Wheeling, W. Va—With 10 days since their last contest, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (1-2), (0,0) is well-rested and ready to return to action. They will match up against the Salem Tigers after coming short in an intense second half versus The Rock.
Slippery Rock came to town on November 13th for Wheeling's home opener. The Cardinals got off to a dream start, netting the first nine points of the contest. The Rock battled back to tie it up at 15 a side and started to build their own lead. A three-pointer from Elijah Edwards sparked an initiative to get themselves closer. The Cards' effort prevailed for the rest of the half to take a 41-37 lead at the half. The second half was a neck-and-neck brawl. Wheeling shot better than Slippery Rock and held The Rock scoreless from behind the arc, but in the end, it came to late-game execution and missed opportunities that allowed Slippery Rock to leave with an 85-77 victory.
Sean Ealy led the Cardinals with 17 points on the night and went 8-12 at the free-throw line. Caleb Murray and S.J Hutchinson performed exceptionally well, scoring double-digit totals off the bench. Hutchinson led in the rebound category with six and recorded four assists. Tee Harris jr saw himself finishing with 14 points while shooting 6-11 in the field.
Preparing for the Tigers
Salem is coming off a demanding opening schedule. They faced Seton Hill twice, then Shippensburg and Gannon. They sunk the Raiders 107-91 for their only win of the season and dropped the other four. In their most recent 77-72 loss against Seton Hill in Greensburg, PA, redshirt junior DJ Harrell led the team with 18 points, converting 7 of 11 from the field and making his only three-pointer of the game. Kapone Barley cashed in four of his five free throws, while junior Issac James snagged 13 rebounds. James leads the Tigers with 54 points so far on the season.
The Details
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team will welcome non-conference Salem into the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Saturday, November 23rd. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm. The game will be streamed HERE, and LiveStats will be available for viewing HERE.
