Wheeling, W. Va. – As they took the court at the Alma Grace McDonough Center for the final time in 2024-2025 season, the Cardinals were looking to clinch their spot in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament. They would use an efficient attack throughout the night to do just that as they took down Point Park 82-62, clinching their spot in next week's tournament at WesBanco Arena. The Cardinals shot 48.3% from the floor in the effort, and will now look to secure the #8 seed as they head into their final regular season matchup on Saturday.
At the start of the night, the Cardinals had a slow start as Point Park scored the first six points of the opening half. Sean Ealy would get Wheeling on the board, but Point Park just kept going, extending their advantage to 11-2. The defense would spark the offense two possessions later as William Gabbert got a steal that would turn into a pair of free throws from Alex Smith at the other end of the floor. It sent the Cardinals on an 6-0 run, where Smith was responsible for four of the six points, and by the media timeout, the Cardinals trimmed the Pioneer lead to 11-8. The Pioneers would push that advantage to 14-8, before it was Smith again who got things going with a pair of free throws and Ealy would add a layup that made it 14-12 with 12:57 to play in the half. Point Park would have another answer, scoring four straight points, but this time the Cardinals bench got things back on track with a Trevor Beresford three.
Caleb Murray and Jaylon Jackson would each add jumpers during the run and as the clock ticked past the nine and a half minute mark it was a 20-19 game. Down the final 10-minute stretch of the first half, Murray hit several key shots, including a three-pointer that made it 22-22, followed by a jumper that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night. It sparked a 7-0 Cardinal run, which was quickly answered by a 5-0 Pioneer run to make it 27-26 coming out of the final media timeout. Curtis Harrison IV would take advantage of a second-chance opportunity to get the Cardinals back in front, and Wheeling would score six of the next eight points to go ahead 32-29. Wheeling would not lose that lead for the rest of the half as Ealy added a layup and a pair of free throws and the Cardinals would go into the break with a 36-33 advantage.
As a team, the Cardinals would go 14-32 (43.75%) from the floor and 2-6 (33.33%) from three-point range in the first half. Both of those numbers would climb in the second half, after the Pioneers retook the lead courtesy of back-to-back shots to open the new half. The lead changed hands three times in the opening five minutes of the half, and things were knotted up at 46-46 at the first media timeout. After a flurry of offense to start the half, both defenses took a stand in the second half, with seven free throws and a layup accounting for the next five minutes of action. It was Point Park's Nick Marshall who would end the run, hitting a pair of free throws as the clock struck 10 minutes to go, and the Pioneers held a 52-49 lead with 10 minutes to play.
That lead grew to 55-50 with 8:44 showing in regulation, when Tee Harris jr. Took advantage of a second chance layup. It sparked the Cardinals on a 12-0 run that turned the game on its ear as Wheeling took a 62-55 advantage. Murray led the way with two big three-pointers during the run and the Cardinals were looking to hold the line the rest of the way. Wheeling would put the game away with a second run, this time an 8-0 swing where Harris hit two three-pointers as the Cardinals hit the 70-point mark. With a 13-point advantage, the Cardinals would have to close things out from the free throw line, and did just that going 9-10 from the charity stripe over the final five minutes. Ealy would make seven of the nine free throws and a Murray three-pointer would cap-off the night. Point Park's Kaden Warner would add one free throw before all was said and done, but the Cardinals held on for the 82-62 win.
In what was his final regular season game inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, Sean Ealy led the way one final time for the Cardinals, putting up 23 points in the effort. He would finish the night 7-17 (41.2%) from the floor, and added a 9-10 mark from the free throw line that helped cement his big day. Off the bench, it was Caleb Murray leading the way for the Cardinals, putting up 16 points while going a perfect 4-4 from three-point range and leading the Cardinals going 6-7 (85.7%) from the floor. Tee Haris Jr. (13) and Alex Smith (10) would each hit double digits on the night, while Harris led the defensive game with eight rebounds. Five different Cardinals combined to lead the passing game, with Ealy, Smith, William Gabbert, Murray, and Harris all finishing with two assists on the day. With the win, the Cardinals are guaranteed a tournament spot, and will now battle for seeding in their regular season finale.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, March 1st, when they hit the road to face West Liberty with tip-off at 4 PM.
