Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2025-2026 season has seen the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (7-3, 3-1) reach new heights in the first half of the year. They are off to their best start since the 2017-2018 season and find themselves sitting just a half game out of the top spot in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). As they open 2026, they look to keep the good times rolling when the team travels to West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 4 PM.
The Cardinals closed out the 2025 portion of their schedule with a 92-84 win over Davis & Elkins that moved them to 3-1 in conference play. It would be their third 90-point effort of the season, and in the first half both offenses were rolling on the court. The Cardinals would hold a 55.56% mark from the floor over the first 20-minutes, but an equally strong 52.94% mark from the Senators sent the game info halftime tied at 48-48. The lead would change hands 10 times in the game and, as the game headed into the final media timeout, Davis & Elkins would hold a 78-77 lead with 4:59 to play. The Cardinals would end up taking the lead on the next possession, and a 13-3 run over the next four and a half minutes sealed the deal. Wheeling went on to win 92-84 and improved their MEC record to 3-1 on the season.
It was another career-best effort from redshirt freshman Ayden Goll, who put up 30 points in the effort. He broke his previous career-high by seven and continued his string of three-straight games scoring 20 or more points. During the stretch, he is averaging 24.6 PPG while shooting an impressive 45.7% from the floor and 63.6% from three-point range. The effort has raised his season scoring average to 19.0 points per game, putting him as the MEC's fourth leading scorer entering play Saturday. Along with his success from the floor, Goll has established himself as one of the top free throw shooters in the conference, sitting second in the league with a 93.9% mark from the charity stripe. He has been in double digits in each of the first 10 games this season and looks to continue to be a scoring threat for the Cardinals down the stretch.
While Goll has been the leader from the floor, it has been senior Caleb Murray leading the way from three-point range. He finished with 16 points against Davis & Elkins to close out the first half, with 12 of those points coming from beyond the arc. He would shoot 4-10 (40%) combined with a 6-13 (46.1%) mark from the floor to close out 2025. He has made the sixth most three-pointers in the conference this season, while averaging the sixth most three-pointers per game. He is on pace for a career year, averaging 12.6 points per game, and will continue to take his shots deep. Rounding out a strong first half on both sides of the ball was Curtis Harrison IV, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds in the effort. He finished 2025 with eight or more points and eight or more rebounds in back-to-back games and sits third on the team, averaging 4.6 rebounds per game.
As they open 2026, the Cardinals are involved in a log jam at the top of the MEC, with four teams all within a game of the conference's top spot. West Liberty currently leads the way sitting 3-0 in conference play, while Concord sits second at 5-0. Fairmont State finds themselves just above Wheeling at 4-1, while the Cardinals sit 3-1 to round out the top four of the conference. After opening the second half against West Virginia Wesleyan, the Cardinals will see two of those teams over their next three games as they look to keep their momentum rolling. The Bobcats have been battling this season, allowing the most points in the conference (95.6 PPG), while also scoring the fewest points (71.1 PPG). Wheeling will look to handle their business against West Virginia Wesleyan as they keep rolling into 2026.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the 49th time in program history when they meet on Saturday, with Wheeling leading the series at 34-14. The Cardinals have a better win percentage on the road across the first 48 games, going 16-6 in Buckhannon, West Virginia, while going 8-2 in the last 10 matchups with the Bobcats. They are averaging 79.56 points per game in the all-time series and have scored 80 or more points in each of the last six meetings between the two teams.
Their last game came on February 5th, 2025, in a game that the Cardinals would win 80-73 in Buckhannon. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Curtis Harrison IV, who set a career-high with 19 points in the effort, while going 7-8 from the floor. Former Cardinal Sean Ealy added 14 points while Alex Smith led the defensive effort with 11 rebounds and three steals.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 PM inside the Rockefeller Center on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
