Wheeling, W. Va. – The snowflakes were flying outside of the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Saturday afternoon, but Mountain East Conference (MEC) action was on fire in the arena. After going back and forth throughout the game, come down to the final three seconds as the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (5-3, 2-1) hosted the University of Charleston. Redshirt freshman Ayden Goll would send a three sailing towards the net and it went through to lift the Cardinals to a 77-74 win over the Golden Eagles.
With just A minute left in regulation, Charleston's Thomas Hailey would go 1-2 from the charity stripe, giving the Golden Eagles a 75-73 lead. On the ensuing possession, it was Goll driving towards the net, but his game-tying layup would fall just short of the mark. Alex Smith would end up fouling to stop the clovck, and Charleston's Kaden Davis would miss each of the ensuing free throws. However Charleston would pull down the rebound and the Golden Eagles were out on the attack again. The Cardinal defense would get the stop they needed as Tee Harris Jr pick pocketed Charleston's Matthew Shelton and sent Wheeling back down the court. Goll would set up near the Cardinal bench beyond the three point line and sent the shot sailing towards the net. It would end up swishing through and the Cardinals were back out in front 76-75. Wheeling needed one more defensive stop with 3.1 remaining on the clock. Charleston called a timeout to advance the ball table side and set up one more play. The inbound pass would end up daily ng high and the Cardinals got the ball back with 1.8 to play. And DJ Wingfield would draw a foul and go 1-2 from the free throw line. It would end up icing the game as the Cardinals bounced back with a 77-75 win to start the homestand.
While making what turned out to be the game-winning shot, it was an all-around big day for Ayden Goll leading his team. He would set a career-high with 23 points in the effort, that included a team-best four assists. He would finish 6-16 from the floor, with three of those six shots coming from three-point range, and a 9-9 mark from the charity stripe. While they couldn't make it three straight games with five double digit scorers, the Cardinals would have four in Saturday's winning effort. Finishing behind Goll was Alesx Smith, who scored a season-best 16 points thanks to a perfect 7-7 day from the floor. Jerry Saunders Jr would serve as a spark off the bench, finishing with 13 points, while Calex Murray added 11 to round out the scoring. While he did not put any points on the board, it was a big defensive day for Tee Harris Jr, who finished with a team best eight rebounds while adding three steals. The Cardinal defense was relentless throughout the night, finishing with 15 steals, while forcing the Golden Eagles to turn the ball over 24 times. As an offense, Wheeling shot the ball at a 40% clip throughout the day, including a 43.3% mark in the final half.
After a minute of back and forth to start the game, a trip to the free throw line would send the Golden Eagles on a 6-0 run that lasted the first two and a half minutes of play. The Cardinals needed a response and got it from Smith, who drove in for a contested layup that made it a 6-2 game. It was just the spark the Cardinals needed as they answered with six points of their own, and another Smith Layup two minutes later made it a 6-6 game. Smith accounted for four of the six points on the runanf a jumper by Ayden Goll sent the fans into its first media timeout with things tied up at 8-8. After both offenses showed up early, it was the defense's time to shine following the break. Neither team would score for the next three minutes, before Goll put in a layup to break the drought. Charleston had an immediate answer before Saunders came down on the next possession and put Wheeling in front again. It was the start of an 8-0 Cardinal run, fueled single-handedly by Saunders. He would hit two three-pointers on the run, and had the Cardinals out to their largest lead of the night at 18-10 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
As the 10-minute Mark passed, six unanswered points by the Golden Eagles would have them back to within two points of the Cardinals. Wingfield would hit a layup that brought the run to an end to keep the Cardinals in front at 20-16. Over the next five minutes, The two teams went basket for basket with each other leading up to the five-minute media time out. The Cardinals would never lead by more than five points during the stretch, with a Goll layup with six minutes to play in the half making it a 25-20 affair. It would be Goll once again who sang the game into the media timeout, hitting a three and completing the ensuing four-point play. Charleston would try to bring the ball out, but it was Goll who got his hand on the ball for the steal. It sent the game into the final first half media timeout with the score sitting at 29-24. The string of Cardinal success continued following the timeout, with Kris English laying the ball in the net, and a pair of Goll free throws would complete a 10-0 run for the Cardinals. Wheeling would lead 35-24 with three minutes to play in the half before Charleston would flip the script. The Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run of their own and the teams entered the halftime break with the score sitting at 35-31 in favor of Wheeling.
The Cardinals would break the run as they started the second half when Smith hit a jumper and Goll would add a pair of free and the Cardinals would extend their lead to 39-31. Smith would add to the lead with a three that extended the lead to 42-33. By the 17 minute mark, Smith would add eight points to his total for the day and the Cardinals would hold a 46-35 advantage. As the second half went on, Charleston slowly cut into the Cardinal lead and with 14 minutes to play they made it a 50-44 game. Charleston continued to cut into the advantage, and with 11 minutes to play the Caridnal lead was cut to five. The Golden Eagles would finish the run by tying the game at 55-55, with Smith hitting a three to get Wheeling back in front. Once the Golden Eagles tied the game, they would stick right there over the final 10 minutes. Both teams would keep each other within a point or two of each other and at the final media timeout it was a 72-68 lead. Caleb Murray would hit a three that made it a one-point gam, before Charleston answered to make it 74-71. It came down to that final minute of play before the Cardinals came through for the victory.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Monday, December 15th, when they take on Franciscan with tip-off at 11:30 AM.
