Wheeling, W. Va. - The Alma Grace McDonough Center has been a house of magic for the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (4-4, 1-2) and they were able to conjure up a little bit more of that magic on Saturday. The Cardinals welcomed in Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponent West Virginia Wesleyan, and the offense took the reigns and ran with it. The Cardinals went over the 90-point mark for the first time this season as the Cardinals earned a 95-65 win over the Bobcats for their first conference win of the season.
The Cardinals saw the ball go in the net throughout the day, shooting 51.5% from the floor and 50.0% from beyond the arc to fuel their success. The team had their highest scoring half of the season to start things off, putting up 50 points over the first 20 minutes of play. The excitement started from the get-go, with Tee Harris Jr. Winning the opening tip-off and taking it to the net to give Wheeling a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals would score eight straight points, including two three-pointers from William Gabbert that gave the Cardinals an 8-0 lead. As it has been over the last couple of weeks, the Cardinal's defense shined once again, holding the Bobcats to single digits over the first nine minutes of play. It would be a half of runs for the Cardinals, who went on runs of 7-0 and 7-1 during the span and by the ten-minute media timeout, the Cardinals had a 29-14 advantage.
As the half rolled on, the Cardinals got big contributions from their forwards, with Curtis Harrison IV scoring six straight points to push the Wheeling advantage to 33-18 with 7:04 to go before the half. The Cardinals continued adding on with the three-ball throughout the half, with S.J. Hutchinson, Gabbert, and Caleb Murray all getting in on the action. The long-range shot was a big part of the Cardinal's success, as they shot 58.82% (10-17) from beyond the arc during the first half. A layup from Sean Ealy at the 3:21 mark would get the Cardinals to 50 points before the Bobcats scored the final three points over the final three minutes of play. The Cardinals had built a healthy lead early on, and would head into the halftime break with a 50-28 advantage. Wheeling's 48.65% mark from the floor was a driving force for their success, and as Head Coach Chris Richardson began subbing in his bench, the efficiency continued.
Wheeling picked up right where they left off in the new half, with Gabbert hitting a layup an Harris adding a dunk that put Wheeling up 54-28. It would be that same combination that led the Cardinals throughout the second half, with the two players combining to score the first 11 points of the half. Harris put up seven points during the run, including a big three-pointer, while Gabbert added four points to push Wheeling's lead to 61-36. Murray would hit a three-pointer and completed the four point play as the Cardinals continued to extend their lead. Murray would add another jumper just before the 10-minute media timeout, and the Cardinals were staked to a 74-48 advantage.
As the half was coming to a close, Richardson got the chance to head to his bench, and the Cardinals took advantage. Trevor Beresford and Elijah Edward were among the first two subs of the game, and they made their presence felt right away. Beresford would be the first to check in, and got on the board at the 6:24 mark with a dunk. Edwards would come into the game at the 7:06 mark and hit a three-pointer two minutes later. It was the first of five points over the final seven minutes for Edwards, including going 2-2 from the free throw line. William Tchatchoua made his collegiate debut, and at the 4:11 mark would score his first collegiate points with a layup that made it 93-58 in favor of the Cardinals. Alex Yoakum would score the final tally for the Cardinals with 28 seconds to play and brought the game to its final score of 95-65.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was William Gabbert, who put up a season-high 19 points and put together one of the best efforts of the season. He was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter, going 7-9 (77.7%) from the floor, including a 5-6 mark from beyond the arc to lead the team. He was one of four Cardinals to hit double digits on the night, with Tee Harris Jr. (15), Caleb Murray (15), and S.J. Hutchinson (11) each reaching the mark. Alex Smith continued his hard work on defense, finishing with 11 rebounds, and Harris finished behind him with seven. The passing game was led by Sean Ealy, who finished with six assists, while adding eight points to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 11th, when they take on West Virginia State with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
