Wheeling, W. Va. – The 2023-2024 regular season came to an end on Saturday as the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (10-17, 6-14) took on "The Battle for Wheeling." It was a back and forth throughout the night, but in the end the Cardinals would fall 107-92 to end the regular season. Four different Cardinals would finish in double figures on the day as the team clinched the #9 seed in next week's MEC Tournament.

The Cardinals needed a spark from their bench, and would get one from Jerry Saunders Jr, who set a new career high with 17 points. He shot an efficient 5-7 (71.4%) from the floor, and hit a pair of big three-pointers to help lead the Cardinals from the bench. The Cardinal's top scorer on the day was Marcus Johnson, who finished with a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds, as he scored 25 or more points for the 11th time this season. The other two Cardinals to finish in double figures were Tee Harris Jr (13) and Sean Ealy (12) to round out the day. Alex Smith would tie Johnson for the team-lead with 11 rebounds and added a career-high nine points on the night. Ealy would round out the day leading the passing game with six assists on the day as the Cardinal's battled in their regular season finale.

The excitement was building in the Alma Grace McDonough Center and the Hilltoppers would hit the first four points of the night. The Cardinals would break through two minutes later as Marcus Johnson hit a three-pointer to make it a 4-3 game at the 18:18 mark. After a pair of free throws, Tee Harris would single handedly get his team on top for the first time in the game. He hit a layup following a pair of Hilltopper free throws, and added a pair of three-pointers and another layup to make it a 13-6 Cardinal lead. It was a 10-point swing for the freshman as the Cardinals held the lead through the media timeout. Wheeling would maintain that lead up until the 11:26 mark when a Hilltopper free throw tied the game at 22-22. 

The game would remain tied until the 10:37 mark when Christian Montague hit a three-pointer that started a 9-0 Hilltopper swing. That made it a 33-24 game with 9:09 to play in the half and Harris was back at it with a layup to break the run. The Cardinals would slowly battle back into the game, getting as close as 38-35 after a pair of Johnson free throws with 6:05 to play. The Cardinals kept it close with an Alex Smith three-pointer that made it 40-38 and they got to within one point just before the media timeout when Smith hit a free throw that made it 42-41. However, West Liberty kept scoring and the Cardinals would add a pair of three-pointers from Marcus Johnson to round out their scoring. Wheeling would head into the locker room trailing 54-49 as they looked to keep their offensive success going in the second half.

The Cardinal's defense held strong in the first half, holding West Liberty to a 40% shooting percentage over the first 10 minutes, while shooting 51.43% themselves. As the second half started, it was Johnson who would spark the Cardinals, scoring the first nine Cardinal points of the quarter. The run took the first five minutes, and helped keep the Cardinals within ten points of the Hilltoppers at 68-58 with 15:02 to play. Kevin Coleman Jr. Would add a dunk after the media timeout and the Cardinals were able to stay within 10 points or fewer for the first 10 minutes of the half. Saunders kept his big day going with a layup at the 10:13 mark and the Cardinals got a close as 69-77 with 9:27 to play. Saunders would once again help the Cardinals get closer with a pair of free throws to make it 79-71 and an Ealy layup pushed the deficit to 79-73 with 8:07 to play.

However, that was as close as the Cardinals would get as West Liberty shot 50% from the floor and 53.3% from three-point range. The Cardinals added a 41.3% mark from the floor and a 50% mark from three-point range over those final 20 minutes. The HiIlltoppers would manage to build a 99-85 advantage when Head Coach Chris Richardson honored his fifth year player. He subbed Dozie Enyosiobi in for his final game inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, and the graduate student would make the most of the opportunity. After a Hilltopper three with 30 seconds to go, Enyosiobi would get the ball and drove into the paint. He would tip in a layup for his final career bucket at home as he brought the game to its final score of 107-92.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team now prepares for the 2024 MEC Tournament, as they battle #8 seeded Notre Dame College on Wednesday, March 6th, with tip-off at 8:30 PM.