Salem, Va. – The offense has been riding high for the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (4-2, 1-0) and they looked to keep that success going as they traveled to Salem, Virginia. On Saturday. The Cardinals took a break from Mountain East conference (MEC) Play as they battled Salem University with the offense continuing their roll. Wheeling would eclipse the 90 point mark second straight game on their way to defeating the Tigers 93-85.
In total, the Cardinals had five different players finish in double figures on today, none shined brighter than senior Caleb Murray. The senior guard set a new career high with 23 points in the effort that included an 8-14 (57.1%) mark from the floor and a 5-7 (71.4%) Pmark from three-point range. He would end up taking and making the most shots of any Cardinal in the contest, mine's career high with five three-pointers while setting a new career-best in points scored. When the Cardinals need to clutch free throw, turned to Ayden Goll, who had 14 of his 16 points come from the charity traits. He would go 14-16 on free throws while hitting just one shot from the floor. It kept the red shirt freshman's Street alive now having scored double-digit points in each of the teams first six games. The other three Cardinals to hit double figures on the night were Jerry Saunders Jr (14), Kris English (11), and Curtis Harrison IV (10). Along with getting to double figures, Harrison would tie for the team lead with seven rebounds equaling the mark of his teammate Tee Harris Jr. Wireless points came from the charity stripe, Goll played a big part in the Cardinal passing game, finishing with a team. High five assists in the effort.
Tigers would come out of the gate strong, scoring the first four points of the contest, before Goll got his day started from the free throw line. He would hit both shots to get the Cardinals on the boar and, at the 17:32 mark, Harris came in his a three that ignited the offense. The teams would combine for 10 points over the next two minutes, with Salem holding the lead inrilhe first three from Murray put the Cardinals in front 10-9. Saunders Jr. followed with a three to extend Wheeling's lead to 13-9, but an 8-0 swing by Salem made it 17-13 with 12:26 to go in the half. From the get-go, the Cardinals were able to move the ball around the court, with four different players netting at least one point during the run. Wheeling would break the run when Murray went into the paint for a layup and Saunders Jr followed with a three-pointer that flipped the scoreboard for the third time on the day. Another Murray layup would end the 7-0 Cardinal swing, and Alex Smith added a three as the ten minute mark passed to give Wheeling a 23-19 advantage.
As the final 10 minutes of the first half started, English went into the paint for his first points of the night, but Salem cut the lead back to four at 25-21. It would turn into a three-point game with 8:21 to play, and Smith would hit a long range shot to create some separation. The two teams would go back and forth over the next four minutes and, with 6:16 to go it was a 34-30 game that hung in the balance. A dunk by Harrison IV would completely swing the momentum of the half and the Cardinals were off on a 10-0 run. Harrison accounted for five of the 10 points during the run, and a three-pointer by Murray just before the media timeout would have Wheeling out to their largest lead of the day at 44-30. After a Salem free throw broke the run, Goll would hit a pair from the charity stripe that got the Cardinals started right back up again. This time, it was a short 5-0 run, brought to an end by a layup by Harrison that made it a 49-31 game. Each team would add two more points before the half, and the Cardinals went into the halftime break holding a 51-33 advantage.
The Cardinals would shoot a healthy 48.8% from the floor in the half, including a 50% mark from three-point range, and the success continued into the second half. The Cardinals would score the first four points of the new half, with Harrison once again getting things started. The Cardinals would hold a 20-point advantage as the 17th minute ticked by and Murray hit from three to make it a 60-37 game. An English layup would account for the only two Cardinal points over the next two minutes, and Salem quietly got back to the 40-point mark. Lamar Dampier would break that run with a free throw and another Murray three at the 13:19 mark made it a 63-42 affair. The Cardinals would get to the 70-point mark before Salem got back onto the board, with a Murray dunk capping off a 7-0 run for the Cardinals. It made it a 70-43 game with just over 12 minutes to play and, despite a 7-4 Tiger swing before the 10 minute mark, the Cardinals continued to hold a 24-point advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Salem would put together a valiant effort over those final 10 minutes, cutting the Cardinals advantage to 16 over the next two minutes. Saunders Jr broke the run with a layup and Murray would hit from three-point range for the fifth time in the game to make it a 79-62 game. However, the Salem push continued, this time going on another 5-0 run and by the media timeout they had cut the Cardinal lead to 79-67. As the final media timeout went by, Salem was knocking at the door, getting as close as 82-78 with just 1:18 to play. However, the early start was enough to keep the Cardinals ahead and they would finish things from the free throw line. They would go 8-10 from the charity stripe, an English layup would hit the final layup of the night and the game would come to its final score of 93-85.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 10th, when they hit the road to face West Virginia State with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
