Wheeling, W. Va- With two in a row under their belt, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (8-12), (3-9) will close out its two-game road trip tomorrow evening when it travels to face off against the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats, another team whose record is deceiving because they've also won two straight games.
The Cardinals were able to jump ahead early, with William Gabbert bagging the first nine of 11 points. Wheeling started to run away with the lead when Tee Harris jr made consecutive three-pointers. Then he would show his strength with a jam in tight as the Cards took a 56-41 advantage into the break. Sean Ealy secured the victory for the Cardinals in the second half as he recorded 26 points, 11 of which came in the final minute from the free throw line. Wheeling would trot out of Institute with a 97-92 win over the Yellow Jackets.
Four Cardinals finished the contest with double-digit points: Sean Ealy (32), Tee Harris jr. (17), William Gabbert (16), and S.J. Hutchinson (14). Each player contributed without the ball as well, combining for 11 assists, six steals, and three blocks.
As a team, Wheeling was highly efficient with their shot selection. They went 32-63 (50.8%) from the field and 14-34 (41.2%) from three. Harris's 70% from the field boosted the team field goal percentage, while Gabbert's 57.1% aided the Cardinal aerial attack.
Ealy remains the top point scorer on the team, scoring 362 points and averaging 18.1 points per game. With those numbers, he sits third in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and has the 10th-best field goal percentage, making 44.2% of his shots. Ealy has repeatedly proven his ability to come up in the clutch at the free-throw line this season. He has made 87 of his 99 attempts, which is second in the conference and puts him 33rd in Division II.
The Cardinals are an excellent rebounding squad and have been all season long. They are third in the conference with 812 total rebounds, with 273 being offensive, which is good enough for second. Alex Smith leads the Cards with 177 boards and averages just under nine per game, placing him fourth in the MEC. Tee Harris jr. slightly trails Smith with 136, sixth in the MEC. Both players are known for their rebounding skills but also for their aggressive style of defense. Smith will enter tomorrow's contest in the MEC's top 10 leaders in steals and Harris is in the number five spot with 26 blocks on the year.
Scouting the Bobcats
Wheeling and West Virginia Wesleyan will be meeting for the 48th time since 1998, with the Cardinals having a comfortable lead in the all-time series with 33 wins against 14 losses. The two met on December 7th in Wheeling earlier in the season that saw the Cardinals crush their opponent 95-65.
However, the Bobcats' recent play has given the Cards reason for concern in their upcoming matchup. Their 2-10 MEC record would give anyone a right to glance over them, but Wesleyan is riding a two-game win streak with wins over non-conference Salem, 81-73, and Point Park, 82-79, teams that Wheeling has lost to this season. Senior guard Alex Mirhosseini combined for 32 points and 13 rebounds across the two games, along with their 6-8 junior forward, Curtis Litton, having a breakout game against the Pioneers. He led the Bobcats with 20 points, making seven of eight field goals, and went five for six from behind the arc.
The Details
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team travels to Buckhannon, West Virginia, to meet the Bobcats on Wednesday, February 5th, at 7:30 PM. The contest will be streamed live on MEC.TV HERE, and LiveStats will be made available for viewing HERE.
