Pittsburgh, PA. - The Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule officially opened for the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (2-3, 0-1) on Tuesday night as they traveled to Point Park. The Cardinals made a late push, outscoring Point Park 40-35 in the final 10 minutes, but it wasn't enough as Wheeling fell to Point Park 75-71. Despite a career day for sophomore Tee Harris jr., the Cardinals were unable to pick up a conference-opening win over the Pioneers.
Tee Harris jr. Put together a career-best effort in the contest, leading the team with 22 points and 11 rebounds on the night. It was a new career-high in points for the sophomore and marked the second straight double-double, while he tied his season high with three three-pointers. Harris was one of three Cardinals to hit double figures on the night, followed by Sean Ealy (17) and William Gabbert (13). Ealy would tie for the team lead with Alex Smith finishing with four assists, while Gabbert was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter, going 6-9 (66.67%) from the floor. Smith would round out the night with nine rebounds, giving him a team-best 24 rebounds over his past two games.
It would be the Cardinals who started the scoring, getting a layup from Gabbert on the opening possession as the two teams went back and forth. Point Park would hit the first run of the night, scoring five straight points and a three-pointer from Kaden Warner before the first media timeout gave them a 16-11 lead. Ealy would get the Cardinals on the board coming out of the media timeout. And helped lead the Cardinals to tie things at 18-18 with 11:21 left in the first half. Following that first media timeout, both defenses stiffened, allowing a combined 11 points between media timeouts, with Smith getting three steals during the run. However, a layup from Jags Jhawar would give Point Park the lead as the 10 minute timeout rolled by and the Pioneers were staked to a 20-18 lead.
It would take two minutes after the 10-minute media for either team to get on the board, but a Caleb Murray three would give the Cardinals their first lead since the opening minutes at 21-20. However, the lead would be short-lived as Point Park would go on an eight point run as they took the lead back at 28-23. Harris broke the run with a layup and the Cardinals answered with a 7-0 run of their own, with another Harris three-pointer making it a 28-28 game with 4:49 to play in the half. Wheeling briefly took the lead back on a Smith three-pointer, but Point Park would score the final 10 points of the half and went into the locker room with a 40-31 advantage. Wheeling would shoot 36.11% from the floor in the half and would look to be more efficient as they entered the second half.
The Pioneers continued their run into the second half, with a three-pointer from Kaden Warner getting things started, as they moved to a 13-0 advantage. Jerry Saunders Jr. would be the one to break the run and Sean Ealy would add a pair of free throws to get them to the 35-point mark. The Cardinals scored eight of the next 10 points to get to within six points of the Pioneers, but as the 15-minute media timeout approached, it was a 49-39 Point Park lead. The Pioneers increased their lead to 16 points before the Cardinals began to battle back. Ealy would get things started with a jumper and it sent the Cardinals on an 8-0 run. Harris would score six of those eight points and by the 10-minute media, the Cardinals ha cut the deficit to 59-51.
The lead would grow to 11 with five minutes to play as the Cardinals headed into the final media timeout trailing 68-57. Harris would once again spark his team with a three-pointer that cut the lead to eight, but Point Park immediately answered to put the lead back to 11. The teams would trade the next two baskets before Saunders Jr. hit a fastbreak layup that would send the Cardinals on their final push with 2:37 showing on the clock. The Cardinals would score six unanswered points, with Ealy and Harris each scoring, as Wheeling made it a 73-68 game with 34 seconds remaining. The push would come too little too late as a pair of Point Park free throws sealed the deal before the game ended with an Ealy three-pointer in the final seconds. The Cardinals would increase their efficiency in the half, shooting 37.21% from the floor, but it wasn't enough as they fell 75-71.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Sunday, December 1st, when they host CAL-U with tip-off at 3 PM.
