Charleston, W. Va. – On Wednesday night, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-12, 2-10) made the trip down to Charleston, West Virginia. The Cardinals battled through the first 10 minutes, trailing 43-36 at halftime, but it would end up falling short. They would fall 101-80 when all was said and done as they closed out the month of January.
As the game kicked off, Charleston would get the offense going, scoring the first eight points over the first three minutes of play.
S.J. Hutchinson would get the Cardinals on the board at the 16:44 mark and
William Gabbert would add a layup to get the Cardinals going. However, by the six minute mark for the game, Charleston had built an 18-4 lead and the Cardinals were looking for a spark. They would get that from junior
Marcus Johnson, who hit a three-pointer at the 13:40 mark to make it an 18-7 game with a deficit to overcome, the Cardinals would have a long road to battle back and Hutchinson got it started from the free throw line. He added a three pointer a minute later and by the 10 minute mark, the Cardinals had cut into the Golden Eagles lead, making it a 26-16 game with 10 minutes to play.
The two teams exchanged the next four points before the Cardinals hit their first big run of the night. Johnson started things with a free throw that sent the Cardinals on an 8-2 run that brought the Cardinals within two points of their first lead of the night. Johnson led the Cardinals during the run with five points while he and
Caleb Murray each hit three-pointers during the run. The Cardinals were down by two, and got three-pointers from both Murray and
Sean Ealy each hit three-pointers before the half was out, and Tee Harris added a layup, but the Cardinals headed into the locker room trailing 43-36. After falling behind by 14 early, the Cardinals had used efficient shooting to battle their way back into the competition. They shot 44.46% from the floor and just over 46% from beyond the arc in the half and looked to overtake the Golden Eagles in the second half.
Throughout the start of the new half, the Cardinals were able to keep it a single-digit deficit. Over the first five minutes of the new half, the Cardinals were able to cut into the Golden Eagle's lead. With the two teams trading the first eight points of the new half,
Trey Stoffer would hit a big three-pointer. This was followed by a jumper by
Marcus Johnson that made it a 51-49 game by the first media timeout. Wheeling was able to keep it a single-digit deficit until the 12:51 Mark of the half.
Sean Ealy would hit a three-pointer before the second media timeout but the Cardinals would enter the final 10 minutes trailing 73-59. A
Caleb Murray three-pointer right before the break would make it a 14-point deficit with 10 minutes to play.
However, the Cardinals were not able to cut into this lead, as the Golden Eagles continued to score. Wheeling would keep up with the Golden Eagles during this time, being outscored 28-21 over the final 10 minutes as they got to the 80-point mark before falling. However, the two top contributors down the stretch for the Cardinals were Murray and Tee Harris. Harris hit two big three-pointers during the run to account for six of the team's final 21 points. Murray would add a three-pointer of his own and accounted for four more points. As the final five minutes of the game ticked away, Head Coach
Chris Richardson was able to turn to his bench. During these final five minutes, Jerry Saunders Jr would lead the way with six points and Sammy Christ would score his first three points of the season. In the end, the Cardinals would fall 101-80 as they enter the final month.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior
Marcus Johnson, who returned to the starting lineup after an injury bout. He finished with 18 points on the night, while shooting 46.1% from the floor and adding a 2-4 mark from beyond the arc.
Caleb Murray would be the next Cardinal to hit the double figure mark, finishing with 13 points and a team-high four three-pointers, going 4-8 from beyond the arc.
Sean Ealy and Tee Harris would round out the double digit scorers with 10 points each. Johnson led both the defensive game and the passing game with nine rebounds and six assists to round out the night. The Cardinals now transition into February and March, where they will play five of their final nine games inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, February 3rd, when they host West Virginia State with tip-off at 4 PM.
