Salem, W. Va. - Offense reigned supreme on Wednesday night in Salem, West Virginia as the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (6-11, 1-8) hit the road to face Salem University in their non-conference finale. The two teams combined to put up 205 points on the night, but the Cardinals would come out on the losing end, falling to the Tigers 110-95. Wheeling once again had a strong second half, putting up 50 points over the final 20 minutes, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell short in their comeback effort. 

Salem would take control early, scoring the first three points and eight of the first 10 points in the game to take an 8-2 lead over the first three and a half minutes. Curtis Harrison IV counted for the only two Cardinal points during the run, and a Sean Ealy jumper would put the Tiger's offense on pause. Salem, however, would continue adding to their lead and a three-pointer from Jalen Barnes would send the game into the media timeout with the Tigers leading 16-6. The Tigers extended their lead to 24-10 with 11:29 to play before the Cardinal offense found their groove. Ealy would hit a three-pointer that kicked off an 8-0 Cardinal run, capped by a three-pointer by Tee Harris Jr. That made it a 24-18 game with 10 minutes to go before half. 

The Cardinals were able to slowly work their way back into the gave thanks to the efforts of Harris, who hit another three-pointer to cut the Tiger lead to seven. Salem briefly built a 10-point lead thanks to a dunk from Derrick Jones Jr., but a quick three from S.J. Hutchinson swung the momentum back towards the Cardinals. They scored the next seven straight points, with Hutchinson going into the paint for a layup to cap it off, and Wheeling would make it a 31-28 game. As they hit the final media timeout of the half, Jerry Saunders Jr. Hit a three-pointer and Harrison added a tip-in layup to get the Cardinals to within two points at 35-33. The Tigers would respond by going on a 5-0 run and would hit the final shot of the half on a layup by Kevin Constant. Salem held a 54-45 advantage at the half, and the Cardinals were looking to tap into their second half success as of late. 

As the teams came out of the halftime break they would trade threes with Isaac James from Salem and Alex Smith each hitting three-pointers. William Gabbert would add a layup, accounting for the only other Cardinal basket during the first four minutes as Salem extended their lead to 67-50. Gabbert was just getting started, hitting three-pointers on back-to-back possessions and sent the Cardinals on a 12-2 run that cut the Salem lead to seven. Gabbert would put up eight of the 12 points on the run, with Smith capping the run with a pair of free throws that made it 69-62. The deficit would remain seven points as the teams went back and forth, with S.J. Hutchinson hitting a three with 9:49 to play to make it a 77-70 game.  

Th Cardinals would begin hitting from three as the clock ticked past the nine minute mark, with Ealy and Caleb Murray each hitting a three and Ealy added a layup to make it 88-78 with 6:24 to play. Wheeling would make another push to get back into the game, with Murray hitting a second three-pointer and Smith adding a layup that made it a 90-83 affair, before a three-pointer from Jalen Barned sent things into the media timeout. Hutchinson added another three-pointer following the media timeout, before Salem ended up sealing the deal with a short 6-0 run, capped by a 4-4 mark for the Tigers from the free throw line. Murray would hit his final three-pointer of the night with 28 seconds showing on the clock, but it wasn't enough as Wheeling fell to Salem 110-95. 

 Leading the way for the Cardinals was Alex Smith, who finished with 18 points and was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter from the floor, making six of his seven shots. It was a career-high effort for Smith, who had a day from three-point range, hitting 4-5 (80%) from beyond the arc. The Cardinals also had a big effort off the bench courtesy of S.J. Hutchinson, who finished one point behind Smith, putting up 17 points on the day. Along with being the team's leading scorer, Smith would wrap up the day with a double-double, leading the way with 12 rebounds. Jerry Saunders Jr. Would lead the passing game, finishing with four assists as the Cardinals spread the ball around with five double-digit scorers. 

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 25th, when they host West Liberty with tip-off at 4 PM.