Wheeling, W. Va. – As they entered the season, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team had an experienced group, with 60% of their scoring from the previous season returning. That veteran presence would make its mark, with the Cardinals improving on their win total from 2023-2024, and finding them back in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament's first round. With only two seniors set to graduate, the Cardinals will look to build on this season's foundation and continue building this off-season.
The Cardinals opened the season at the annual West Liberty Classic, and the Cardinals ended up splitting the weekend. They returned home to face Slippery Rock for their home opener and would continue theor back and forth. The Cardinals would earn a road win against Salem and earned their first ranked win of the season when they took down #10 California University of Pennsylvania to head into MEC play with their record sitting at 4-4. After opening MEC play against Davis & Elkins with an 98-83 loss, they bounced back by taking down West Virginia Wesleyan 95-65. The Cardinals would fall in their final two first half MEC Contests, but added a win against Bryant & Stratton to move to 7-8 heading into the Christmas Break.
They kept the good times rolling heading back from break with a win over Franciscan, before heading into the heart of their MEC schedule. The Cardinals would have to endure a six-game losing streak and found themselves on the outside looking in for the MEC Tournament. However, Wheeling was able to turn it around with a 77-70 win over The University of Charleston that sent the Cardinals on a four-game win streak. They capped things off with an 80-73 win over Davis & Elkins, and would clinch their tournament spot two and a half weeks later. After falling to West Liberty on the last day of the season, the Cardinals were the #9 seed in the tournament. They would take on #8 seeded Davis & Elkins in a game that came down to the final minutes, but the Cardinals fell 63-61 to end the day.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Sean Ealy, who earned First Team All-MEC honors for the first time in his career. Ealy was the Cardinal's leading scorer, averaging 18.3 PPG and shooting 44.0% from the floor. Ealy would pick up 13 20-point games throughout the season, including setting a career-high when he put up 36 points against CAL-U. Along with being a leader for the Cardinals, Ealy was also one of the top performers in the MEC. He would finish third in the conference in PPG during the season, while leading the conference with 531 total points. H also sits top 10 in the conference in assists, sitting sixth with 95 during the season. He rounded out the year with a career milestone, finishing with over 1,500 points for his collegiate career.
Behind Ealy, the Cardinals would get a spark off the bench courtesy of Caleb Murray. Murray would play the sixth man role for the Cardinals throughout the season and was one of the team's most lethal three-point shooters. The junior would hit 37.1% of his shots from three-point range and finished the year averaging 7.9 PPG. He would hit double figures 10 times during the season, including a 15-point effort in the MEC Quarterfinal game against Davis & Elkins. Finishing right behind Ealy was Tee Harris Jr., who finished with an average of 10.2 PPG. Harris was a regular in the Cardinal's starting five throughout the season, and finished second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game to round out the effort.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team now heads into the off-season looking to continue their growth on the course.
