Wheeling, W. Va. – After playing the first three games of the season on the road, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (2-2, 0-0) took the home court for the first time on Sunday when they played host to Winston-Salem State. It was an all-around team effort for the Cardinals, with 12 players scoring at least two points on the day, as the Cardinal's downed the Rams 86-66. It was Wheeling's highest offensive output of the season as they evened their non-conference record heading into the Thanksgiving break.
It was back and forth through the first six minutes of play, with the two teams sitting tied at 6-6 heading into the first media timeout. It was a jumper by Caleb Murray that evened the score before the Rams answered on the next possession to take an 8-6 lead. The Cardinals stuck with the hot hand, getting the ball back to Murray who delivered a three to give Wheeling their first lead of the day at 9-8. The score would flip twice more as Alex Smith got in on the action putting up five straight points for the Cardinals. He hit a jumper that made it an 11-10 game, and a three made it a 14-12 with 11:40 to go in the half. However, Winston-Salem would answer right back with a jumper from Isaiah Sutherland and the game sat tied at 14-14. The Cardinals needed a spark off the bench and would get it from Jalen Wenger. He came off the bench and hit a three at the 10:52 mark for his first three of the season.
It would send the Cardinals on an 8-0 run, with Kris English and Jerry Saunders Jr. each contributing on the run. As fast as the Cardinals built the lead, Winston-Salem would shrink it with A 5-2 run that brought the game back to 24-19 with 6:32 to play before the break. Saunders would get Wheeling going again with a three before Lamar Dampier added a layup to push the lead to 10 heading into the media timeout. The Rams continued to battle, going shot for shot with the Cardinals on the final first half stretch. It would be the three ball that made the difference as Wheeling outscored the Rams 10-9 over the final five minutes. Ayden Goll would hit the first three of the final stretch at the 3:56 mark and was responsible for five of the 10 points during the run. Trevor Beresford would add a layup and Tee Harris Jr. sent the game into halftime with a three. It gave the Cardinals a 39-28 advantage heading into halftime and they looked to build off that success in the second half.
As they came out of the break, they put the ball in the hands of Curtis Harrison IV and he ran with it scoring the first six points of the half. All six of those points would come in the paint as he helped the Cardinals hold off an early Winston-Salem push that made it a 44-34 game. Goll would come back with another three ball, but a Ram's answer from Tre Boykin kept it a 10-point game at 47-37. Smith would help the Cardinals trade the next two baskets, but the Winston-Salem answer was enough to send the Ram's on a run following the media timeout. They would score the next seven points bringing the score to 49-44 with 12:43 to play. Wheeling would turn to Wenger again off the bench and once again he came through. He broke the run with a three-pointer that got him on a hot streak. It was the first of back-to-back threes for Wenger and part of eight straight points that made it 57-50 with 9:32 to play.
The last of those eight points would send the Cardinals on a 6-0 run, capped by a Kris English layup that made the score 60-50. After scoring in the paint throughout the day, Harrison would show off his Three-Point shot to make it 63-52 and Lamar Dampier added a layup that made it 65-54. The game would be put away over the next minute and a half, as the Cardinals went on a 10-4 swing that was capped by an Ayden Goll three that made it 75-60. Goll finished out his day with a pair of free throws and a Harris three would allow Head Coach Chris Richardson to empty his bench. Two of those reserve players would take advantage, with Carson Swanson and Caleb Senyo each hitting threes to round out the effort. It would allow the Cardinals to rest their starters over the last three minutes as the Cardinals wrapped up the 86-66 win to start the home portion of their schedule strong.
For the third time in four games this season, it was Ayden Goll leading the way for the Cardinals. He finished with 15 points in the effort, going 5-10 from the floor and 3-7 from three-point range. Finishing just behind him was Curtis Harrison IV, hitting double figures for the first time this season with 12 points, while leading the defense with seven rebounds. Jalen Wenger had his biggest game of the season so far, finishing with 11 points while adding a 3-7 mark from three-point range. Kris English would tie Harrison with seven rebounds, while Jerry Saunders Jr led the passing game with five assists. The game would round out their early season non-conference schedule, with all eyes now shifting to Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 3rd, when they battle Point Park with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
