Wheeling, W. Va. – After starting 2025 with a bang, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team began the second half Mountain East Conference (MEC) push as they traveled to Fairmont State. After a slow start, the Cardinals made a strong second half push, putting up 54 points and outscoring the Falcons 54-51. However, it was too little too late as the Cardinals couldn't make up the ground, falling to the Falcons 94-78.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Cardinals found themselves down 43-24 and looked to get the offense going. Fairmont State would put up the first points of the new half on a dunk from Taj Threat, but Tee Harris Jr. responded with a dunk of his own on the next possession. Alex Smith would add a pair of free throws, but the high-powered Falcons offense just kept going, hitting a 13-4 run that extended their lead to 56-28 with 16 minutes to go. It would be Harris that once again broke the run with a pair of free throws, and Alex Smith would add two free throws of his own following the media timeout. S.J. Hutchinson would catch fire over the next five minutes, tallying seven of his team-high we points on the night during that stretch.
However, Fairmont State held a sizeable advantage at 73-47, and the Cardinals dipped into their depth for the third straight game. Alex Yoakum would be the first of the depth pieces to get on the board, picking up a pair of free throws that started a season-best performance. Yoakum would account for nine points over the final 10 minutes, shooting 3-4 (75%) from the floor and a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line. As the half winded down, the Cardinals would begin hitting from three, with five three-pointers over the final three and a half minutes. Elijah Edwards, Jovan Jovanovic, Korey Beckett, and Yoakum would each hit three-pointers during the stretch, as the Cardinals made it a 92-76 game. Yoakum would put in the final Cardinal basket with 41 seconds to play, and the Cardinals would fall by the final score of 94-78.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was the combination of Alex Smith and S.J. Hutchinson, who finished with 12 points each on the night. Smith was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter on the day, going 3-4 from the floor, with two of those being three-pointers, while adding three rebounds on the day. Hutchinson would come through big for the Cardinals in the second half, scoring seven of those 12 points during that time, hitting double digits for the first time since December 11th against West Virginia State. Jerry Saunders Jr. added nine points on the day and tied with teammates William Gabbert, Curtis Harrison IV, and Caleb Murray for the team-lead with five rebounds each. Gabbert, Sean Ealy, and Korey Beckett would lead the passing game, finishing with three assists each.
Before Fairmont State got out to their big lead, it was the Cardinals who struck first after both teams were held scoreless for three minutes. It would be Saunders Jr. who broke the scoring drought with a layup and Alex Smith followed with a three that gave Wheeling a 5-0 advantage. However, the Fairmont State offense didn't take long to get going as they scored 11 of the next 13 points and quickly took the lead at 11-7 with 14:59 to go in the half. Saunders Jr. and Smith would go back-to-back once again to make it a 13-11 game, but Fairmont State would hit a 9-0 run that would create separation. The Cardinals accounted for 13 points over the final 10 minutes of the first half, before trying to rebound with a big second half push.
During the first half, both teams had trouble getting their shots to fall, with Wheeling shooting just 26.7% from the floor while Fairmont State made just over 39% of their shots. The 54 second half points for the Cardinals were the most they have scored in any single half this season, and they began to see their shots fall. They made 47.22% of their shots over the final 20 minutes of play, and saw their entire team too to bottom contribute. As they get set to return home this weekend, they look to continue riding that second half success as they welcome Alumni and friends back to the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 11th, when they host Frostburg State with tip-off at 4 PM.
