Wheeling, W. Va. - The last six days have seen the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-14, 2-11) take on some of the toughest competition that the Mountain East Conference (MEC) has to offer. On Wednesday, they look for a bounce back effort on their home floor as they battle West Virginia Wesleyan with tip-off at 7:30 PM. The Cardinals are just one win away from reaching their win total for the entire 2022-2023 season and they look to take that even farther as they head down the stretch.
Last time out, the Cardinals took on West Virginia State and got out to a fast start building a 6-2 lead over the first eight points. After West Virginia State took the lead, the Cardinals kept it a single digit game for the first 18 minutes of play. West Virginia State would hit a run at the end of the half that built them a double-digit lead and the Cardinals trailed 42-29 heading into halftime. The second half would see the Cardinals find their shot, shooting 58.3% from the floor, as they began to battle back. They would outscore the Yellow Jackets 49-44 over the final 20 minutes of play, and got back to within single digits, but it wouldn't be enough as they fell 86-78.
It was a career-best effort for Marcus Johnson, who put up 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Johnson missed some time due to injury, but has come back stronger than even over his last three games. The junior has averaged 21.6 PPG since making his return to the floor as he continues to be the conference's top scorer. He has averaged 22.4 PPG this season and leads the next closest scorer by 3.8 PPG and has been a big part of the Cardinal's success on both sides of the ball. He is also chasing down program history, needing just 70 points to reach the 1,000-point mark in his Wheeling career as he heads down the stretch.
The Cardinals also got a spark from freshman Tee Harris Jr, who made his second career start. He tied his career-high with 16 points and was a spark for the Cardinals both at the start of the game and coming out of the halftime break. Harris scored all six points for the Cardinals during their opening 6-2 run and added the first five Cardinal points of the second half. Jerry Saunders Jr also had a breakout game, putting up eight points and stepping up in a big moment for the Cardinals. HE was 2-3 from the floor, including a big dunk in the second half, and helped spark the Cardinal's defensive effort during the strong second half.
As they enter the final month of the regular season, the Cardinals currently sit tied for the #9 seed in the conference with Frostburg State at 2-11. With the top 10 teams in the conference qualifying for the tournament, the Cardinals look to use this last month on their home court to climb the conference standings. The Cardinals are 3-5 in eight home games this season and, with four of their final eight games coming inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, the Cardinals look to continue this success as they battle their way back up the MEC standings.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bobcats continue their historic rivalry, meeting for the 45th time in program history and the second time this season. The Cardinals lead the all-time series with a record of 30-14 while going 11-6 in 17 previous meetings in Wheeling, West Virginia. It has been a high scoring series as of late, with the winning team needing at least 82 points in each of the last three meetings between the two teams.
In their most recent meeting, it was the Cardinals who came out on top with a 102-92 victory on the road. The Cardinals had three different players score 19 or more points in that game, with Sean Ealy leading the way with 20 points. Marcus Johnson added 19 points of his own while William Gabbert set a new career-high with 19 points and three three-pointers in the game.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
