Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament kicked off on Wednesday night inside the WesBanco Arena. The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team () was part of the final game of the night, battling #8 Davis & Elkins in their first round match. After falling behind by 13 points with just over 13 minutes to play, the Cardinals would battle back, but the comeback would fall just short as Wheeling dropped a heartbreaking 63-61 game.
With 14:51 to go, the Cardinals found themselves down 47-34 and Head Coach Chris Richardson would rally his troops during the media timeout. Sean Ealy hit a free throw out of the break and Alex Smith added a big time three that changed the energy of the game. Wheeling would go on a 7-0 run over the next minute and a half, with Tee Harris ending the run with a coast-to-coast steal and dunk and the Cardinals cut the lead to 47-40. Davis & Elkins would push their lead to nine at 51-42 before another big three got the Cardinals hot again. Caleb Murray Hit the free to start the run and added another three with 9:29 to go that sent the game into the 10-minute media time out with Wheeling trailing 51-50. Coming out of the break, it was Curtis Harrison IV who came to the line and put Wheeling on top For the first time in the game with a pair of free throws bringing the score to 52-51.
It would be their work from the charity stripe that helped build the lead, with Murray and Harrison combining for seven free throw points. Murray was able to stay hot, hitting a jumper That gave Wheeling their biggest lead of the night at 59-54 with 4:23 left in regulation. A minute later, Harris would bring his second half total to six points with a layup that put wheeling up 61-55. However, the Senators we're not done, going on a 6-0 run to tie things up at 61-61 with 1:37 to play. Davis & Elkins would come to the free throw line two more times, going 2-4, and the Cardinals would get the ball back with just over 20 seconds remaining. They would go with the hot hand, with Murray launching a three from 30 feet out, but It would fall just short. Ealy That's a grab the offensive rebound, but by the time he was able to go back up the buzzer had sounded as the Cardinals fell 63-61.
It was Caleb Murray I would lead the way for the Cardinals, finishing with 15 points off the bench. Nine of his 15 points came off of threes on the day, As the junior finished 3-8 (37.5%) from three-point range and was a big catalyst during the Cardinals come back. Sean Ealy had a big end to his Cardinal career, putting up 14 points and going 6-12 (50%) from the floor. Tee Harris Jr. Was the other Cardinal to hit double digits, finishing with 10 points, while Alex Smith led the defense with 10 rebounds. After being outscored 37-30 in the first half, Wheeling was able to turn things around over the final 20 minutes, outscoring the senators 31-26, but the early hole was too much to dig out of and complete the comeback.
After the game, Richardson talked about his team's fight and the character they showed being able to come back in the second half.
"These guys fought their tails off to get back in the game and played the way they've played the entire second half of the season," said Richardson. "What we saw tonight was a microcosm of our season. We haven't always been the most consistent team but Midway through the season these guys and their teammates made a choice to give a little bit more and to play for each other a little bit more and to buy into something bigger than themselves. That's why this hurts because they made that choice and this group got so close."
In the games opening minutes, the two teams went back and forth as Davis & Elkins' Charleston Ponds And Wheeling's Sean Ealy Beach hit threes on early possessions. The back and forth would go on for the first 4 and 1/2 minutes of play with a pair of Smith free throws tying things at 11-11. It would be the Senators that hit the first big run of the game, scoring 11 straight points before Harris broke things up with a three. It was the first of back-to-back threes that got the Cardinals to within nine points, but Dontrell Jenkins would get Davis & Elkins back on board before the media timeout. As the time ticked under 10 minutes to play in the first half, Wheeling found themselves trailing 28-17 as they tried to spark things.
Both defenses held strong for the next two minutes after the media time out, with Jerry Saunders Jr. Breaking the dry spell with a lay-up. Ealy followed with a pair of jumpers as the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run that had them within five at 28-23. Davis & Elkins once again push their lead to 10 and led 35-25 with 2:15 remaining before the break. Murray download with his first three-pointer of the night and a pair of Trevor Beresford free throws got the Cardinals back to within five at 35-30. Davis & Elkins' Malachi Hampton would draw final blood in the quarter with a three, and the Cardinals headed into the locker room trailing 37-30. The Senators went on a 10-4 run over the first 6 minutes of the second half before the Cardinals began their comeback try that fell just short.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball Team now heads into the offseason as they prepare to get back to the MEC tournament in 2025-2026.
