Institute, W. Va- After the women's team secured their win over the Yellow Jackets, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (8-12), (3-9) knew it was time to take care of their business. They went on to do exactly that as they put West Virginia State away with a 97-92 road victory. It was a productive day for the offense, with four players finishing with double figures, including Sean Ealy, who scored 32 points.

The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets started off trading points, but it was the Cardinals who were feeling inspired to get hot and stay that way. William Gabbert set the tone early, recording nine of the first 11 points with two consecutive three-pointers to make it 11-8. This burst propelled Wheeling ahead, and they wouldn't relinquish their hold for the remainder of the contest. Alex Smith caught Jae Slack sleeping and picked his pocket. The ball ended up in the hands of Caleb Murray, who used his quick release to make it 16-8, the largest lead to this point. West Virginia State chipped into the deficit, but Murray connected from range again to answer.

A layup from Curtis Harrison IV off a dish from Gabbert made it 29-23, and that was all the Cardinals needed to crank up the heat. From here, Tee Harris jr. dropped back-to-back dimes from behind the arc. S.J. Hutchinson joined in on the shooting frenzy and cashed in from deep as well. Jaylon Jackson showed off his ball-handling skills and court vision with assists on the previous baskets and another to Harris in the paint as he slammed the ball to ignite the Wheeling bench even more. State, realizing things were out of hand, called a timeout as the Cardinals led 46-25 with 4:26 left to play in the first half. The break seemed to help the Yellow Jackets, but the Cardinals kept the margin wide with a block from Harris and a three-pointer from Alex Smith to get into the locker room up 56-41. 

The Yellow Jackets opened the second half by closing the gap to a two-possession game, but Sean Ealy hit a jumper to make it 58-50 with 17 minutes left to play. West Virginia State continued playing catch-up, but Harris halted them with another big-time block, resulting in an Ealy layup. Harris showed up on the stat sheet again with a steal on one end and a dunk on the other to make it 68-58 with under 13 minutes remaining. Then, Ealy hit a three to give the Cardinals a 15-point advantage. State worked it back to a six-point margin, but Ealy was relentless, making good on another long-distance shot and adding a steal. 

With a little over five minutes to play, the Yellow Jackets trimmed the lead down to just three, but Gabbert responded with a three of his own to go up 81-76. Smith also hit from deep, making it a nine-point difference on the scoreboard, but that would be the last shot from the field for the Cardinals. In the final 1:16, State fouled Ealy 11 times, and he converted on all 11 trips to the line to seal the game for Wheeling 97-92.

Sean Ealy followed up on his 1,500 career point milestone, broken against Charleston in the last game, with another tremendous performance. He was responsible for 32 points, shooting eight for 14 from the field, making 13 of his 14 free throws, seven assists, and three steals. William Gabbert also performed well in back-to-back contests with 16 points against the Yellow Jackets. He made 50% of his shots and brought down six rebounds, five of which were in the offensive zone. Coming off the bench, Tee Harris jr. was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter, making seven of his 10 attempts from the field and two of four from behind the arc. Additionally, he brought down seven boards and three blocks. S.J Hutchinson was the final Cardinal who finished with double figures with 14 points. Alex Smith finished with eight points, six rebounds, and four assists. Caleb Murray scored six points, sinking two of three shots from range. Jaylon Jackson dished out four assists and nabbed two rebounds in just six minutes of play.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team will close their two-game road trip with a game against West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, February 5th, at 7:30 PM.