Wheeling, W. Va. - After dropping their season opener on Friday, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (1-1, 0-0) was back at it on Saturday looking to even up the weekend. The Cardinals offense got off to a strong start and it was enough to lead them to their first win of the season as they took down West Chester 88-68. The Cardinals finished the WLU Tip-off classic with a 1-1 record against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSUAC) opponents. The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season in just the second game of the year, marking their best start to a season since the 2021-2022 season.
After West Chester got the first two points of the night, Sean Ealy started what was a big day for the senior with a layup and gave them the lead completing the three-point play. The two teams would battle back and forth over the first five minutes of play, and the game sat tied at 9-9 at the 15:19 mark. Tee Harris would get on the board with a layup that would start the Cardinal's first big run of the day. They got hot from beyond the arc, with Ealy and Caleb Murray each hitting threes to lead the Cardinals on an 8-1 run that made it 17-10 in favor of the Cardinals. Wheeling's offense continued to roll as they pushed their advantage to 13 points by the second media timeout at 28-15. Murray would lead the way during the run, adding four points while Trevor Beresford capped off the run with a layup.
With the score sitting at 29-17 Wheeling, the Cardinals were again out on a run as Ealy hit his second three-pointer of the day. It sent the Cardinals on a 10-0 run and pushed their advantage to 39-19 with under five minutes to go in the half. A layup by the Golden Rams would break the run, but the Cardinals were right back at it with a Harris layup and a pair of S.J. Hutchinson free throws. While the offense was soaring, the Cardinal defense played strong throughout the half, holding West Cheater to a 26.47% mark from the floor over the first 20 minutes, including an 11.11% mark from three-point range. With the score itting at 43-23 with two minutes left, the Cardinals would get the final six points of the half, including back-to-back shots from Elijah Edwards to end the half, as the Cardinals led 49-23.
Wheeling put together their most efficient half of the year so far, shooting 62.07% from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play, and looked to continue that success into the second half. West Chester would score the first two points of the new half on a jumper by Elijah Allen, but Harris slammed down a dunk to get the Cardinals rolling again. William Gabbert added a three and a pair of Jerry Saunders jr free throws would make it 56-25 in favor of the Cardinals. Wheeling would reach the 60-point mark at the 16:09 mark of the half on a three-pointer from Hutchinson and held a 30-point lead by the first second half media timeout. They would maintain that 30-point advantage over the next four minutes of play and with 10 minutes to go the score would sit at 68-38 in favor of the Cardinals.
After being held down all game, West Chester would hit their first run of the day, scoring eight straight points over a minute and a half span. Gabbert would break the run with a three-pointer and added a layup to score five straight points. With the lead securely in hand, the Cardinals went to their depth pieces over the final five minutes of the game, looking to close out the win. Trevor Beresford would hit a pair of free throws at the two minute mark and with under a minute to play, Jaylon Jackson would put a shot up from three-point range. It would sale through the net and Wheeling reached the 88-point mark. A West Chester jumper by Darrius Phillips ended regulation and the Cardinals would finish out the 88-68 win. Concord would score 45 second half points, but the Cardinals were able to hold on as they wrapped up their first win of the season.
Sean Ealy led the way at point guard, putting up 25 points while shooting 8-11 (72.7%) from the floor. Ealy made two big three-pointers during the Cardinal's first half success and added two assists to round out the big day. S.J. Hutchinson finished behind him with 13 points off the bench and led the way from the free throw line, going 6-8 from the charity stripe. William Gabbert was the final Cardinal to reach double figures, finishing wiht 10 points and two rebounds on the day. Tee Harris would lead the defense with 12 rebounds on the day, while scoring eight points, while Jerry Saunders Jr. Added a team-high three assists and seven points on the day.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, November 13th, when they host Slippery Rock with tip-off at 7 PM.
