Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (2-2, 0-0) returned to the Alma Grace McDonough Center court on Saturday night in their final tune-up before Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. It came down to the final seconds of play, and the Cardinals were able to conjure up some McDonough Center magic, picking up a 75-74 win. After playing in so many close games over the past two seasons, the Cardinals were able to come out on top and send the fans home happy. 

As the teams broke from the final media timeout, Wheeling was trailing 70-66 and looked to battle back. Tee Harris would hit a layup and Sean Ealy added another shot of his own and the Cardinals cut the lead to 72-70. Neither team would score over the next two minutes, and Jerry Saunders Jr. Drew a foul to come to the charity stripe. He nailed both free throws and the Cardinals tied the game at 72-72 with 2:34 to play in regulation. As the clock ticked past the 30-second mark, it remained tied until Kevin Constant hit a layup that made it 74-72 in favor of the Tigers. Head Coach Chris Richardson would call a timeout to set up the play. The Cardinals brought the ball up the court and Ealy drove into the paint. He would pass the ball to the outside with three seconds to play and Saunders Jr got the ball in his hands. He would send a shot towards the net and sank it through to give Wheeling a 75-74 lead. Salem would try one desperate half court shot, but it fell off target and the Cardinals finished out the 75-74 win. 

It wrapped up what was a big day for Saunders, who finished with a team-high 16 points, including the game-winner from three-point range. He was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter on the night, shooting 44.4% from the floor, 50% from three-point range, and 5-6 from the charity stripe. He was one of five Cardinals to finish in double figures on the night, with Caleb Murray adding 14 points, and leading the team with four three-pointers and five steals. William Gabbert (12), S.J. Hutchinson (12), and Tee Harris Jr. (11) added double figures on the night. Alex Smith would lead the defensive effort with a career-high 15 rebounds, while Harris wrapped up the double-double with 13 rebounds. Alex Smith added six assists on the day to round out the night as the Cardinals got the win. 

The game started out strong for the Cardinals, with Harris scoring in the opening minute of play and William Gabbert added a three-pointer to give Wheeling a 5-0 lead. Salem would answer with five points of their own and the game would it tied 5-5 as the game reached the first media timeout. The score would remain tied with 14:24 showing on the clock as things sat at 7-7. Caleb Murray started his big day with a three and Hutchinson would add a jumper to kept the Cardinals up 12-11. Hutchinson helped extend the Cardinal lead to 15-11, before Salem scored four straight points to tie the game at 15-15. As the game reached the 10 minute media timeout, the Cardinals and Tigers remained deadlocked at 18-18, with both teams looking to breakthrough. 

It would be the Tigers that found their run, scoring 12 straight points, putting the Cardinals behind 30-18 with 5:28 to play. Gabbert would break the run with a three-pointer, but four more Salem points upped their advantage to 34-21. Gabbert would add a pair of free throws and Hutchinson would add a layup to get Wheeling to 25 points before the half. Salem would add two more buckets, including a three-pointer with 13 seconds to go, and the Cardinals would head into the locker room trailing 43-25. Wheeling was held to a 22.22% mark from the floor in the first half, and would need to battle back over the final 20 minutes of the game. 

They came out of the locker room strong with a Saunders three-pointer, and Harris would add a jumper from Harris would get the Cardinals to the 30-point mark. Gabbert added a tip-in to get Wheeling to 32 points and cut the Tiger lead to 14. The Cardinals continued to slowly chip away at the Salem lead as the quarter went on, and by the first media timeout of the half they had it cut to 13. Murray would get the Cardinals back on the board with a jumper, and added a crucial three-pointer with 11:58 to go to make it a single-digit game. Gabbert added a jumper and Jaylon Jackson added a three-pointer and with 9:43 showing on the clock, the Cardinals had the game cut to just five points. 

The Cardinals would use the three-pointer throughout the second half, shooting 30.43% from beyond the arc, and Saunders and Sean Ealy would each hit threes to get it back to a five-point game at 68-63. Harris finished the run with a layup, completing an 8-0 run and just like that it was three-point game. A pair of Salem free throws before the media timeout pushed it back to a five-point game before the Cardinals conjured up the last second magic to end the big day. 

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, November 26th, when they open MEC play against Point Park at 7:30 PM.