Wheeling, W. Va. - As the 2023-2024 regular season ends, the top 10 teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) all have their sights set on next week's MEC Tournament. Before the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (10-16, 6-13) heads to WesBanco Arena, they get set for the biggest rivalry match of the year coming to the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Cardinals play host to West Liberty University in "The Battle for Wheeling" as they battle for seeding ahead of next week's tournament.
Last time out, the Cardinals hit the road to take on Salem and the offense led the way in a big 96-90 win. The Cardinals woudl hit their shot throughout the first half, making 43.75% of their shots and hitting 38.10% of they shots from three-point range. Wheeling would head into the locker room with a 42-33 lead and looked to continue their success into the second half. The Cardinals would once again hit 40.6% of their shots and upped their scoring to 54 points in the half. However, Salem would get going as well, and got as close as a two-point deficit with under a minute to play. However, the Cardinals clinched the effort from the free throw line, making their final eight shots as they won 96-90.
Leading the way was Sean Ealy, who was one of four Cardinals to hit double digits, putting up 22 points in the effort. He finished 6-14 from the floor, but had even more success from beyond the three-point arc. He shot 57.1% (4-7) from beyond the arc as he hit four or more three-pointers for the third time this season. Ealy has played some of his best basketball down the stretch, scoring 15 points or more in each of his last four games. During that stretch, he has averaged 18.5 points per game during the run and since the turn of the year, he has been averaging 13.1 PPG. Ealy looks to continue to be a leader for the team down the stretch as they head towards the tournament.
The other Cardinal to hit the 20 point mark was sophomore S.J. Hutchinson, who finished with a season-high 20 points on the day. Like Ealy, Hutchinson has also been strong from three-point range and added three of his own in the winning effort. However, Hutchinson has also been one of the team's strongest defensive players this season and continued that against Salem. Marcus Johnson and Tee Harris would be the other two Cardinals to hit double figures, with 18 and 11 points respectively. Johnson has continued to be a strong scorer for the Cardinals and added a 6-13 mark from the floor to round out the day.
As they enter this final regular season game, the Cardinals sit one game behind Glenville State for the #8 seed in the conference. Wheeling's first round matchup is pretty much set as they are likely to face the Pioneers in the first round for the third consecutive season. However, the Cardinals could go from being the away team in that matchup to being the home team with a win and a Glenville State loss to Concord. The Cardinals enter Saturday's game having won five of their last seven games and look to keep the momentum on their side as they prepare to make another run at the MEC Championships next week.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the 70th time in program history and the second time this season. West Liberty leads the all-time matchup with a record of 47-22 as the Hilltoppers are the team the Cardinals have matched up with the most in program history. The Cardinals have had much more success inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center in the all-time matchup, going 12-15 in 27 previous meetings.
In their first matchup of the season, the Cardinals would fall to the Hilltoppers on the road in a 123-76 affair. Wheeling was led in that game by a pair of 14 point efforts from Sean Ealy and Kevin Coleman Jr. Marcus Jonson added 13 points of his own and former Cardinal Try Stoffer added a team-high five assists to round out the day.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 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.
