Wheeling, W. Va. – After the Women's Basketball team picked up a come from behind win in game one of Wednesday night's doubleheader, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (7-12, 2-9) were looking to keep the good times rolling. They did just that, thanks to a big second half push, as they broke their six-game losing streak with a 77-70 win over the University of Charleston. The Cardinals got a big second half push from senior guard Sean Ealy, who hit a career milestone, scoring over 1,500 points for his collegiate career between Parkland Community College and Wheeling University.
After being held to just two points over the first 20 minutes of play, Ealy would go off in the second half, scoring 22 of his team-high 24 points, coming through biggest when his team needed him most. With the game sitting at 34-31 in favor of Charleston at halftime, the Golden Eagles added to the lead with a three-pointer to start the second half. Jerry Saunders Jr. Would get the Cardinas going with a layup, and added the free throw to complete the three-point play. S.J. Hutchinson would add a three-pointer and things were all tied up at 37-37. The Cardinals took their first lead of the new half at the 16:23 mark, when Ealy hit his first two points of the half, and the Cardinals would go on a 7-0 run that gave them a 48-42 advantage as they hit the 15-minute media timeout.
As the half went on, the Cardinals would hit some big threes down the stretch, shooting 38.46% from beyond the arc in the half. Caleb Murray and Jaylon Jackson each hit threes before the 10-minute mark and Wheeling continued to hold on to a 52-48 lead. However, the Golden Eagles refused to go down without a fight, keeping the Cardinal's lead to single digits throughout the half. With seven minutes to play, Obinna Ugwuakazi would hit a pair of free throws that made it a 60-55 game, but the Cardinals answered right back as Ealy led them on a 5-0 run that pushed their lead to 10 at 65-55. A three-pointer from Charleston's Ja'Corey Lipkins sent it into the media timeout with the score sitting at 65-58, and with two minutes to play, Charleston was knocking on the door with the Cardinal lead cut to 70-68.
The Cardinals were in need of a big shot, and got one from Caleb Murray, who hit his third three-ball of the day to make it a 73-68 Wheeling lead. After a timeout from Charleston, they came back and answered with a layup that made it 73-70 and the Cardinals would look to put the game away. They put the ball in the hands of their senior guard, and Ealy did the rest. He worked his way to the basket after a missed Charleston free throw, and hit a layup that would make it 75-70 Cardinals. It would be this shot that got him to 1,500 career collegiate points, and ultimately sealed the deal for the Cardinals. Ealy would come to the line one more time to finish the night out, hitting a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left. The Cardinal defense came through with one more stop, and the Cardinals would go on to win by the final score of 77-70.
Ealy would end up finishing his big day with a team-best 24 points, while shooting 9-18 from the floor. He reached the 1,500 career points milestone for his entire collegiate career, while bringing his Wheeling total to 726 in his career. He was one of two Cardinals to hit the 20-point mark on the day, with William Gabbert scoring 20 on the night, with 18 of those coming in the first half. He led the Cardinals with four three-pointers on the day, and played hard nosed defense throughout the night. The defensive effort was led by Alex Smith, who finished with six rebounds, while Jerry Saunders Jr. Led the passing game with four assists. Caleb Murray would be the final Cardinal to reach double digits, scoring 10 points to round out the night.
The first half would feature back and forth action throughout the first 20 minutes, with Charleston's Zach Loveday hitting the first layup, followed by a three-pointer from William Gabbert. The Golden Eagles would go on a short 6-0 run early that pushed the score to 8-3, and they would not give up the lead the rest of the half. Gabbert broke the run, and started what would be a big half for the senior, who scored 18 of his 20 points. The Cardinals stayed right with the Golden Eagles, thanks to S.J. Hutchinson and Smith, and as the 10 minute mark ticked by it was a 21-13 Golden Eagle advantage. The Cardinals would hit their stride late in the half thanks to an 8-0 run courtesy of Gabbert and got to within one point of the Golden Eagles at 27-26. Gabbert would have five more points in him to round out the half, and the Cardinals went into halftime trailing 34-31. The offense did its thing in the second half, and with some key defensive stops, led to the Cardina's win.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, February 1st, when they travel to West Virginia State with tip-off at 4 PM.
