Wheeling, W. Va. - After picking up a big come from behind win on Friday night, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (1-1, 0-0) returned for day two of the West Liberty Tip-off Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals would take on Clarion University in what was a back-and-forth game early, but a big second half for the Golden Eagles would hand Wheeling their first loss of the season at 91-82. It would be the work at the three-point line that made the difference, with Clarion hitting 34.5% from beyond the arc while Wheeling finished with a 22.2% mark on their end. 

As the first half started, Alex Smith would net the first shot of the game and the Cardinals were off on a 6-0 run that spanned the first three minutes of play. A three-pointer by Clarion's Kendon Peebles broke the run, but Caleb Murray came back with a three at the 15:52 mark to extend Wheeling's lead 9-3. Jeremy Thomas II would hit the final shot before the first media timeout for Clarion, and Wheeling's lead would hold strong at 9-5 at the first break. Ayden Goll would get the Cardinals back on the board following the timeout, and a three-pointer by Kris English had Wheeling out in front 16-10. Jerry Saunders Jr. Followed with a three and the Cardinals would go on a short 8-2 run, and were staked to a 21-12 lead with 12:23 to go before the half. After Clarion temporarily stopped the run, Curtis Harrison IV would add a three and as the 10-minute mark ticked by the Cardinals had their biggest lead of the night at 26-14. 

As the first half ticked away, it was Clarion's turn for their first run of the night after Michael Moore hit a pair of free throws. It would send them on a 9-0 swing that turned a 12-point Cardinal lead to just a three-point swing with 7:25 to play in the half. Murray was the one to break the run, hitting a layup and he would add a three just a minute later to extend Wheeling's lead to 31-25. The Cardinal lead would hold at the media timeout at 33-28, and a foul taken by Goll would result in three free throws for the Cardinals that pushed the score to 36-28. The lead would go back to 10 points on a dunk by Harrison, but a 5-0 Clarion swing would make it a 38-33 game with 1:41 to play. Trevor Beresford would break the run with a dunk, but another 7-0 run for the Golden Eagles would make it a 40-38 game. Goll would add a pair of free throws before the half, and Wheeling would head into the halftime break with a 44-40 advantage. 

As they came out of the halftime break, Murray would hit the first shot before Clarion's Peebles hit a three-pointer to go on a 7-0 run that got them out in front for the first time on the night at 47-46. The scoreboard would flip four times over the next five minutes and a three-pointer by Clarion's Gavin Cote made it a 52-50 game heading into the 15-minute media. Alex Smith and Tee Harris Jr would each hit shots coming out of the timeout, but Clarion would begin to pull away with the score sitting at 57-55. Gavin Cote hit a layup that sent Clarion on a 12-2 run that spanned the next five minutes and made it a 67-57 Clarion lead. The only bucket for the Cardinals during the run was layup for English, and Wheeling would look to come from behind for the second night in a row as they faced the final 10 minutes. 

Murray was able to break the run with a jumper, while Goll and English each followed with scores as Wheeling cut into the Clarion lead at 69-63. The Cardinals would get to within four points at 69-65 thanks to two more Goll free throws, and a three-pointer by Alex Smith sent the game into the final media timeout with the score sitting at 71-69. The two teams would trade three pointers after the break, with Smith hitting one for the Cardinals, and the score would sit at 74-72 until the 2:41 mark. A Murray three would get the Cardinals to within one at 76-75, but it would be a 10-2 Clarion run that would put the game on ice. English would break the run with a layup but it was too little too late. Goll would hit the final Cardinal bucket with 13 seconds to go, but the Cardinals would fall 91-82 to round out the effort. 

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Ayden Goll, who finished with 18 points on the day, with a lot of that success coming from the free throw line. He would finish 10-11 from the charity stripe, while adding a team-high six assists and five rebounds to round out the night. Caleb Murray woudl finish second on the team with 17 points, while leading the way with three three-pointers, going 3-11 from beyond the arc. Kris English (14) and Alex Smith (13) would round out the double-digiti scorers, while English led the way with six rebounds. The Cardinals would have a strong day from the free throw line, going 12-16 (75%) while shooting 41.9% from the floor. 

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, November 19th, when they travel to Slippery Rock with tip-off at 7 PM.