Wheeling, W. Va. - A hard fought 2024-2025 regular season comes to an end on Saturday as the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (11-16, 6-13) makes their annual trip up the hill for "The Battle for Wheeling." the Cardinals and Hilltoppers square off at 4 PM with Wheeling looking to seal their playoff fate. A Cardinal win or Davis & Elkins loss would lock them into the #8 seed, giving them the home court designation in their first-round MEC Tournament matchup on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, the Cardinals locked in their spot in the 2025 MEC Men's Basketball tournament with an 82-62 win over Point Park. The first half saw Point Park get out to an early 11-2 lead, and the Cardinals would battle back throughout the first half. As the quarter went on, the Cardinals began to find their shot to the tune of a 43.75% (14-32) mark from the floor. The efficiency worked as by halftime the Cardinals had overtaken the Pioneers 36-33, and the efficiency would only get better as the game went on. The Cardinals would shoot 14-26 (53.85%) from the floor in the second half as they built on their lead. As the offense found their groove, allowing 29 points over the final 20 minutes as the Cardinals pulled away. In the end, they would clinch their spot in the tournament with an 82-64 win to round out the home schedule.
In his final home game of his career, it was Sean Ealy that led the way for the Cardinals, finishing with 23 points in the effort. It was the third straight double digit effort for the senior, and the second time in the last three games that he has hit the 20-point mark. After a slow start, Ealy was able to turn it on when his team needed him the most, finishing the day 7-17 from the floor. However, one area he was efficient in throughout the night was free throw shooting, where he went 9-10 from the charity stripe. That free throw shooting helped him seal the deal for the Cardinals late, when he put up seven of those nine free throws in the final three minutes of play. Ealy has been one of the top scorers in all of the conference this season, sitting third with an average of 18.4 PPG, and he looks to continue that success into tournament time.
The other big day for the Cardinals came off the bench courtesy of Caleb Murray. The junior would score 16 points on the night, as the team's most efficient shooter, going 6-7 from the floor. Of those six made shots, four of them came from three-point range, Where Murray finished the night a perfect 4-4. The 16 points were the most scored in a game by Murray since he put up 16 points against Davis & Elkins back on December 4th. Another spark off the bench for the Cardinals has been Tee Harris Jr., who added 13 points to the effort and a 4-6 mark from the floor. He was just two rebounds away from a double-double in the contest, and has excelled after putting up 19 points the game prior against Glenville State on the road.
As they head into Saturday's game, the Cardinals have a chance to control their own destiny and lock-up the #8 seed. If the Cardinals are able to beat the Hilltoppers, they will lay claim to the #8 seed and will have a first-round home game in the 2025 MEC Tournament. If the Cardinals lose, they will have to rely on Davis & Elkins to fall to West Virginia Wesleyan, to avoid dropping down to the #9 seed. The Cardinals have been playing some of their best basketball down the stretch, going 5-4 over their last nine games and they look to keep that momentum going into the tournament. Head Coach Chris Richardson talks about playing your best basketball in March and his team looks to do just that.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers will be meeting in the 72nd edition of "The Battle for Wheeling" on Saturday, with West Liberty leading the all-time series at 49-22. Up on the Hilltop, the Cardinals hold a 7-22 record, compared to a 12-17 record when they face the Hilltoppers at home. Wheeling is looking to break a four-game skid to the Hilltoppers, while looking for their first road win since February 24th, 2018.
In their first meeting of the year, West Liberty came out victorious inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center 99-92 back on January 25th. The Cardinals were led by Sean Ealy, who finished with 23 points and went 3-6 from three-point range to lead the way. Alex Smith set his career-high with 21 points in the effort, while S.J. Hutchinson rounded out the scoring with 16 points of his own.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 PM inside the Athletics and Student Recreation Center on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
