Athens, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (6-10, 1-8) made the trip down to Athens, West Virginia on Saturday as they continued Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. The Cardinals stuck around early, but it was a 58-point push by Concord in the second half that would ultimately decide the Cardinal's fate as they fell 105-76. Wheeling would shoot 43.8% from the floor for the game, including a 50% mark in the first half, but it wasn't enough to get the Cardinals out on the right side of the decision.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was senior Sean Ealy, who finished with 20 points on the day, while adding five rebounds and three assists. It was the second time in the last three games that Ealy has hit the 20-point mark, while shooting 60% (9-15) from the floor. The other Cardinal to reach double figures on the day was Curtis Harrison IV, who finished with 10 points on the day, while hitting three of his nine shots. Alex Smith would pace the Cardinal's rebounding effort, finishing with eight rebounds, while Ealy would lead the team with three assists. The first half was an efficient showing for the Cardinals, that saw them shoot 14-28 (50%) from the floor and 5-9 (55.56%) from the field, but they could not sustain that success into the second half as they tried to complete the comeback effort.
The first three minutes of the opening half would see the two teams going back and forth, trading the first 12 points. Harrison IV would be the one to tie the game at 6-6 with a three-pointer at the 17 minute mark, as the two teams went back and forth. The Mountain Lions would hit the first significant run of the day with a 5-1 run that made it an 11-7 game, and they added four more points before the media timeout to push their score to 15-8. Wheeling would use the three-pointer to battle back over the first five minutes, with Harrison and Harris each hitting from long range during the next five minutes. However, Concord continued adding their lead and by the 10-minute mark, the Mountain Lions were staked to a 23-19 advantage.
As the first half went on, the Cardinals were able to keep things close, with Ealy and Jerry Saunders Jr. Each hitting shots to keep it to within a six-point game at 29-23 with 7:11 left in the half. The three-pointer continued to be a big part of the Cardinal's offense and, with the score sitting at 34-23 in favor of Concord, Caleb Murray would hit a three-pointer to get the Cardinals going. It would send Wheeling on a 10-0 run, that saw Murray add another layup and Saunders Jr. Add a three-pointer as the Cardinals got to within one point of the Mountain Lions at 34-33 with 4:37 to go before halftime. The Cardinals were never able to officially overtake the Mountain Lions, and scored just five more points over the final four minutes of the half. A three-pointer from Kollin Tolbert would send Concord into halftime with a 47-39 lead and left the Cardinals trying to battle back.
As the second half began, the Cardinals began to cut into the Concord lead as Sean Ealy hit three straight layups that made it a seven-point game at 52-45. However, for every Cardinal point, the Mountain Lions would have four more to answer and by the first media timeout, they had pushed their advantage to 63-49. S.J. Hutchinson would hit a three-pointer at the 12:50 mark of the half, but it was the following run from the Mountain Lions that sealed the deal. Concord would score eight of the next nine points, that made it a 75-53 game with 10 minutes to play. The lead would push to 90-64 in favor of the Mountain Lions after the media timeout, with an Ealy layup getting the Cardinals over the 60-point mark.
With the game out of hand, the Cardinal's bench was called upon to round out the final five minutes of play, giving their depth pieces some more experience. For the third game in a row, Jovan Jovanovic would take advantage of the playing time, putting up five points over those five minutes. He would hit a pair of free throws with 1:22 to play and with thirty seconds left, hit a three-pointer to get the Cardinals to 76 points. That is where the offense would end as Concord went on to win 105-76 moving the Cardinals to 1-8 in conference play.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 22nd, when they hit the road to face Salem with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
