2023-2024, with this being the second straight game where Hutchinson finished with 11 or more points. Three different Cardinals led the defensive effort with William Gabbert, Kobe Tigney, and Alex Smith each finishing with five rebounds while Gabbert led the way with two assists.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Sunday, January 28th, when they travel to West Liberty University at 4 PM.
