Wheeling, W. Va. – It was a wild night inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center as the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-14, 2-11) hosted West Virginia State. After falling behind in the first half, the Cardinals rallied for 49 second half points, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Yellow Jackets 85-78. The Cardinals battled throughout the night and showed a toughness that they will need as they head down the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament stretch.

After coming out of the half trailing 47-29, the Cardinals were looking for a spark to get them going. They would get that from Tee Harris Jr who started things with a layup, which turned into a three-point play, and a dunk over the first two and a half minutes that made it a 47-34 game. After a three-pointer from West Virginia State's Miguel Martinez made it 50-34 the Cardinals would hit a run, as Alex Smith hit a pair of free throws. It would be a 6-0 run that spanned two minutes and cut what was a 14 point deficit down to 50-40 at the first media timeout. The Yellow Jackets temporarily got back to a double digit lead, but the Cardinals used the three-ball to battle back. S.J. Hutchinson and Jerry Saunders each hit threes and a Saunders dunk with 11:48 to go got the Cardinals to within four points at 55-51.

As the second media timeout ticked by, the Cardinals remained within single digits of the Yellow Jackets at 62-55 after a pair of Saunders free throws. As time ticked on, the Cardinals slowly got back into the game with a pair of three-pointers from Johnson leading the way. By the 6:09 mark, the Cardinals had essentially erased the once dominant Yellow Jacket lead, cutting it down to 70-67. Trey Stoffer would get the Cardinals within one point of overtaking the Yellow Jackets with a layup and, after four straight Yellow Jacket points, the score sat at 74-71 at the final media timeout. Stoffer once again came through with a clutch layup after the timeout to make it 74-73 game, but a 7-0 Yellow Jacket run would put the icing on the cake. Wheeling would fall 85-78 to start February as the Cardinals moved to 2-11 in conference play.

It was a big offensive day for Marcus Johnson, as he set a new career-high with 34 points on the night. He led the Cardinals going 12-23 (52.2%) from the floor while adding a 6-8 mark from three-point range and a 4-5 mark from the charity stripe. Tee Harris Jr would finish behind him, tying his career high with 16 points as he makes his second start of the year. Johnson would also lead the effort with 11 rebounds, picking up his fourth double-double of the season while Harris added six rebounds of his own. Johnson and Trey Stoffer would round out the day leading the passing game with three assists each. During their big second half effort, the Cardinals found their groove from the floor, shooting 58.33% from the floor, compared to a 37.50% in the first half.

Just like he did coming out of the half, it was Harris who sparked the Cardinals in the opening minutes of play. After winning the opening tip-off, he would drive to the offensive zone and made the first layup of the night. He would end up scoring the first six points of the night and captained a 6-2 run that lasted the first two minutes of play. However, West Virginia State came back with a 12-0 run and ended up taking their first lead of the night at 14-6. Johnson would break the run with a three-pointer at the 13:22 mark as the Cardinals got back to within one point of the Yellow Jackets at 16-15 with 11:13 to go before the half. The two teams would trade the next two buckets over the next minute and by the 10 minute media, the game was still hanging in the balance as West Virginia State led 18-17.

After a layup by the Yellow Jacket's Kahari Rogers, the Cardinals got even as Hutchinson hit a three to tie the game at 20-20. After seven straight Yellow Jackets points, a Johnson Layup would break the run before a Yellow Jacket three pointer made it 30-22 at the final first half media timeout. Harris would come out of that timeout landing a dunk after a Johnson steal to make it 30-24. The Cardinals crept to within five points of the Yellow Jackets with a Johnson three-pointer that made it 32-27, but the Yellow Jackets would end the half on a run. They scored 10 of the final 12 points over the final three minutes and would head into the locker room with a 42-29 advantage. The Cardinals made the necessary halftime adjustments, but it wasn't enough as they fell to West Virginia State.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, February 3rd, when they host West Virginia Wesleyan at 5:30 PM.