West Liberty, W. Va. – The annual "The Battle for Wheeling" series came to an end on the hardwood as Wheeling Men's Basketball (11-17, 6-14)ade their way to the Hilltop on Saturday. It was a high scoring game, with both teams getting into triple digits, but the Cardinals fell 119-103. Three different Cardinals hit double figures on the night as the Cardinals take the #9 seed in the upcoming Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament.
Both offenses came out hot and heavy, with the teams combining to score 119 points over 20 minutes of play. The teams would trade the opening blows of the night, with Sean Ealy getting a fast break layup, as the score sat at 2-2. However, the Hilltoppers would score eight of the first 10 points to take an 8-2 lead. William Gabbert would break the run with a three-pointer and, after a Hilltopper three, Ealy got in on the long range shot to make it an 11-8 game. The threes kept coming for the Cardinals as Ealy added a second three and by the media timeout the Cardinals cut West Liberty's lead to 16-15. The Cardinals took a brief lead on a pair of Alex Smith free throws, but West Liberty went 1-2 to make it a 17-18 game. The teams would go back and forth over the next five minutes, and West Liberty led 33-31 as the 10 minute mark approached.
The Hilltoppers would once again hit a run as the mark passed, going on a 10-4 run with a Cardinal free throw and a Smith three accounted for the Cardinals scoring. Gabbert broke the run with a layup as the Cardinals started to battle back over the next three minutes. Smith hit a layup that got the Cardinals back to within four at 45-41, but West Liberty once again would hit a run. This time it was an 8-3 run, with Sean Ealy hitting the Cardinal three during the run. The Cardinals once again began to fight back, with a Smith taking the reigns on a 7-0 run that made it a 53-51 game following the media timeout. It would remain a two-point game with 1:20 to go in the half, with a Gabbert layup making it 58-56. The Hilltoppers would put up the last five points of the quarter and the Cardinals would head into the break trailing 63-56.
It was one of the most efficient halves of the season for the Cardinals, who made 54.84% of their shots and set a new single-half high with 56 points. They continued that efficiency coming out of the locker room as Jerry Saunders Jr. Hit a free throw that sent the Cardinals on a 5-0 run that got them back to within two points at 63-61 with 17:38 to play. A pair of free throws would break the run, and S.J. Hutchinson got the Cardinals back on the board, before the Hilltoppers hit the biggest un of the night. They would go on a 17-0 run over the next four minutes and would take a three-point deficit and turn it into a 20-point game. Harris would break the run with a layup and a dunk, but the West Liberty offense continued to put pressure on the Cardinals. They would lead 94-74 with 10 minutes to play as the Cardinals tried to cut into the lead.
One minute later, Gabbert would get the Cardinals back on the board with a three and a pair of Ealy free throws completed the short 5-0 run. West Liberty would get over the 100-point mark with eight minutes to go, and two trips to the free throw line would make it 103-79. As the five-minute media timeout ticked away, Head Coach Chris Richardson would turn to his bench and they would continue to score for the Cardinals. With two minutes to play, Trevor Beresford would hit a layup and added a second bucket to get the Cardinals over the 100-point mark. Jovan Jovanovic would hit a three on the Cardinal's final possession of the game, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell to West Liberty 119-103.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Sean Ealy, who finished with 20 points in the effort, while also leading the way with five assists. Ealy's success would come from long-range, where he went 3-6 on the night, as well as the free throw line, where he finished 9-10 on the day. In total, the Cardinals had all five of their starters reach double figures on the day with Alex Smith (16), S.J. Hutchinson (16), William Gabbert (12), and Jerry Saunders Jr. (10) each hitting the mark. Smith led the defensive game, finishing with eight rebounds. On the day, the Cardinals would shoot 48.5% from the floor and look to continue that efficiency into tournament play.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team starts their MEC Tournament run on Wednesday, March 5th, when they take on #8 Davis & Elkins with tip-off at 8:30 PM.
